Gary Sheffield hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the ninth inning and the New York Yankees sent the fading Cleveland Indians to their eighth straight loss, 6-4 on Monday night.
The Yankees stopped a slide of their own, winning for only the second time in eight games and snapping a three-game losing streak. But shortstop Derek Jeter came out in the ninth after he bruised his left elbow when he was hit by a pitch from Bob Wickman.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Enrique Wilson pinch ran for Jeter, and Sheffield followed with his 32nd homer off Wickman (0-1).
Tom Gordon (5-3) blew a lead in the eighth but still got the win. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth for his 42nd save.
Twins 7, Rangers 4
In Arlington, Texas, Johan Santana allowed one run in eight innings to win his seventh straight decision, and Minnesota padded its lead in the AL Central.
Santana (14-6) gave up four hits, struck out 11 and walked one to help the Twins win for the seventh time in eight games, stretching their division lead over Cleveland to eight games.
Santana, who hasn't lost since July 11, struck out Brian Jordan in the second inning to give him 200 this season -- the first Twins pitcher with that many since Bert Blyleven had 215 in 1986.
Shannon Stewart and Henry Blanco homered for the Twins.
Hank Blalock and Gary Matthews Jr. homered for Texas, which remained a game behind Boston in the AL wild-card race.
Blue Jays 3, Red Sox 0
In Toronto, Ted Lilly struck out a career-high 13 in a three-hit shutout, stopping Boston's six-game winning streak and pitching the Blue Jays past the Red Sox.
Lilly (9-8) set a club record for strikeouts by a left-hander -- the previous mark of 11 was accomplished twice by David Wells and once by Al Leiter.
Reed Johnson hit a leadoff homer against Martinez (13-5), sending the last-place Blue Jays to their fourth consecutive victory. Lilly walked two and threw 126 pitches in his second career shutout and fourth complete game.
Tigers 7, White Sox 0
In Detroit, Jeremy Bonderman struck out a career-high 14 and scattered seven hits in his first career shutout.
Bonderman (7-10) threw his first career complete game to win for the first time since July 7. He was 0-4 in his previous eight starts. Bonderman walked one, and his 14 strikeouts were two shy of the club record -- done by Mickey Lolich twice in 1969.
Carlos Guillen backed Bonderman's outstanding start with a two-run homer for Detroit, which has won five of seven.
Jose Contreras (11-6) lost for the first time since being acquired from the New York Yankees on July 31. He gave up five runs and six hits in five innings, and walked a career-high seven.
Athletics 4, Orioles 3
In Oakland, Jermaine Dye hit a tying single in the sixth and Adam Melhuse followed with a go-ahead single, leading the A's over former teammate Miguel Tejada and Baltimore.
Tim Hudson (9-4) pitched 7 1-3 solid innings to beat the Orioles for the second time in six days. The A's sent Baltimore to its seventh consecutive loss and maintained their half-game lead over Anaheim in the AL West.
Tejada, who cried when he drove into the Coliseum parking lot for the first time in more than 10 months, went 0-for-3 in his first trip back to Oakland since signing a US$72 million, six-year contract with Baltimore last offseason.
The 2002 AL MVP received a lengthy standing ovation when he came to the plate leading off the second inning, then reached on Eric Chavez's error -- snapping a career-high 47-game errorless streak for the Gold Glove third baseman.
Buddy Groom (3-1) took the loss.
Angels 9, Royals 4
In Anaheim, Bartolo Colon allowed just two singles through the first seven innings and Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Guillen homered on consecutive pitches, helping Anaheim beat Kansas City for its sixth straight victory.
Coming off a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium, the Angels staked Colon to a 9-0 lead after six innings en route to their 14th win in 18 games. They are a season-best 17 games over .500 (71-54).
Colon (13-9) allowed five hits in 7 2-3 innings, including back-to-back homers in the eighth by Calvin Pickering and Aaron Guiel after a leadoff walk to Abraham Nunez.
Colon struck out six and walked two. He is 8-1 in his last nine starts.
Royals shortstop Angel Berroa, last season's AL Rookie of the Year, was recalled from Double-A Wichita before the game and went 0-for-4.
Darrell May (9-14) allowed five runs and nine hits in five innings, tying Arizona's Brandon Webb for the most losses in the majors.
Other result: Devil Rays 9, Mariners 0
Roger Clemens won for the first time in almost a month -- the 323rd victory of his career -- and Carlos Beltran hit a three-run homer to lead the Houston Astros over the Philadelphia Phillies 8-4 Monday night.
Clemens (13-4), who left in the fourth inning of his start against the Phillies last week after injuring his right calf, hobbled around on the injured leg throughout much of his impressive seven-inning outing.
But he fought through the discomfort, allowing only two runs and five hits in his first win in five starts since July 28 against Arizona. He also had eight strikeouts -- his most since the win over the Diamondbacks -- and two walks.
Jim Thome hit his 38th homer for Philadelphia. Cory Lidle (7-12) is still looking for his first win since joining the Phillies in a trade from Cincinnati two weeks ago.
Cubs 8, Brewers 3
In Chicago, Carlos Zambrano took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and struck out nine to lead Chicago over Milwaukee.
Moises Alou went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two doubles for the Cubs, who won for the fifth time in six games and moved less than a percentage point ahead of San Francisco in the NL wild-card standings.
The Brewers have lost a season-high six straight.
Geoff Jenkins broke up the no-hit bid with one out in the seventh when he blooped a double that barely stayed fair down the left-field line.
Zambrano (12-7) then gave up three more hits and three runs before he was lifted for Kent Mercker, who pitched 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief.
Chicago shortstop Nomar Garciaparra missed the game because of a strained left wrist and is day-to-day.
Brewers starter Ben Sheets (9-10) gave up six runs and 10 hits six innings. He is 0-5 in eight outings since July 10.
Other results: Expos 8, Dodgers 7; Padres 9, Mets 4; Diamondbacks 5, Pirates 4
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