Derek Jeter's three-run double snapped a seventh-inning tie, Alex Rodriguez homered into the left-field upper deck and the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6-3 on Saturday.
"It's remarkable how far Derek Jeter has come in the last six, seven weeks," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He handles pressure better than any player I've ever been around."
Jon Lieber (7-5) gave the Yankees their best start in more than two weeks, pitching seven solid innings to win his second consecutive outing. New York has beaten Tampa Bay three straight times after dropping five of six against the New York Mets and Detroit.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"I think the command was a little bit better, and that was the key to the ballgame," Lieber said. "That, and keeping the ball down. The slider was up a little bit in that first inning. I think I was overthrowing at times."
Tom Gordon allowed a run in the eighth, but Mariano Rivera needed just five pitches to get three outs for his AL-leading 32nd save in 33 chances in front of 54,680 on Old-timers' Day at Yankee Stadium.
Dewon Brazelton (2-2) took the loss for the Devil Rays, who lost for the ninth time in their last 10 games at Yankee Stadium and fell to 4-7 in July after going 20-6 in June. It's only the second series they've lost in their past 15.
Angels 11, Blue Jays 2
In Toronto, Bengie Molina hit a grand slam during a seven-run seventh inning and Kelvim Escobar had nine strikeouts against his former team.
Tim Salmon got his first hit against a left-hander this season by doubling off Ted Lilly in the fifth -- ending an 0-for-40 stretch.
Escobar (5-5) allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in 5 1-3 innings.
Lilly (7-6) didn't allow a baserunner until Garret Anderson singled with two outs in the fourth, but he ended up giving up six runs on six hits in 6 2-3 innings.
Orioles 7, Royals 2
In Baltimore, Daniel Cabrera allowed three hits over seven innings and Rafael Palmeiro hit his 541st career home run, leading the Orioles past the Royals.
Luis Lopez had a season-high three hits, scored twice and drove in a run for the Orioles, who snapped a three-game skid to avoid falling 12 games under .500 for the first time this season.
Starting in place of an injured Sidney Ponson, Cabrera (6-3) didn't allow a runner past first base in beating Kansas City for the second time in 11 days.
Mike Wood (1-2) took the loss for the Royals, who have dropped 14 of 16 while being outscored 110-39. Their lone wins during that span were against Baltimore.
Red Sox 14, Rangers 6
In Boston, Manny Ramirez hit two of Boston's five home runs and the Red Sox used a season-high 21 hits to rout the Rangers for their fifth straight victory.
Nomar Garciaparra, Mark Bellhorn and Jason Varitek also homered for the Red Sox, who roughed up Kenny Rogers, who entered leading the majors with 12 wins.
The Red Sox's Nos. 1-4 hitters -- Johnny Damon, Bellhorn, Garciaparra, and Ramirez -- went a combined 15-for-21 with four homers and 10 RBIs. Bellhorn, Garciaparra and Ramirez each had four hits.
Derek Lowe (7-8) got off to a rough start, allowing six unearned runs in the second inning -- including Hank Blalock's grand slam. But the Red Sox scored five runs off Rogers (12-3) in the bottom of the second.
It was the shortest start of the season for Rogers, who gave up eight runs over just 1 2-3 innings and snapped a career-high personal eight-game winning streak.
White Sox 3, Mariners 2
In Chicago, Mark Buehrle pitched eight effective innings and Paul Konerko homered to lead the White Sox.
The Mariners have lost a season-high eight straight. The losing streak is Seattle's longest since September 1992, when it lost a club-record 14 in a row. At 32-53, Seattle is 21 games below .500 for the first time since Aug. 2, 1994. They've also lost 11 straight on the road.
Buehrle (9-2) gave up two runs and nine hits in winning for the eighth time in nine decisions. Shingo Takatsu pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
Matt Thorton (1-2), making his first major league start, gave up three runs on seven walks and three hits in five innings.
Athletics 16, Indians 7
In Cleveland, pinch-hitter Erubiel Durazo's grand slam helped Mark Mulder win his 10th straight decision for Oakland.
Mulder (12-2) was sharp early, then faltered and gave up six runs over 6 2-3 innings. He still tied San Francisco's Jason Schmidt for the longest winning streak in the majors this year. The All-Star left-hander has not lost in 13 starts since a 5-1 setback April 28 in New York.
Travis Hafner had four hits, including his 10th homer, and four RBIs for Cleveland.
Rick White (3-4) took the loss in relief as Oakland snapped a four-game losing streak.
Tigers 4, Twins 2
In Minneapolis, Dmitri Young hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the sixth inning, Nate Robertson pitched effectively into the seventh for the Tigers.
Ivan Rodriguez, Omar Infante and Marcus Thames also hit solo shots as the Tigers won their 41st game, only two short of their total for 2003 when they lost an AL-record 119 games.
Robertson (8-4) pitched 6 2-3 innings, giving up seven hits and two runs -- both unearned. Ugueth Urbina worked the ninth for his 14th save.
Young lined a fastball from Brad Radke (5-5) just over the right-field wall with two outs in the sixth to break a 2-all tie and put Detroit ahead for good.
Jim Edmonds homered for the fourth straight game and Jeff Suppan worked six strong innings, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2 on Saturday for their eighth consecutive victory.
Ray Lankford, Hector Luna and So Taguchi drove in a run apiece for the NL Central leaders, who are 8-0 on the homestand with one game to go before the All-Star break and have won 10 straight at home overall. The Cardinals are 31-8 against the Cubs at Busch Stadium since 2000 and have an NL-best 54 victories.
"We barely won that game," La Russa said. "Especially in the Central, you cannot have an easy series. We're in the same position we've been in for a while: Keep pushing, keep the edge, keep cranking, all that stuff that sounds a little corny but it's absolutely the mind-set we have to have."
Suppan (8-5) allowed two runs on seven hits in six innings with five strikeouts and no walks. Jason Isringhausen got five outs for his 21st save.
Matt Clement (7-8) gave up three runs in the first, and is 0-4 in his last six starts. Sammy Sosa was 2-for-4 with a homer and double, but fouled out against with a runner on in the eighth for the Cubs, who have lost five straight.
"It's natural to get down," manager Dusty Baker said. "The key is you can't stay down. The sun is going to come up tomorrow for most of us."
Braves 4, Phillies 0
In Philadelphia, Mike Hampton pitched eight shutout innings and rookie Charles Thomas homered twice, leading Atlanta.
Hampton (4-8) allowed five hits and struck out five, and walked two. It was his longest outing since throwing a complete game in a loss to Arizona on May 18. Hampton beat Philadelphia for the first time since Sept. 23, 2000, when he was a member of the New York Mets.
Phillies starter Paul Abbott (0-3) went six innings, allowing five hits and just two runs on solo homers by Thomas and Rafael Furcal.
Rockies 6, Padres 2
In San Diego, Aaron Cook took a shutout into the seventh inning and Jeromy Burnitz and Todd Greene each hit solo homers, helping the Rockies to their third straight victory.
Cook (4-3) allowed one run on eight hits with three strikeouts and three walks, and pitched out of trouble all day -- leaving 10 baserunners stranded in six-plus innings.
Brian Lawrence (10-6) lasted only four innings for the Padres, who have lost four in a row. He gave up three runs on six hits.
Dodgers 3, Astros 1
In Los Angeles, Wilson Alvarez outpitched Roger Clemens, and Paul Lo Duca hit a three-run homer for the Dodgers.
Alvarez (3-3), making his second spot start since Hideo Nomo went on the disabled list, allowed a run and three hits in six-plus innings.
Eric Gagne pitched two perfect innings -- including striking out Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman and Jeff Kent in the ninth -- for his 23rd save this season, and 86th in his last 87 attempts. He also broke Jeff Shaw's club record for saves with his 130th.
Clemens (10-3) allowed three runs and four hits over seven innings and struck out eight in his first game at Dodger Stadium.
Marlins 5, Mets 2
In Miami, Mike Lowell hit a two-run homer and Ben Howard pitched out of a seventh-inning jam to help the Marlins beat the Mets.
Florida won for only the third time in 10 games, beating Tom Glavine (7-7). He allowed four runs in six innings, and his career record at Pro Player Stadium fell to 6-12 with an ERA of 4.40.
Brad Penny (8-7) shut out New York for six innings but ran into trouble in the seventh. Howard retired Cliff Floyd and Richard Hidalgo with the bases loaded to end the threat and preserve a 4-2 lead.
Armando Benitez got the final six outs, four by strikeout, for his 29th save in 31 chances.
Brewers 5, Reds 0
In Milwaukee, Ben Sheets threw eight shutout innings to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-0 victory Saturday night over the Cincinnati Reds, who lost Ken Griffey Jr. to a strained right hamstring.
Griffey was injured while trying to run down Brady Clark's triple in the fourth inning. The Reds said the All-Star outfielder will return to Cincinnati to have an MRI on Sunday to determine the severity of the injury.
As Griffey neared the warning track in a full sprint, the ball bounced off his glove. He appeared to hurt his leg as he landed on it, but tracked down the ball and walked off the field immediately after the play with no apparent limp.
Sheets (9-5) allowed five hits -- all singles -- and struck out eight and walked one to win his third consecutive start. He lowered his National League-leading ERA to 2.26. Luis Vizcaino pitched a perfect ninth to complete the shutout, Milwaukee's sixth.
Cory Lidle (6-7) took the loss.
Expos 4, Pirates 0
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Rocky Biddle pitched five scoreless innings to win his first start in almost two years, and Jamey Carroll drove in two runs for the Expos.
Biddle (1-4), making his first start since September 25, 2002, with the Chicago White Sox, gave up two hits, one walk, struck out three and did not allow a runner past first base.
Montreal's primary closer with 11 saves in 14 opportunities, took Zach Day's spot in the rotation because he was the only reliever available to start. Day is out since July 6 with right shoulder tendinitis.
Claudio Vargas, Joe Horgan and Luis Ayala combined to complete the four-hitter, Montreal's seventh shutout of the season.
Kip Wells (4-6) pitched 6 2-3 innings and allowed four runs on six hits.
Giants 3, Diamondbacks 1
In San Francisco, Barry Bonds was intentionally walked three times to set the single-season record, and Brett Tomko took a shutout into the eighth inning to lead the Giants over Arizona.
The three intentional walks gave Bonds 71 before the All-Star break, topping his own record established in 2002 when he was walked 68 times over the entire season.
J.T. Snow hit a two-run homer as the Giants won their third in four games to remain a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
Tomko (4-5) did not allow a runner past first base through seven innings and retired 10 of 11 at one point. He gave up one run on five hits and did not walk a batter in 7 2-3 innings.
Muhammad Ali will help throw out the first pitch during pregame ceremonies at Tuesday's All-Star game.
Ali, accompanied by his 13-year-old son Asaad, will deliver two baseballs to the mound, where two members of the Houston-area Boys & Girls Club will throw out the ceremonial first pitches.
Ali, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, is an alumnus of the Boys & Girls Club of Louisville, Kentucky.
"American Idol" winner Fantasia will sing the national anthem, while Ruben Studdard, the show's second-season winner, will sing "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS