American League
Hideki Matsui homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs in the first three innings against Sean Douglass on Friday to power the Yankees to an 11-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
PHOTO: AP
Matsui had his first multihomer gamer in 1 1/2 seasons since coming to the major leagues from Japan. His three-run shot in the first inning offset one hit by Carlos Delgado in the top half.
"It was definitely huge for the team and huge for Javy," Matsui said.
Matsui became the second Japanese player, and second Matsui, to hit two home runs in a major league game. New York Mets shortstop Kaz Matsui did it July 2 against the Yankees at Shea Stadium.
In his first season with the Yankees in 2003, Matsui hit 16 homers in 163 games. He already has 22 homers in 108 games this year.
"Knowing the pitchers, that's the biggest difference of all," Matsui said through an interpreter. "It gives me a chance to have a better plan at the plate."
Matsui, who finished 3-for-5, stretched the Yankees lead to 5-3 in the third with a solo homer off Sean Douglass, and he capped off the six-run inning with a single that drove in two.
"He seems to be taking more liberties now," manager Joe Torre said. "He's become a little more confident."
New York (69-39) won for the sixth time in seven games to move to a season-high 30 games over .500 and build a 10 1/2-game lead over second-place Boston, their largest advantage of the season.
The Blue Jays started a seven-game road trip with their fifth loss in seven games.
Douglass never made it out of the third innings -- he was ejected for hitting John Flaherty in the knee with a pitch three batters after Matsui's second shot. The ejection by plate umpire Chris Guccione came without a warning.
"I didn't even know how to react. I've never been tossed from a game," Douglass said. "I'm still upset at it."
Javier Vazquez (13-6) allowed three runs in the first inning but yielded only two doubles and a single the rest of the way before being removed after the eighth inning.
Tigers 4, Red Sox 3
Dmitri Young had three hits and scored twice Friday, including the go-ahead run in the sixth inning, to help the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3.
Carlos Guillen had three hits, including a game-winning single that helped the Tigers stop a four-game losing streak.
Boston lost for the fourth time in six games and dropped a season-high 10 1/2 games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the American League East. The largest deficit the Red Sox have ever overcome to win the division is 10 games, in 1988.
"I don't think it is bad luck; we've just had a lot of games where we have been one run worse than the other team," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "We need to find a way to be one run better."
Roberto Novoa (1-0) gave up one walk while striking out four over 1 1-3 innings to earn his first major league victory, and Ugueth Urbina picked up his 18th save in 20 chances.
Derek Lowe (9-10) gave up four runs -- for the fifth straight start -- and nine hits over seven innings. Lowe had won two straight and three of his last four decisions.
Devil Rays 2, Mariners 1, 10 innings
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Carl Crawford scored the winning run for Tampa Bay when Seattle shortstop Jose Lopez was charged with obstruction in the 10th inning.
Crawford was on third with the bases loaded and one out when Tino Martinez hit a fly ball to left field off Clint Nageotte (1-6). On the play, Lopez moved toward third and took a position between Crawford and left fielder Raul Ibanez.
Third base umpire Paul Emmel determined that Lopez had obstructed Crawford's view of the catch and awarded Crawford home. Lopez was charged with an error on the play.
Travis Harper (4-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Starter Dewon Brazelton and Harper ended the game by retiring the last 16 batters they faced.
Brazelton allowed one unearned run and two hits in eight innings.
Angels 3, Royals 0
In Kansas City, Missouri, Kelvim Escobar struck out nine in seven innings and Robb Quinlan hit a two-run homer to lead Anaheim over Kansas City.
Escobar (6-8) allowed seven hits and walked one in the Angels' eighth shutout of the season, one behind AL-leader Boston.
Francisco Rodriguez struck out the side in the eighth, and Troy Percival finished with a perfect ninth for his 19th save in 24 chances.
Darrell May (8-12) gave up six hits in seven innings for the Royals. He retired nine of his first 10 batters, needing only 26 pitches, then got into trouble in the fourth.
Jose Guillen singled with two outs and Quinlan homered to extend his hitting streak to 17 games, a team record for rookies.
Athletics 3, Twins 1, 11 innings
In Minneapolis, Eric Chavez hit a go-ahead double in the 11th inning as Oakland survived Octavio Dotel's second straight blown save to beat Minnesota.
Oakland, which moved ahead of Texas back into the AL West lead, led 1-0 before Shannon Stewart homered off Dotel (2-1) leading off the ninth. On Wednesday, Dotel allowing a tying homer in the ninth to the New York Yankees' Gary Sheffield.
The Twins lost for just the fourth time in 17 games, and still maintain a season-high six-game lead over both Chicago and Cleveland in the AL Central.
But Eric Byrnes singled off Juan Rincon (9-4) with one out in the 11th and Chavez followed with a line drive to the left-center field gap. Jermaine Dye then hit an RBI single up the middle, and the A's won for the 10th time in 13 games to take a half-game division lead.
Indians 3, White Sox 2
In Chicago, C.C. Sabathia outpitched Mark Buehrle in a matchup of top left-handers, and Coco Crisp hit a three-run homer to lead Cleveland past Chicago.
Pinch-runner Willie Harris was thrown out at the plate by second baseman Ronnie Belliard to end the game.
The Indians' 10th win in 15 games moved them within percentage points of overtaking the White Sox for second place in the AL Central. Chicago has lost 10 of 12.
Sabathia (8-6) shut out the White Sox for five innings before Chicago pushed across an unearned run in the sixth and Juan Uribe homered with two outs in the seventh to make it a one-run game.
Sabathia gave up five hits with one walk and eight strikeouts in seven innings. Bob Wickman worked the ninth for his third save.
Buehrle (10-5) lasted 6 2-3 innings, allowing nine hits and three runs.
Roberto Alomar, rejoining the White Sox after he was traded Thursday by Arizona, went 0-for-3 and committed an error.
Orioles 9, Rangers 1
In Baltimore, Miguel Tejada, Javy Lopez and Larry Bigbie homered to help Baltimore beat Texas for its fourth straight win.
Erik Bedard (5-6) allowed one run on five hits in 6 1-3 innings. He struck out seven and walked four.
Tejada drove in two runs to increase his league-leading RBI total to 99.
The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Rangers, who stranded 10 runners and tied a season high with three errors.
Texas rookie Nick Regilio (0-3), making his third major league start, got only four outs -- tying the shortest stint by a Rangers starter this season. He gave up four runs, two earned, and just two hits. He walked five, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch.
The Orioles batted around in the first inning and scored three runs on just one hit, a two-run single by B.J. Surhoff.
National League
Albert Pujols' third hit snapped a seventh-inning tie, and Matt Morris followed another shaky outing with a strong performance Friday to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets 6-4 after acquiring star outfielder Larry Walker.
"He's a great player," Pujols said of Walker. "We just got better."
The Cardinals won for the 14th time in 18 games on a night in which they improved the NL's best offense by adding Walker in a trade with Colorado for Class-A closer Jason Burch and two players to be named.
Walker fills the only void in the lineup for a team that led the NL with a .280 average and was second with 144 homers, helping St. Louis to a major league-best 70-38 record. The Cardinals have used a variety of players in left field, and now right fielder Reggie Sanders probably will move to left to make room for Walker.
Morris (12-7) worked seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks.
"He always responds," manager Tony La Russa said. "He's had a hiccup or two this year but we have great confidence in Matt."
Mike Cameron and Richard Hidalgo hit consecutive solo homers off Kiko Calero in the ninth, but Jason Isringhausen got two outs for his 29th save in 34 chances. Cliff Floyd also homered for the Mets.
Tom Glavine (8-10) allowed four runs, three earned, and eight hits in 7 1-3 innings.
Astros 4, Expos 0
In Houston, Roy Oswalt threw a five-hit shutout to beat Montreal on a night Houston lost shortstop Adam Everett for at least four weeks with a broken left wrist.
Everett was hit by a pitch from Claudio Vargas in the fourth inning and broke the ulnar bone in his left wrist. It's unclear whether he will need surgery.
Oswalt (12-8) struck out eight and walked one in his second shutout of the season, the third of his career. Oswalt, who threw 133 pitches, has won four straight decisions overall.
Jeff Bagwell and Jeff Kent drove in two runs each for Houston.
Montreal was shut out for the 15th time this season -- no other team has been blanked more than nine times.
Marlins 7, Brewers 6
In Miami, Paul Lo Duca hit a two-run single off Dan Kolb with none out in the ninth inning as Florida beat an error-plagued Milwaukee.
Milwaukee allowed five unearned runs, including two each on errors by shortstop Craig Counsell and third baseman Wes Helms.
Kolb (0-2) fueled the comeback with a throwing error on Juan Pierre's bunt, putting runners at second and third. It was Kolb's second blown save in 32 chances this season. He had converted 17 consecutive chances.
The Marlins climbed to .500 with just their second win since acquiring five players -- including Lo Duca -- in trades last weekend. The Brewers have lost four in a row and 14 of 18 to fall six games below .500 for the first time this season.
Billy Koch (1-2) pitched a perfect ninth for Florida.
The Brewers' Ben Sheets, winless since the All-Star break, allowed four runs -- none earned -- in six innings. He struck out nine and walked none.
Rockies 8, Reds 5
In Denver, Todd Helton and Preston Wilson drove in two runs each to help Shawn Estes beat Cincinnati and win his 12th game on the night Colorado traded five-time All-Star Larry Walker.
Walker, the 1997 National League Most Valuable Player, was traded to St. Louis during the game for minor league pitcher Jason Burch and two players to be named. He had a no-trade clause but waived it to approve the deal, in which Colorado is paying St. Louis US$7.5 million.
Estes (12-4) allowed five runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings. Shawn Chacon worked the ninth for his 26th save in 34 chances.
Helton hit his 26th homer and walked twice, pinch-hitter Todd Greene homered and Wilson went 2-for-4 with a double.
Brandon Claussen (1-2) allowed six runs and five hits in six innings. Adam Dunn had a two-run homer for the Reds, Wily Mo Pena and Felipe Lopez hit solo shots, and Ryan Freel had four hits.
Padres 13, Pirates 1
In San Diego, Mark Loretta homered twice and had a career-high five RBIs to help San Diego trounce Pittsburgh and stop a four-game losing streak.
Loretta hit a solo homer in the first inning, capped a four-run second inning with an RBI double, had a sacrifice fly in a six-run sixth and hit a two-run homer off Salomon Torres in the eighth for his first career two-homer game.
Jake Peavy (8-3) won his third straight decision, allowing four hits and an unearned run in seven innings while striking out nine. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 15 of 16 starts.
Pittsburgh has lost five straight road games and eight of nine overall. Ryan Vogelsong (3-8) gave up five runs and four hits in 1 1-3 innings.
Braves 4, Diamondbacks 2
In Phoenix, Jaret Wright extended his career-best winning streak to eight games and Adam LaRoche hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning to lift Atlanta over Arizona.
Wright (10-5) hit his first career home run in 53 at-bats, and Rafael Furcal also had a solo shot for the Braves, who have won 12 of 14 games. Wright gave up two runs, seven hits and four walks in 6 1-3 innings.
Chris Reitsma got three outs for his first save in six chances.
Brandon Webb (4-13) allowed four runs, eight hits and four walks in 6 1-3 innings.
Giants 6, Cubs 2
In San Francisco, Jason Schmidt struck out 11 batters in his NL-leading 14th win, and Michael Tucker and J.T. Snow hit home runs as San Francisco downed Chicago.
One night before Chicago's Greg Maddux goes for his 300th win, Schmidt (14-4) earned his 100th career victory.
The Cubs' four-game winning streak was snapped, and their lead in the NL wild-card race shrank to one game over San Diego and two games over the Giants.
Nomar Garciaparra got three hits and scored a run, as Schmidt struggled through seven innings, allowing nine hits and three walks. Schmidt survived with timely strikeouts and a few lucky breaks, eventually stranding 10 runners -- seven in scoring position.
Matt Clement (8-11) wasn't much more effective for Chicago, allowing five hits, four walks and a season-high six runs while dropping to 2-6 in his last 11 starts.
Phillies 9, Dodgers 5, 11 innings
In Los Angeles, Cesar Izturis' throwing error led to four unearned runs in the 11th inning, including a go-ahead, two-run single by Jim Thome against All-Star reliever Eric Gagne as Philadelphia beat Los Angeles.
Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a home run, one of four hit by Philadelphia in the first two innings against Kazuhisa Ishii. Bobby Abreu, Marlon Byrd and Placido Polanco also connected for the Phillies.
Tim Worrell was charged with his fifth blown save in 18 attempts when Jayson Werth drove a 1-2 pitch over the right-field fence to tie it at 5 in the ninth.
It was his 10th home run and second of the game.
After Izturis' error, Gagne (4-1) walked Rollins with one out, and Polanco loaded the bases with a single before Thome lined a single to center and David Bell followed with a run-scoring single. Todd Pratt completed the scoring with an RBI single against Duaner Sanchez.
Roberto Hernandez (2-3) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory. The Phillies tied a season high with their fourth straight win.
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