American LeagueScott Hatteberg homered twice and drove in five runs, while Mark Mulder hung on for his major league-leading 15th win, leading the streaking Oakland Athletics over the New York Yankees 13-4 Tuesday night.
Jorge Posada and Gary Sheffield hit early home runs that put New York ahead 4-1, but the A's stormed back to win for the ninth time in 10 games in a matchup of American League division leaders.
PHOTO: AP
"The defense was outstanding and we had a lot of good at-bats," A's manager Ken Macha said. "I don't think Mark had his best stuff."
PHOTO: AP
Mulder (15-3) allowed eight hits and four runs in seven innings for his 13th win in 14 decisions. AL player of the week Eric Byrnes got three more hits, and Adam Melhuse also homered for Oakland.
"I was just struggling with my delivery in the early innings. Every night is different. Some starts you feel great. Tonight, I didn't," Mulder said.
The A's teed off on Jon Lieber (7-7), who allowed 11 hits and seven runs in 4 1-3 innings.
Hatteberg hit a two-run homer in the fifth off Lieber and a three-run drive off Felix Heredia in the eighth.
Red Sox 5, Devil Rays 2
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Curt Schilling pitched a six-hitter for his third complete game of the season and Jason Varitek hit a two-run homer to lead Boston over Tampa Bay.
Schilling (13-5) struck out seven and walked one in his 82nd complete game.
Bill Mueller drove in three runs for the Red Sox, who have won two straight since dropping a pair to AL Central-leading Minnesota. They remained a half-game behind Texas in the AL wild-card race.
Rocco Baldelli homered for Tampa Bay and Rob Bell (4-5) allowed five runs and seven hits in six innings.
Schilling retired 12 in a row after Aubrey Huff's two-out single in the first, a streak that ended on Geoff Blum's single with two outs in the fifth.
Rangers 5, Tigers 4
In Detroit, Mark Teixeira and Kevin Mench homered, and Eric Young hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh inning to lead Texas pasr Detroit.
Young went 3-for-5 for the struggling Rangers, who won for just the third time in 10 games.
Frank Francisco (3-1) pitched 1 1-3 perfect innings in relief of Kenny Rogers, who failed in an attempt to become the American League's second 14-game winner. Francisco Cordero pitched a perfect ninth for his 32nd save in 34 tries.
With the game tied at 4 in the seventh, Gary Matthews Jr. led off with a double, took third on Rod Barajas' sacrifice bunt and came home with the go-ahead run on Young's single to right off Nate Robertson (9-6).
Orioles 9, Mariners 7
Orioles 5, Mariners 4
In Baltimore, Rafael Palmeiro passed Babe Ruth on the career hits list, as Baltimore swept a doubleheader against Seattle for the first time in 16 years.
After going 2-for-3 in the day game to tie Ruth for 36th place, Palmeiro moved past the Bambino in the night game with his 2,874th career hit, a fourth-inning single to right off Jamie Moyer. Palmeiro also drove in three during the first game.
Javy Lopez hit a three-run home run in the first game, and Melvin Mora and Larry Bigbie went deep in the second for the Orioles, who clinched their first home series win since May 7-9.
Seattle, which stranded 25 runners over the two games, has lost five straight and eight of nine.
None of the starters factored in the decisions. Jorge Julio (2-2) and Jason Grimsley (4-5) won for Baltimore, while Clint Nageotte (1-5) and George Sherrill (0-1) took the losses. Julio also collected his 16th save in the opener.
White Sox 12, Royals 4
In Kansas City, Missouri, Jose Contreras won his debut for his new team, and Paul Konerko hit a grand slam to tie the AL home run lead as Chicago downed Kansas City.
Contreras (9-5), obtained from the New York Yankees on Saturday for slumping All-Star Esteban Loaiza, was given a 7-0 lead by the fifth inning and left after the sixth, when Chicago extended its lead to 10-4 lead on Aaron Rowand's three-run homer. He gave up four runs -- two earned -- and five hits in six innings, struck out three and walked one.
Chicago scored twice in the third and added five runs in the fifth, sparked by Konerko's 28th homer, which tied Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez. But Contreras allowed four runs in the bottom half, when Ken Harvey led off with a home run.
Mike Wood (1-4) gave up seven runs and six hits in five innings for the Royals, who have lost five straight to the White Sox.
Kansas City first baseman Mike Sweeney left in the fifth inning because of back spasms.
National Leauge
Kerry Wood pitched eight innings despite a shaky start, and Derrek Lee hit his 21st homer in a five-run second that lifted the Chicago Cubs over the Colorado Rockies 5-3 Tuesday night.
"If you missed the first two innings you would have missed the whole ballgame," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "Rarely do you see a game that quickly and that sharp and crisp in Colorado."
Wood (6-4) gave up three runs in the first inning, but allowed just three hits over the next seven. He struck out five and walked three to win for the third win in five starts since coming off the disabled list following a triceps strain.
"I felt real strong. That has been a plus coming back," said Wood, who struck out five and walked three. "At times I started get winded at the end, but I felt good in the eighth. That was a good sign."
Sammy Sosa drove in a run and so did Nomar Garciaparra, playing his second game since the Cubs acquired him from Boston. Chicago has won six of eight to stay within reach of San Diego in the National League wild card race.
LaTroy Hawkins pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 21 chances.
Todd Helton homered for the second straight game and Larry Walker had an RBI triple in Colorado's three-run first inning.
Chicago batted around in the second inning off Jeff Fassero (2-7), scoring five runs on seven hits.
Mets 12, Brewers 3
In Milwaukee, Al Leiter had another strong outing, limiting Milwaukee to one run over seven innings, and the Mets scored five times in the sixth and ninth innings.
Leiter (8-3) scattered seven hits to help the Mets snap a three-game skid and lower his major league-leading ERA to 2.12. He struck out seven and walked one intentionally. Since returning from the disabled list June 1, the 38-year-old left-hander is 7-1 with a 1.90 ERA in 12 starts.
Mike Cameron homered and drove in three runs, and Joe McEwing also had three RBIs for New York, which scored only six runs in three losses to Atlanta over the weekend.
Mets reliever Mike Stanton struck out four batters in the eighth, only the second time in franchise history the feat has been accomplished.
Chris Capuano (5-6) matched Leiter the first four innings, but fizzled late, giving up five runs on six hits and a walk in 5 1-3 innings.
Astros 3, Braves 2
In Houston, Roger Clemens pitched seven strong innings on the eve of his 42nd birthday but was denied the win by his bullpen before Houston rebounded to stop Atlanta's five-game winning streak.
Clemens, who allowed four hits, left with a 2-1 lead after walking the first two batters in the eighth. Dan Miceli (4-5) retired Charles Thomas on a forceout, then loaded the bases with a walk to Marcus Giles and allowed an RBI grounder to Chipper Jones.
Clemens, who struck out six and walked three, remained at 322 victories, two behind Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton for 12th place on the career list. He gave up two runs, just one of them earned.
Houston went back ahead in the bottom half off Chris Reitsma (4-3). Morgan Ensberg doubled, Mike Lamb had a pinch-hit single and Jose Vizcaino hit an RBI grounder.
Expos 10, Cardinals 6, 12 innings
In St. Louis, Tony Batista hit a grand slam in the 12th inning after tying it with a two-run shot in the ninth to lead Montreal over St. Louis.
Albert Pujols became the first player to hit at least 30 home runs in his each of his first four seasons on a major league roster when he hit a two-run homer to straightaway center off Montreal's Korean spot starter Kim Sun-woo with one out in the first inning.
The Cardinals loaded the bases in the bottom of the 12th inning but Roy Corcoran got Hector Luna to fly out to center to finish the Expos' ninth win in 11 games.
Chad Cordero (3-1) pitched two innings for the win. Dan Haren (0-2) took the loss.
Giants 11, Reds 0
In San Francisco, Barry Bonds homered twice and rookie Noah Lowry carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning on the way to his first major league victory as San Francisco trounced Cincinnati.
Bonds matched a season high with five RBIs, raising his home-run total to 29 this season and 687 in his career. J.T. Snow matched a career high with four hits. He had a homer, single and two doubles for the Giants, who had lost four of five.
Bonds hit a three-run homer in the third inning, sending the first pitch he saw from Cory Lidle (6-10) into the right-field arcade. Bonds connected again in the seventh in a span of three consecutive homers by San Francisco. Snow homered leading off the inning, then Bonds splashed a 2-2 pitch into the waters of McCovey Cove. Pedro Feliz followed with his 15th homer, chasing Lidle.
Lowry (1-0), a 23-year-old lefty making his fourth major league start, didn't allow a hit until D'Angelo Jimenez's leadoff single to left in the seventh. He pitched a three-hitter, struck out nine, walked two and also had two singles at the plate.
Dodgers 3, Pirates 2
In Los Angeles, Brad Penny held Pittsburgh to a pair of infield singles over eight scoreless innings in his first game since getting traded to Los Angeles as the Dodgers held on to beat Pittsburgh.
Penny (9-8) got past the seventh inning for the first time in 12 starts since May 27, striking out four and walking one in the Dodgers' 16th win in 21 games.
Eric Gagne allowed two-out RBI singles to Rob Mackowiak and Craig Wilson in the ninth before striking out Jason Bay for his 31st save.
Oliver Perez (6-6) allowed three runs on five hits over five innings, and struck out 10 in his first road loss of the season in four decisions.
Phillies 5, Padres 2
In San Diego, pinch-hitter Chase Utley drove in the go-ahead run in a three-run seventh and Brett Myers (6-8) pitched six strong innings for his first win in nearly seven weeks as Philadelphia beat San Diego.
Jim Thome hit his major league-leading 32nd homer for the Phillies, on a season-long 13-game road trip.
Brian Lawrence (11-8) held the Phillies to just three hits through six innings. In the seventh, he gave up a one-out single to Pat Burrell and walked Mike Lieberthal with two outs before being lifted for Scott Linebrink.
Recently released John Olerud signed with the New York Yankees on Tuesday, giving the team insurance at first base while Jason Giambi is treated for a benign tumor.
Olerud, is a two-time All-Star, a three-time Gold Glove winner and was the 1993 AL batting champion. But he started slumping in the second half last season with Seattle, and the Mariners cut him last month when his slide continued.
Olerud was hitting .245 with five home runs and 22 RBIs in 78 games. The Mariners released him on July 27, shortly after he turned down a trade to the San Francisco Giants. He was in the final year of a contract that guaranteed him US$7.7 million this year.
To make room for Olerud on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher Sam Marsonek was transferred from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL.
Griffey Jr. returns
The Cincinnati Reds activated Ken Griffey Jr. from the 15-day disabled list before Tuesday night's game against the San Francisco Giants.
Griffey had been sidelined since tearing his right hamstring while chasing a flyball on July 10. The injury forced him to miss the All-Star game last month.
Griffey, who started 76 of Cincinnati's first 87 games, was enjoying his best season since 2000 -- when he had 40 home runs and 118 RBIs. He was batting .251 but had 20 home runs and 60 RBIs and in June became the 20th player to reach 500 career home runs.
Guardado takes a rest
The Seattle Mariners placed closer Eddie Guardado on the 15-day disabled list with a tired left shoulder on Monday. Left-handed pitcher Matt Thornton will be recalled from Triple-A Tacoma, the Mariners said.
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