American League
Daniel Cabrera pitched seven innings of four-hit ball and Jay Gibbons capped a sixth-inning rally with a three-run homer, helping the Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians 4-0 on Saturday.
Cabrera (6-7), who had been 0-3 in his last four starts, won for the first time since June 5 at Detroit. He walked two and struck out five, becoming the first Orioles starter to record a victory since Rodrigo Lopez on June 21.
Tim Byrdak pitched the eighth and B.J. Ryan worked the ninth, finishing the Orioles' fifth shutout of the season. The Orioles, who had lost eight of nine, stole a season-high five bases.
Baltimore's Rafael Palmeiro went 0-for-3 and remained eight hits shy of 3,000 for his career. Palmeiro is trying to join Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray as the only players in major league history with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.
The Indians lost for just the seventh time in 25 games. Kevin Millwood (3-6) allowed four runs -- three earned -- and three hits over six innings.
Rangers 6, Mariners 5
At Seattle, Gary Matthews homered with two outs in the ninth inning, leading Texas to its fourth straight victory.
The Rangers, who lead the majors with 133 home runs, also got a three-run shot from Michael Young in the second and a solo shot from David Dellucci -- his third homer in three games -- in the fourth.
Adrian Beltre had his first two-homer game since joining the Mariners, but struck out against rookie Kameron Loe (2-1) with the game tied and two men on to end the seventh.
J.J. Putz (1-3), who came in with two outs in the eighth, gave up the home run to Matthews as Seattle matched a season high with its seventh straight loss.
Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 19th save in 23 opportunities.
White Sox 5, Athletics 3
At Oakland, Jon Garland won his major league-leading 13th game and Joe Crede hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh, helping Chicago snap Oakland's eight-game winning streak.
Garland (13-3), who pitched a complete-game, four-hitter in a 6-0 win over the A's in the Coliseum on April 25, threw fastballs in the mid-90s most of the game and had the A's off-balance and swinging early in the count to win in his second try at 13 victories.
Crede connected for his 12th home run of the season with two outs in the seventh, a solo shot to left-center. He also added an RBI single in the second for Chicago, which owns the best record in the majors at 54-25.
Dustin Hermanson threw seven pitches in the ninth for his 19th save in 20 chances as the White Sox won for the fourth time in five games.
Kirk Saarloos (4-5) was tagged for four runs and seven hits in seven innings and didn't walk a batter for the second straight start.
Twins 4, Devil Rays 1
At Minneapolis, Justin Morneau hit a three-run homer, Kyle Lohse pitched eight strong innings and Minnesota beat Tampa Bay again.
Joe Mauer added an RBI double for Minnesota, which won for the fifth time in six games.
Jorge Cantu drove in a run with a fourth-inning single. The Devil Rays have lost seven of their last eight games overall and seven in a row to the Twins.
Lohse (7-6) gave up just four hits and one walk while striking out six. Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his 22nd save in 24 chances.
Seth McClung (0-4), making his second start since his recall from Triple-A Durham last week, gave up six hits, four runs and three walks in six innings. He struck out eight.
Yankees 8, Tigers 4
At Detroit, Tony Womack hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth to break a tie and Bernie Williams followed with three-run homer to lift New York over Detroit.
Williams finished with four hits and five RBIs, matching a season high.
Dmitri Young's three-run homer gave Detroit a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning before the Yankees rallied with two runs in the sixth, one in the seventh and four in the ninth off closer Troy Percival (1-2).
Tom Gordon (2-3) entered the game in the seventh for New York, and retired five straight before Carlos Guillen reached on an error and Magglio Ordonez walked. Gordon got out of the eighth unscathed by striking out Ivan Rodriguez, who reacted by whipping his bat toward Detroit's dugout, hitting Young's foot in the on-deck circle.
Angels 5, Royals 3
At Kansas City, Mo., Bartolo Colon allowed one hit through seven innings, then walked off the field with the team trainer after surrendering three more in the eighth of the Angels' victory.
There was no immediate indication what, if anything, was wrong with the right-hander. Retiring 19 in a row in one stretch, Colon (11-4) wound up going 7 1-3 innings and giving up three runs and four hits, with five strikeouts and no walks.
Chone Figgins had three hits and scored twice for the AL West-leading Angels. Francisco Rodriguez earned his 15th save in 17 chances.
Jose Lima (1-7) gave up four runs and 10 hits in six innings, and his future with the Royals could be in question. The veteran right-hander now has only one win in 17 starts this year and an ERA of 7.58. His 73 earned runs and 80 total runs allowed are the most among AL pitchers.
Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 4
At Boston, Manny Ramirez hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning, lifting Boston to a comeback victory.
It was just Boston's third win in 10 games against Toronto this season and came one night after the Red Sox lost 15-2.
Johnny Damon had a pair of doubles, extending his hitting streak to 18 games for the Red Sox.
After David Ortiz singled off reliever Pete Walker (3-2), Ramirez hit a fly ball down the right-field line that hooked around the foul pole. It was his 20th homer of the season, the 11th straight year he has reached the mark.
Mike Timlin (3-1) recorded one out in the seventh inning, after starter David Wells was ejected, to pick up the victory. Struggling closer Keith Foulke got the final four outs for his 15th save in 18 chances. He got Reed Johnson to fly to right with runners on second and third to end the eighth.
National League
AP, PHILADELPHIAAP
Brett Myers took a shutout into the ninth inning, and the slumping Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 6-3 on Saturday.
Pat Burrell and David Bell homered for the Phillies, who won for just the third time in 13 games.
Myers (6-4) allowed three runs and four hits in 8 1-3 innings. He struck out nine, including seven looking, in his first win since June 4. In his previous two starts, Myers was roughed up for 13 runs and 18 hits in just 7 1-3 innings.
Billy Wagner got the final two outs for his 20th save in 22 chances.
Burrell gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead with a homer to left-center field off starter Horacio Ramirez (7-5) in the second inning. It was his 17th home run of the season.
Marlins 7, Mets 3
At New York, Juan Encarnacion had four hits and three RBIs, finally providing some run support for Brian Moehler (3-6).
Pinch-hitter Paul Lo Duca added an RBI single in the sixth inning, when Florida took advantage of a key error by fill-in first baseman Jose Offerman and scored four times.
Encarnacion has reached base safely in 10 consecutive plate appearances, tying the Florida record set by Derrek Lee in September 2002.
Carlos Beltran hit a two-run double, but he had an up-and-down performance -- appropriately -- on his own bobblehead day. New York fell back to .500 and last place in the National League East.
Kris Benson (6-3) failed to hold a two-run lead and lost for the first time in six starts.
Nationals 4, Cubs 2
At Chicago, Jose Guillen homered and Tony Armas won a road start for the first time in more than two years, leading Washington to its fifth straight victory.
Armas (4-4) hadn't won a road start since April 2003 and had been 0-6 in 10 starts since. He went five-plus innings on Saturday, allowing seven hits and two runs.
Chad Cordero earned his major league-leading 29th save. He's converted 26 straight save opportunities.
Batting .381 entering the game, Chicago's Derrek Lee continued his remarkable first half with three more hits, including his 25th homer, a triple and a single. Needing a double to hit for the cycle, Lee flied to center in the eighth inning.
Jerome Williams (1-3) lasted seven innings, giving up five hits and four runs.
Astros 4, Reds 3, game 1
Reds 11, Astros 6, game 2
At Cincinnati, Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer, and Felipe Lopez fell a double short of the cycle Cincinnati earned a doubleheader split and snapped a six-game losing streak.
A throwing error by Houston starter Ezequiel Astacio led to four unearned runs and helped the Reds rebound from a 4-3 loss in the opener of the doubleheader, forced by a rainout Thursday night.
Adam Everett homered for the second time in two games and the Astros rallied three times for the Game 1 victory.
Houston rookie starter Wandy Rodriguez (4-3) recorded back-to-back wins for the first time in his career and Reds starter Aaron Harang (4-7) fell to 0-5 in his last six starts.
In the nightcap, Ramon Ortiz (4-6) allowed six runs, five earned, and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings.
Astacio (0-4) gave up seven runs, three earned, and 11 hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
Diamondbacks 7, Dodgers 5
At Los Angeles, Jose Cruz Jr. hit one of four solo homers off Derek Lowe, and added an RBI double as Arizona snapped a four-game losing streak.
Arizona left fielder Luis Gonzalez preserved the victory by diving into the stands to catch Jason Phillips' bid for a game-tying, two-run homer in the eighth.
The win was just the fifth in 16 games for the Diamondbacks, while the Dodgers lost for the 13th time in 18 games.
The four homers were the most Lowe (5-9) has given up in 414 major league appearances -- 138 starts.
Claudio Vargas (3-4) won his third straight start, giving up six hits and four runs, two earned, in five innings. Two of the hits were solo homers by J.D. Drew, who drove in three runs.
Brewers 5, Pirates 3
At Milwaukee, Rickie Weeks homered late to snap a tie for the second straight game, hitting a two-run shot in the eighth to give Milwaukee a victory.
Weeks, the Brewers' top draft pick in 2003, hit a three-run home run in the seventh on Friday night with the score tied at 4 and Milwaukee went on to beat Pittsburgh 8-4.
On Saturday, Weeks ruined a sparkling major-league debut for Pittsburgh left-hander Zach Duke, who gave up three runs on five hits while striking out nine in seven innings.
Salomon Torres (2-4) relieved Duke in the eighth and gave up Weeks' 419-foot drive into the left-field bleachers.
Derrick Turnbow pitched the ninth for his 15th save. Ricky Bottalico (2-1) pitched a perfect eighth for the win.
Rockies 3, Cardinals 1
At St. Louis, Jamey Wright pitched effectively into the seventh inning and Brad Hawpe's two-run single in the sixth broke up a scoreless game, leading Colorado over St. Louis.
The Rockies have taken two of the first three games in the four-game series against the team with the NL's best record, moving into position for their first road series win of the year.
Albert Pujols extended his hitting streak to 14 games for the Cardinals, who are 5-4 on this homestand with one game to go.
Wright (5-8) allowed an unearned run in 6 1-3 innings, ending a three-game losing streak. Brian Fuentes worked the ninth for his 10th save in 12 chances.
Jason Marquis (8-6) held the Rockies to two hits through five innings before Colorado broke through with a two-out, two-run rally in the sixth.
The streaking Softbank Hawks got home runs in three consecutive at-bats Sunday from Nobuhiko Matsunaka, Kenji Jojima and Julio Zuleta on their way to a 6-3 win over the Orix Buffaloes.
Matsunaka, Jojima and Zuleta all hit solo homers in the bottom of the fourth inning at Yahoo Dome to power the Pacific League-leading Hawks to their 11th straight win.
Matsunaka, who leads the league with 27 home runs, connected for a three-run homer in the fifth to give Sadaharu Oh's team a commanding three-run lead over the Buffaloes.
Junji Hoshino picked up the win after holding the Buffaloes to three runs on seven hits over 6-1/3 innings. Takahiro Mahara retired the side in the ninth for the save,
Lions 5, Lotte 2
At Chiba Marine Stadium, Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out 12 while giving up two runs on 11 hits over the distance as the Seibu Lions edged Lotte 5-2. Lotte starter Hiroyuki Kobayashi took the loss.
Golden Eagles 6, firghters 5
At Fullcast Stadium, Koichi Isobe drove in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth to lift the Rakuten Golden Eagles to a 6-5 victory over the Nippon Ham Fighters.
Hisashi Iwakuma picked up the win despite giving up five runs on eight hits over eight innings. Kazuo Fukumori retired the side in the ninth for the save.
Swallows 5, Dragons 2
At Jingu Stadium, Akinori Iwamura connected for a three-run homer in the third inning and Ryuji Miyade went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs as the Yakult Swallows downed the Chunichi Dragons 5-2.
Carl Pavano will not start for the New York Yankees on Sunday at Detroit because the right-hander has a sore shoulder.
Yankees manager Joe Torre has decided to start Wang Chien-ming (王建民) of Taiwan today in Pavano's place. Tanyon Sturtze will follow at home against Baltimore, then Randy Johnson will pitch on short rest.
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