Juan Uribe slid in under catcher Jorge Posada's tag to score a disputed run in the 10th inning, lifting the Chicago White Sox over the New York Yankees 2-1 on Wednesday.
The White Sox, with the best record in the major leagues, took two of three at Yankee Stadium. Each game was a tight, one-run decision. Uribe tripled with one out in the 10th against Mariano Rivera (5-3). Scott Podsednik followed with a grounder to second baseman Robinson Cano and Uribe barely beat the throw home.
Neal Cotts (4-0) got the win. Dustin Hermanson relieved with a runner on first and retired the last two batters for his 30th save in 31 opportunities.
PHOTO: AFP
Blue Jays 4, Tigers 3
At Toronto, Orlando Hudson homered in the bottom of the ninth inning for Toronto.
Hudson drove a 1-2 pitch from Craig Dingman (0-1) over the center-field wall for his 10th homer this season. Shea Hillenbrand also connected for the Blue Jays, who have won two in a row after losing the series opener.
Dmitri Young hit a two-run homer and Magglio Ordonez also went deep for the Tigers, who have lost five of six.
Justin Speier (2-2) pitched a scoreless ninth for the victory.
Orioles 9, Devil Rays 5
At Baltimore, Jay Gibbons' second career grand slam capped a five-run first inning, and the Orioles clinched their first series win since the All-Star break.
Miguel Tejada drove in three runs for Baltimore, which improved to 4-2 under interim manager Sam Perlozzo.
Rodrigo Lopez (11-6) came within one out of a complete game. He allowed nine hits, struck out three, walked two and improved to 4-1 in his last six starts.
Aubrey Huff and Jonny Gomes homered for the Devil Rays. Casey Fossum (6-9) allowed nine runs and seven hits in four-plus innings in the loss.
Jeff Suppan outdueled Ben Sheets and the St. Louis Cardinals swept another three-game series at Miller Park this season after beating the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 on Wednesday.
Suppan (11-8) allowed four hits and four walks over seven innings as the Cardinals improved to 10-3 against Milwaukee this year.
David Eckstein drove in two with a double, and Jason Isringhausen closed out St. Louis' eighth straight win at Miller Park, including six this year. The Cardinals also swept three at Milwaukee in April.
Sheets (8-8) gave up two earned runs and five hits in his second complete game of the season.
He struck out nine and didn't walk a batter.
Reds 8, Cubs 2
At Chicago, Ryan Freel homered on the first pitch of the game and Cincinnati sent Chicago to its eighth straight loss -- tying a season high.
Eric Milton (6-12) allowed a run on four hits, striking out three and walking one in seven innings, and Freel's single keyed a seven-run fourth as the Reds completed a three-game sweep.
Freel was 2-for-3, driving in three runs and scoring two before leaving with a strained right quadriceps. He sent the first pitch from Rich Hill (0-2) beyond the left-field bleachers for his third homer of the season and first leadoff shot of his career.
Kerry Wood pitched a scoreless ninth for the Cubs in his third relief appearance this season.
Braves 5, Giants 4, 12 innings
At Atlanta, Andruw Jones added to his major league lead with two more homers, and Marcus Giles' RBI single gave the Braves the victory after they squandered a three-run lead in the ninth.
Giles waited until the last possible moment to extend his hitting streak to 14 games -- with two outs and two runners on, he lined a single to left off Brian Cooper (0-1). Wilson Betemit, who led off the inning with a walk, easily beat the throw home.
Blaine Boyer (1-1) earned his first major league win with two scoreless innings.
Jones homered in the sixth and eighth innings to up his season total to 37.
Marlins 10, Diamondbacks 5
At Miami, Mike Lowell and the Marlins pulled the hidden-ball trick to stem a Diamondbacks rally, and Florida scored four runs in the eighth to rout Arizona.
Miguel Cabrera hit his 26th homer and Juan Pierre scored three runs for Florida, which won its second in a row after being swept in a double-header in Colorado on Monday.
With the Diamondbacks trailing 6-5, Luis Terrero hit a leadoff single off Marlins closer Todd Jones. Terrero advanced on Quinton McCracken's sacrifice and went to third on Tony Clark's pinch-hit single.
Once Terrero took his lead off third base, though, Lowell sauntered over and tagged out the stunned baserunner.
Rookie Jason Vargas (3-0) pitched five solid innings to win his second straight start, while Brad Halsey (8-8) allowed six runs and eight hits in the loss.
Astros 7, Nationals 6
At Houston, Morgan Ensberg and Orlando Palmeiro doubled with the bases loaded, and Houston held off Washington despite a shaky ninth by Brad Lidge.
Craig Biggio also had a run-scoring double and four hits for the Astros, who resumed their home dominance after dropping the series opener on Tuesday. The Astros are 37-16 at Minute Maid Park.
Jose Vidro and pitcher Livan Hernandez homered for the Nationals, who have not strung together back-to-back wins on the road since July 3.
Wandy Rodriguez (7-5) lasted five innings and earned the win despite struggling against Hernandez (13-5). The Nationals' starter also had an RBI double and a single.
Lidge allowed two runs in the ninth, but finished for his 28th save.
Rockies 6, Pirates 5, 10 innings
At Denver, Matt Holliday hit a run-scoring single in the 10th inning and had a three-run homer, and Todd Helton had a pair of doubles in his first game off the disabled list to lift Colorado past Pittsburgh.
After Helton hit a one-out double off Rick White (3-4) in the 10th, Holliday won it with a shot up the middle that Tike Redman mishandled in center.
Helton finished 2-for-5 and drove in a run after missing 14 games with a strained calf, and Holliday was 2-for-4 to help Colorado to its eighth win in 12 games.
David Cortes (2-0) worked a perfect 10th to get the win.
Mets 9, Padres 1
At San Diego, Kris Benson took a one-hit shutout into the ninth inning and Mets third baseman David Wright tied career highs with four hits and six RBIs as New York thrashed San Diego.
A night after Pedro Martinez had his worst start of the year in an 8-3 loss to San Diego, Benson (8-4) dominated the NL West leaders, who had their five-game winning streak snapped.
The right-hander allowed one run and three hits in 8 1-3 innings, striking out six and walking one. He retired the side in order six times.
Brian Lawrence (6-12) lost for the sixth time in seven decisions.
Wright hit a three-run shot into the left-field seats in the fourth for his 17th homer of the season.
Phillies 9, Dodgers 5
At Los Angeles, rookie slugger Ryan Howard hit his first grand slam to break a tie in the ninth inning as give Philadelphia a win over Los Angeles.
Howard drove Yhency Brazoban's first pitch deep into the seats in right-center, the ball sailing an estimated 453 feet.
The homer was Howard's eighth of the year.
He also hit a two-run shot off Brazoban (2-7) in the 10th inning at Philadelphia on July 19 to give the Phillies a 5-4 win.
The Phillies learned shortly before the game that slugging first baseman Jim Thome is expected to undergo elbow surgery on Tuesday and miss the rest of the season.
Ugueth Urbina (2-0) pitched a hitless eighth inning for the win.
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