American Leauge
When the Yankees' coaches congratulated him after Sunday's 8-5 victory over the Texas Rangers, manager Joe Torre tried to play down what he had just done.
"How about another 1,000?" one of the coaches said. Then Torre laughed. "No, no, no," he said.
Torre's road to 1,000 Yankees victories has been glorious at times, with six pennants and four World Series titles. But even with the talent that George Steinbrenner, the principal owner, has given him, it has not always been easy.
PHOTO: AP
"It's unbelievable; I don't care how much talent he's had," said Larry Bowa, the Yankees' third-base coach, who has 418 victories as a manager.
"It's a milestone not too many people achieve. You've got to be good, you've got to be liked, you've got to be respected. Joe's all that. You've got to think of him as a Hall of Fame manager."
Torre became the fourth Yankees manager to reach 1,000, joining Joe McCarthy (1,460), Casey Stengel (1,149) and Miller Huggins (1,067). Catcher Kelly Stinnett gave him the game ball, and Torre said he would save the lineup card.
PHOTO: AP
"It's pretty incredible when you figure the company you're in," Torre said. "I've always said to myself that all these things, I'll look back on and really appreciate. But 1,000 is a lot of wins, especially when you sign a two-year contract back in '96 and think about what's happened since then. The Yankee history book is a special place to be."
Torre's last five victories have come in succession, with the Yankees sweeping two series on this trip, at Tampa Bay and at Texas. They lead the American League East with an 18-11 record and face the Boston Red Sox, who are 19-12, at Yankee Stadium today.
Steinbrenner will be there, at least for part of the series, and he seems to be in a buoyant mood.
"I'm very proud of Joe," Steinbrenner said in a statement through his spokesman, Howard Rubenstein. "He's making the right managerial moves. He knows how to lead the team and he's providing great leadership."
Rubenstein said that Steinbrenner and Randy Levine, the team president, tried to call Torre after Sunday's game but could not reach him. Another call is forthcoming. "They want to talk to him and congratulate him," Rubenstein said.
Torre could have thanked Hideki Matsui for the victory. Matsui reached base five times, with a single, a three-run homer and three walks. Torre used Matsui as the designated hitter because he said he thought Matsui looked tired on Saturday.
"Actually, I wasn't really tired," Matsui said through an interpreter. "But looking at the results, I guess the DH spot fared pretty well today."
After Alex Rodriguez led off the second inning with an infield single, Matsui singled to right. Rodriguez scored the game's first run on a groundout by Bernie Williams, who was 9 for 22 on the trip.
With the score tied, 1-1, in the fourth, Matsui came up against Robinson Tejeda with no outs and two runners on. Tejeda left a first-pitch fastball up in the strike zone, and Matsui blasted it off the wall behind the Rangers' bullpen in right-center field, 415 feet from the plate.
The Yankees led by 4-1, and three singles in the inning led to two more runs. The Yankees would need all those runs, despite a solid start from Taiwan's Wang Chien-ming (王建民, 2-1), who allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings.
Robinson Tejeda (1-1) allowed six runs and six hits in three-plus innings. The Rangers have lost their last eight games against the Yankees.
The Yankees' bullpen has not blown a lead for a starter this season, but Tanyon Sturtze did not help Sunday. He is struggling at a crucial time, because the Yankees may need to find room in their bullpen if Octavio Dotel returns within a few weeks.
It is clear now that Scott Proctor is going nowhere, despite having minor league options. Proctor bailed Sturtze out of a seventh-inning jam after Sturtze walked the leadoff man, threw away a grounder with an off-balance heave to second and walked the No. 9 batter.
"I wanted to wring his neck," Torre said of Sturtze, referring to the error. "You've got to keep in mind the score. He looked like he was trying to get rid of the ball so we can get a double play, but we just needed one out there. He dug himself a hole. Fortunately, Proctor dug him out of it."
Proctor ranks second among AL relievers in innings, with 20 1/3, and he has held opponents to a .171 batting average. He got two groundouts and a strikeout to escape the jam, allowing one run.
Torre called Proctor "a different person," and Proctor has credited Chad Bohling, the Yankees' director of optimal performance, with helping him. Bohling has a master's degree with a specialization in sports psychology and was hired as a mental-skills coach last season.
"Just confidence, man," Proctor said. "Coming into the year, getting the job done sometimes, you can build on it."
Red Sox 10, Orioles 3
In Boston, Jason Varitek hit a first-inning grand slam off Kris Benson (4-3) that powered Boston to its 11th consecutive win over the Orioles.
Lenny DiNardo (1-1) gave up two runs -- one earned -- and two hits in five innings for first major league victory. He struck out five and walked five.
Benson allowed nine runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings. Baltimore, which finished an 0-5 trip, has lost 12 of 15.
Blue Jays 3, Angels 1
In Toronto, Casey Janssen (1-2) got his first Major League Baseball victory, allowing one hit in 7 1-3 innings -- Chone Figgins' sharp single to center with one out in the sixth.
B.J. Ryan finished the two-hitter for his seventh save. Garret Anderson's sacrifice fly drove in the first run this year off Ryan, who has thrown 15 innings.
John Lackey (3-3) pitched a six-hitter in his first complete game of the season, but the Angels lost for the eighth time in 10 games,
Frank Catalanotto hit an RBI double in the sixth, and Troy Glaus homered in the seventh.
White Sox 3, Royals 2
In Chicago, Joe Crede hit a tiebreaking single off Elmer Dessens (2-2) with two outs in the eighth.
Brandon McCarthy (2-1) got one out, striking out John Buck in the eighth with Angel Berroa on third. Bobby Jenks struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 10th save.
Chicago has won 11 of its last 12 home games and eight of 10 overall. The Royals dropped to 2-14 on the road this year.
Twins 4, Tigers 2
In Minneapolis, Johan Santana (3-3) struck out 11 and didn't allow a hit until Ivan Rodriguez singled leading off the seventh. Magglio Ordonez followed with a two-run homer.
Juan Rincon pitched the eighth and Joe Nathan finished for his fourth save, completing a five-hitter.
Michael Cuddyer had two hits and two RBIs and Luis Castillo had two hits and a home run. Mike Maroth (4-2) allowed four runs and nine hits in five innings.
Indians 2, Mariners 0
In Seattle, C.C. Sabathia (2-0) won in his second straight start since coming off the disabled list, scattering seven hits over eight innings, striking out four and walked none.
Bob Wickman pitched the ninth for sixth save, allowing one-out singles by Carl Everett and Adrian Beltre before inducing Kenji Johjima to ground into a double play. Wickman got his team record 130th save, one more than Doug Jones.
Jarrod Washburn (2-5) allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings. Grady Sizemore had a sacrifice fly in the third and Adrian Beltre doubled home a run in the seventh for Cleveland, which was ouhit 9-4.
National League
Barry Bonds is heading home, one behind the Babe.
Bonds hit his 713th homer Sunday night, moving within one of tying Babe Ruth for second place on baseball's career list.
The San Francisco Giants' slugger hit a mammoth shot in the sixth inning off Philadelphia right-hander Jon Lieber, sending a 2-1 pitch off the facade of the right-field upper deck during a 9-5 loss to the Phillies.
As he took his slow trot around the bases, some of the Phillies fans -- who had been needling Bonds with boos and derisive chants throughout the series -- stood up, cheered and clicked photographs.
Bonds' fifth homer of the season was estimated at 450 feet, one of the longest ever at Philadelphia's hitter-friendly park. He needs 42 to tie Hank Aaron for the major league record.
The solo homer cut the Phillies' lead to 5-3, but they soon broke it open and pushed their winning streak to eight games for the first time in 15 years. The last time Philadelphia won eight in a row was a 13-game run in 1991.
Lieber (2-4) allowed four runs and six hits in seven innings. He is 2-0 in his last three starts after losing his first four outings.
Pat Burrell hit a two-run homer off Matt Morris (2-3) and drove in three runs for the Phillies. David Bell had three hits and scored twice.
Cardinals 9, Marlins 1
In Miami, St. Louis overcame right-hander Sidney Ponson's departure after three innings because of elbow discomfort, beating woeful Florida to complete its first series sweep in Miami in eight years.
Ponson, who's off to a 3-0 start, was pulled for a pinch hitter after throwing 42 pitches. He earned his first Major League Baseball career RBI with an infield hit, gave up one hit, walked two and retired the last five batters before leaving with the Cardinals ahead 2-0.
St. Louis took a 7-0 lead for the third game in a row. Albert Pujols hit a two-run single, giving him 38 RBIs. So Taguchi had two hits and two RBIs, and Scott Spiezio doubled twice and drove in a run.
The Marlins were swept for the third consecutive home series. They've lost 10 consecutive home games, one shy of the club record set in 1999.
Braves 13, Mets 3
In New York, John Smoltz threw six strong innings on three days' rest and Jeff Francoeur hit a three-run homer to help the Braves avoid a three-game sweep.
Smoltz also drove in two runs and Brian Jordan added a solo home run for the Braves, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Smoltz (2-2) allowed three hits, while striking out eight and walking two.
Nationals 5, Pirates 4
In Washington, rookie Mike O'Connor won for the second time in three starts since joining the Nationals' rotation, and Jose Guillen hit a two-run homer.
O'Connor (2-1), allowed three runs, five hits and four walks in five innings, hitting two batters and throwing a wild pitch.
Jason Bergmann, Felix Rodriguez, Mike Stanton and Chad Cordero finished, with Cordero getting four outs for his third save.
Rockies 5, Astros 3
In Denver, Aaron Cook pitched into the ninth inning, Todd Helton hit a three-run homer and the Rockies finished off the three-game sweep.
Cook (3-3) allowed two runs and six hits. He walked two and struck out two, improving to 2-0 in three career starts against the Astros.
Padres 6, Cubs 3
In San Diego, Khalil Greene went 4-for-4 and drove in four runs to help San Diego win its eighth straight game.
The defending National League West Division champs moved above .500 (16-15) for the first time since beating San Francisco on opening day.
Dodgers 10, Brewers 2
In Los Angeles, Aaron Sele pitched 6 2-3 solid innings in his National League debut to help the Dodgers complete a three-game sweep.
Olmedo Saenz and Rafael Furcal each hit two-run homers and Jeff Kent also drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who have won four straight following a five-game losing streak that dropped them into last place in NL West. Russell Martin also hit his first MLB home run.
Sele (1-0) allowed a run and five hits, retiring 13 consecutive batters at one point.
Reds 9, Diamondbacks 8
In Phoenix, Adam Dunn homered and matched his career high with five RBIs to help the Reds stop the Diamondbacks' seven-game winning streak.
Scott Hatteberg, Austin Kearns and Edwin Encarnacion also homered for the Reds, who won for the second time on their five-game trip and averted getting swept for the first time this season.
CPBL
By Paul Huang, Contributing reporter
Behind staff ace Lin "Little Chick" En-yu's one-hit effort, the Macoto Cobras stunned the President Lions 9-1 in Tienmu Sunday to win the rain-shortened three-game series 2-1.
In 6-2/3 innings of work, the second-year Cobras right-hander, who took the league by a storm last season en route to an MVP performance, only allowed a solo homer by Lin "Wild Hog" Hong-yuan in the fifth inning. He struck out nine and walked one before being pulled for hitting Lin with a pitch in the seventh.
Standing opposite of Lin was Lions starter Eric Cyr of the US, who saw his earned run average rise from a previous league-best of .82 to 2.14 after allowing seven runs on 11 hits over just 2-2/3 innings of play. The usually dependable southpaw struggled with his control during his shortest outing of the season after walking three batters while fanning none.
The serpents broke open a 1-0 game in the third with six runs off Cyr when they sent 12 batters to the plate, highlighted by Dominican newcomer Rudy Pemberton's three-run blast to deep left field.
They tagged on two more runs in the sixth when Pemberton struck again with a run-scoring single before a defensive error by the cats accounted for another run.
Dominican hitting tandem Pemberton and Amaury Garcia went a combined 6-for-10, accounting for six of the Cobras' nine RBIs.
Bears 6, Whales 1
Tsai Jien-wei's three-run, bases-clearing double in the bottom of the fifth broke a 1-1 draw in Sunday's series finale between Chinatrust Whales and the La New Bears in Kaohsiung as the home Bears went on to claim the 6-1 win to salvage a 2-2 series split.
After dropping the first two games of the series in front of a home crowd, the Bears shutdown the Whales 7-0 Saturday before rounding out the week with an impressive 6-1 rout.
Veteran pitcher Liang Rue-hao was sharp in his first start of the season -- only surrendering a first-inning run on two singles and a walk.
Reliever Lee Fong-hua came in in the third inning, keeping the Whales bats in check with five frames of shutout ball before fellow bullpen mate Tsai Ying-fong succeeded him with scoreless eighth and ninth innings.
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