Hideo Nomo took a shutout into the eighth and Carl Crawford snapped a scoreless tie with a sixth-inning single to help the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Oakland Athletics 2-1 Thursday.
The Devil Rays' bullpen protected a one-run lead in the eight and ninth inning sto give the 36-year-old right-hander his 199th win in his career in the US and Japan.
"I'm not too concerned about the 199th win. I'm just glad our team was able to win the last three games," Nomo said through an interpreter after the Devil Rays finished a sweep of the struggling A's, who have dropped five straight and 14 of 17.
PHOTO: EPA
It was Nomo's seventh attempt to move within one win of the 200 victories he needs to automatically gain membership in the Meikyukai, one of two Hall of Fame equivalents in Japanese baseball. He has 121 wins in 11 major league seasons.
"One more," Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella said. "Let's hope he gets it the next time out."
Crawford had two of Tampa Bay's four hits off Oakland starter Dan Haren (1-7), including a RBI single that gave the Devil Rays a 1-0 lead in the sixth. Julio Lugo followed with a run-scoring single to make it 2-0.
Trever Miller got two outs in the eighth, and Danys Baez worked the ninth for his sixth save in nine opportunities.
Yankees 4, Tigers 3
In New York, Alex Rodriguez hit his major league-leading 17th home run to help New York rally for a victory over Detroit.
The Yankees won their fourth straight and 15th in 17 games, and moved one-half game ahead of Boston, which lost in Toronto, for second place in the American League East. It's the first time since April 10 New York was higher than third in the division.
The Yankees haven't led the Red Sox in the standings since April 13, when New York was 4-4 and Boston was 3-5. The rivals open a three-game series today.
Rodriguez's homer in the fifth inning against Jeremy Bonderman (5-3) followed a single by Hideki Matsui and gave the Yankees third baseman 49 RBIs, also tops in the majors.
The Tigers had an early 3-1 lead against Kevin Brown (4-4), who gave up 10 hits in seven innings.
Mariano Rivera gave up a single to Jason Smith in the ninth but struck out the side for 11th save.
Blue Jays 8, Red Sox 1
In Toronto, Eric Hinske homered as part of a six-run first inning, and Toronto thrashed Boston to complete a three-game sweep.
Boston, which has lost seven of 10, opens a three-game set Friday in New York against the rival Yankees.
Russ Adams had a career-high four RBIs for the Blue Jays, who swept the Red Sox in a three-game series for the first time since May 30-June 1, 2003. Toronto is 6-2 versus Boston this season.
The Blue Jays sent 10 batters to the plate in the first against Boston starter Wade Miller (1-1). Reed Johnson led off with a triple before Orlando Hudson hit a sacrifice fly. Hinske later hit a towering two-run homer to right.
Miller, making his fourth start of the season, allowed seven runs on six hits in just two innings.
Staked a 7-0 lead after two innings, Gustavo Chacin (5-3) allowed one unearned run on seven hits in six innings.
Rangers 8, Royals 1
In Arlington, Texas, Kenny Rogers won his sixth straight start for Texas, which hit three home runs to beat Kansas City.
Rogers (6-2) gave up a run in the first and allowed six baserunners through the fourth, even with a three-up, three-down inning in that stretch. But the 40-year-old left-hander held the Royals to that single run over seven innings, lowering his AL-leading ERA to 1.69.
Richard Hidalgo homered for the fifth time in five games, and Alfonso Soriano and Mark Teixeira also homered in Texas' sixth straight win.
Jose Lima (0-4) allowed eight runs, leaving the game after Teixeira's 11th homer led off the fifth to make it 8-1. Lima is winless in 13 starts since Sept. 14 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, including all 11 of his starts for the Royals.
Orioles 5, Mariners 2
In Baltimore, Melvin Mora, Rafael Palmeiro and Miguel Tejada homered to back a strong pitching performance by Daniel Cabrera, and Baltimore completed a three-game sweep of the Seattle.
Mora had three hits for the Orioles, whose eighth win in 11 games moved them a season-high 14 games over .500 (30-16).
Cabrera (4-3) allowed one run and three hits in seven innings before leaving with a 3-1 lead. The right-hander struck out eight and walked two.
Seattle rookie Jeremy Reed hit his first major league homer with two outs in the ninth.
Seattle starter Ryan Franklin (2-6) gave up three runs and eight hits over seven innings in falling to 0-4 lifetime against Baltimore.<
^Twins 5, Indians 4, 11 innings=
In Cleveland, Shannon Stewart homered with two outs in the 11th inning off David Riske to give Minnesota a split of the four-game series with Cleveland.
Stewart ripped a 2-2 pitch from Riske (1-2) over the wall in straightaway center field and into the empty picnic pavilion as the Twins won the third straight extra-inning game between the AL Central rivals.
Jesse Crain (5-0) pitched the 10th and Joe Nathan worked a shaky the 11th for his 14th save.
Angels 3, White Sox 2
In Anaheim, California, John Lackey pitched seven sharp innings and Dallas McPherson hit a go-ahead two-run homer as Los Angeles edged Chicago.
Lackey (5-2) gave up two runs and six hits, struck out five and walked two as the teams split the four-game series that was dominated by solid pitching on both sides.
Scot Shields got the final four outs for his sixth save in seven chances.
McPherson homered to center field on his first pitch from Jose Contreras (2-2) with two outs in the seventh. Garret Anderson scored after hitting a leadoff single and advancing to second on a sacrifice by Jeff DaVanon.
Jason Jennings pitched seven strong innings, and Preston Wilson and Todd Greene hit solo homers to help the Colorado Rockies snap a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Jennings (2-6), who entered with a 7.05 ERA, allowed one run on seven hits. He walked two and struck out two.
"Today is real big," Jennings said. "The key was I wasn't overdoing it, I wasn't pressing too hard to make a great pitch. I kind of lost it in my last three starts."
After Neifi Perez and Todd Walker led off the Rockies' eighth with a single and a walk, Jay Witasick relieved Jennings and retired Derrek Lee, Jeromy Burnitz and Aramis Ramirez -- the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 hitters -- to end the threat.
The Rockies posted just their fourth road win in 24 games away from home.
"We're all frustrated, everyone from the top to the bottom," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "We got a number of hits and no runs. We had chances to get back in the game or get the lead."
Chicago starter Carlos Zambrano (3-3) allowed three runs on five hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked three.
Pirates 8, Reds 4
In Cincinnati, Oliver Perez continued his success against Cincinnati and got plenty of support from a balanced offense, leading Pittsburgh to a victory that snapped a four-game losing streak.
Daryle Ward and Matt Lawton hit home runs and Rob Mackowiak drove in three runs as the Pirates won for the seventh time in their last 10 games in Cincinnati and snapped the Reds' three-game winning streak. Eight of Pittsburgh's nine starters had at least one hit apiece by the sixth inning, including two by Perez.
Perez (3-4) has posted back-to-back wins for the first time this season, and he is 5-0 in seven starts against the Reds dating to last season. He allowed three hits and two runs with five walks and eight strikeouts in 5 1-3 innings.
Mackowiak gave Pittsburgh a 2-0 first-inning lead with a two-run single off Cincinnati starter Elizardo Ramirez (0-3).
Mets 12, Marlins 4
In Miami, Kris Benson won his third straight start, Jose Reyes hit two triples, and New York routed Florida after being shut out in the last two games of their series in Atlanta.
Benson (3-1) gave up three runs and five hits over six innings and struck out four. Heath Bell followed and struck out five in two scoreless innings.
Frank Castillo (0-1) took the loss in his first major league start since Sept. 16, 2002, when he pitched for Boston. The 36-year-old Castillo, who was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque on Wednesday, allowed five runs and four hits in 4 1-3 innings.
Padres 10, Diamondbacks 0
In Phoenix, Arizona Jake Peavy pitched a two-hitter for his first career shutout, and San Diego handed Brandon Webb his first loss of the season.
Dave Roberts matched career highs with four hits and four RBIs, and Brian Giles and Ryan Klesko homered off Webb (6-1). He gave up a season-high six runs -- three earned -- and allowed nine hits and three walks in 6 2-3 innings, striking out six.
The 24-year-old Peavy (5-0) struck out two, walked none, and needed only 94 pitches (65 strikes) in his first career complete game.
Dodgers 6, Giants 4
In San Francisco, pinch-hitter Ricky Ledee had a tiebreaking two-run single in the ninth inning and Antonio Perez hit a two-run homer among his career-high four hits and drove in three runs as Los Angeles beat San Francisco.
Eric Gagne converted his first save opportunity of the season, but he allowed consecutive doubles to Michael Tucker and Omar Vizquel in the ninth. The right-hander hadn't saved a game since Sept. 26 against the Giants in San Francisco. Gagne spent the first 35 games this year on the disabled list with a sprained ligament in his right elbow and had made only four appearances.
Yhency Brazoban (2-0) recorded two outs and got the win despite allowing Edgardo Alfonzo's tying two-run single in the eighth.
Jason Christiansen (2-1) walked J.D. Drew to start the inning, then gave way to Tyler Walker. He allowed a single to Perez followed by a 3-2 walk to Paul Bako before Ledee's go-ahead hit.
New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is proud to be in therapy, calling it "an incredible thing" that helped him discover a different life.
Rodriguez told the television show "Extra" in an interview taped to air on Wednesday that he was reluctant to go to therapy because "in many ways therapy is synonymous with a bad thing, and why let the train wreck come before you fix it." But he credits his wife, Cynthia, for convincing him to go.
"I think it's a different life that I've discovered and I thank Cynthia for that ... because therapy is an incredible thing and you might get to know someone who you didn't even know was in there," he said.
Because it is so rare for an athlete to say he is seeking help, Rodriguez's comments made the front page of the Daily News on Wednesday.
Rodriguez donated US$200,000 on Tuesday to the Children's Aid Society to benefit mental health programs that work with young students in New York. He has said in the past that he was deeply affected when his father left his family when he was 9.
Rodriguez hit two home runs on Tuesday in New York's 12-3 win over Detroit. He leads the majors in homers and RBIs.
When he first started seeking help, Rodriguez saw three different therapists. Now he goes to two, and believes all children would be helped with therapy.
"For those kids, if they can have that advantage at this point in their lives, I think it would behoove them," he said.
Rodriguez and his wife had their first child, Natasha Alexander, in November.
Schilling heals
Curt Schilling's return from an injury to his surgically repaired right ankle could take up to 12 weeks.
Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona said on Thursday he doesn't know when his ace will return from the disabled list, but acknowledged that he heard a month ago it could be as little as two weeks or as long as three months.
"I think that was based on the doctor trying to tell Schilling that this is best case, worst case," Francona said before the Red Sox lost 8-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Schilling's protective boot was removed from the right ankle last Friday, and Boston's team doctor didn't put a timetable on when Schilling might pitch again.
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