American LeagueWang Chien-ming (
"He threw the ball incredible," Rodriguez said. "That's the best he's thrown all year."
Matsui had surgery Friday to repair his left wrist, broken Thursday night when he tried for a diving catch against Boston. The left fielder will be sidelined for at least three months.
PHOTO: AP
"We know we don't have Matsui, but again, it's not going to take away from our resolve and what we need to do," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "We're going to have to pull together and get this thing accomplished and, hopefully, tonight was step one."
Helped by four double plays, Wang (3-1) put together the best of his 25 career starts, never allowing a runner past first as he defeated Barry Zito (2-3). Mixing his fastball with sinkers and sliders, he gave up three singles, walked two and struck out none, getting 20 outs on grounders.
"He's one of the toughest pitchers we've faced this year," said Mark Ellis, who grounded out three times against Wang. "He's got so much movement on his fastball. Tonight, he was locating his fastball real well."
Wang was backed by some dandy defense. Second baseman Robinson Cano backhanded Adam Melhuse's grounder near second leading off the eighth, and made a strong, leaping throw from the edge of the outfield grass for the out. Andy Phillips made several nice stops at first.
Torre said he would have left Wang in for the ninth with a four-run lead or perhaps even three. With a lesser margin, Mariano Rivera came in for the third straight night.
Pitching with a cold, he walked Marco Scutaro with one out, allowed a single to Ellis and fell behind in the count 2-0 to Nick Swisher, who took a big cut and missed. Swisher then ended the game by grounding into Oakland's fifth double play, giving Rivera his seventh save in eight chances.
"I was 150 percent sure he was going to throw a cutter, and he did. The 2-1 moved a lot more than the 2-0 did," Swisher said. "Second time I've faced him, great situation to be in, and he made me ground into a double play. His cutter, it's a heat-seeker, and it aims for handles, aims at nothing but handles of bats."
Rodriguez, booed in his first two at-bats after striking out, pulled Zito's changeup over the wall in left-center, near the 399-foot sign, leading off the sixth inning. Before the homer, Rodriguez was hitting .210 (13-for-62) in his career against Zito -- including a grand slam in New York's season-opening 15-2 win at Oakland.
s"It was down and away. It was right where I wanted it to be," Zito said. "It was more bad selection than a bad pitch."
It was A-Rod's second go-ahead homer in three nights.
"I'm taking a very aggressive approach," he said. "My hands are coming alive."
Williams added his second homer of the season in the eighth, a drive off former Yankee Randy Keisler, who was called up before the game and made his Oakland debut.
With Matsui sidelined for three months or more and right fielder Gary Sheffield out probably until the end of the month with a wrist injury, Torre said the Yankees will primarily use Bubba Crosby and Melky Cabrera as their corner outfielders. Against the left-handed Zito, Cabrera started in left and Williams in right, and Crosby replaced Cabrera in the eighth inning.
"It's hard to replace Matsui or Sheffield. It's almost impossible, those guys mean so much to this team," Rodriguez said, "but we do have enough in the tank on this team. There's an abundance of talent in this clubhouse for us to go out and pitch well, and field well and hit well."
Oakland, which has lost three straight and six of nine, dropped under .500 at 17-18. The A's were without third baseman Eric Chavez (bacterial infection) and catcher Jason Kendall (serving a suspension) for the fourth straight game, and designated hitter Frank Thomas was out, a day after straining his right quadriceps.
Zito has been victimized by poor run support all season: While he's been in, the A's have not scored more than three runs in any of his eight starts, and while he has allowed one run in 20 1-3 innings over his last three starts, he has gone just 1-1 in that span.
He allowed five hits in six innings, struck out four and walked four, losing his seventh straight decision against the Yankees and dropping to 2-9 against them in 15 regular-season starts. Oakland has been shut out in its last three games at Yankee Stadium.
"Unfortunately, just one swing, one pitch, was the difference," Zito said.
Devil Rays 4, Blue Jays 1
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Seth McClung pitched seven strong innings and Tampa Bay held off Toronto to win consecutive games for the first time in nearly a month.
Jonny Gomes and Julio Lugo drove in runs off rookie right-hander Casey Janssen (1-3), who also hurt his chances by allowing one runner to score from third on a balk and another to race home on a wild pitch.
McClung (2-4) gave up a third-inning RBI single to Vernon Wells, but was barely threatened after that. The right-hander allowed six hits, struck out six and walked one while allowing two or fewer runs for the fourth straight start.
Tyler Walker worked the ninth for his fifth save in six opportunities.
Toronto's Alex Rios went 0-for-3 to end his career-best 12-game hitting streak.
Orioles 6, Royals 5
At Baltimore, Corey Patterson homered, had four RBIs and scored the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning to lead Baltimore past Kansas City.
Patterson hit a three-run homer in the second inning and drove in a run in the sixth with a groundout before leading off the eighth with a single against Elmer Dessens (2-3). He stole second as Kevin Millar struck out and went to third on a grounder before scoring on single by rookie Brandon Fahey.
Todd Williams (1-0) pitched two innings of one-hit relief and Chris Ray got three outs for his ninth save.
Emil Brown homered and drove in two runs for the Royals, whose modest three-game winning streak ended. Kansas City is a major league-worst 2-15 on the road.
Ramon Hernandez had two hits and scored twice for the Orioles, who had lost six of seven and nine of 11.
Rangers 6, Red Sox 0
5 innings, rain
At Boston, Hank Blalock was 2-for-3 with a homer and Kameron Loe earned his first career complete game when Texas beat Boston in a rain-shortened game.
Loe (2-3) allowed five hits and a walk, striking out four before the game was called in the bottom of the sixth with a 2-2 count on leadoff hitter David Ortiz. Matt Clement (3-3) gave up four runs and six hits, walking two and striking out four in five innings.
The Red Sox put runners on second and third in the third and fourth innings, both times with one out. But Loe pitched out of it with two groundouts each time, then got the side in order in the fifth.
Twins 10, White Sox 1
At Minneapolis, Johan Santana struck out 10 in seven innings and Minnesota hit three home runs against Chicago.
Justin Morneau, Tony Batista and Joe Mauer homered for the Twins, who have won three straight and five of six as they try and climb out of a big hole left by a 9-15 April.
Santana (4-3) scattered five hits and struck out at least one batter in all seven of his innings to win his fourth straight start. The Venezuelan left-hander reached double-digit strikeouts for the third time in four starts and 26th of his career. He has allowed just four runs in three starts this month.
Jon Garland (2-2) was shaky for the White Sox, giving up seven runs and 11 hits in 5 1-3 innings.
Tigers 5, Indians 4
At Cleveland, Kenny Rogers won his third straight start, and Craig Monroe and Marcus Thames hit home runs to lead Detroit over Cleveland.
Monroe snapped a 2-2 tie with a two-run homer in the seventh inning off Cliff Lee (2-4). Ivan Rodriguez had an RBI double later in the inning.
Casey Blake homered twice for Cleveland, which lost its fourth straight.
Rogers (6-2) gave up two runs and eight hits over 6 1-3 innings. The 41-year-old struck out four and walked one in beating the Indians for the second time this season and improving to 5-0 against Central Division teams.
Todd Jones worked the ninth for his eighth save in nine chances.
Angels 12, Mariners 7
At Anaheim, California, Juan Rivera hit his third career grand slam and Tim Salmon had a homer and two RBIs as Los Angeles won for the fourth victory in 14 games.
Kelvim Escobar (5-2) allowed six runs and 11 hits in six innings for the Angels, who matched their highest run total of the season.
Hector Carrasco allowed a run and three hits over the final three innings for his first save of the season.
Joel Pineiro (4-3) allowed six runs and six hits in three innings. He retired nine of 17 batters after winning his previous three starts against the Angels.
Seattle narrowed the gap to 6-5 with four runs in the fourth, including Jeremy Reed's three-run homer. But rookie reliever Bobby Livingston then gave up six runs in the bottom half of the inning on consecutive bases loaded walks and Rivera's grand slam.
National League
Mike Piazza had four hits and San Diego won for the 12th time in 13 games, beating Chicago 10-5y.
Piazza doubled in the go-ahead run in the fourth, and the Padres scored five runs in the fifth, an inning in which there were three errors by the Cubs, who have lost 12 of 14 games.
San Diego's Dave Roberts extended his hitting streak to 10 games, going 3-for-4 and scoring three runs. Brian Sweeney (2-0) allowed one run in three innings of relief, after starter Woody Williams strained his left calf running the bases in the second.
Chicago's Glendon Rusch (1-5) allowed six runs, five earned, in 1 2-3 innings of relief.
Braves 6, Nationals 2
At Atlanta, John Smoltz pitched a four-hitter and Atlanta beat Washington for its fourth win in five games.
The Braves broke open a 3-2 game with three runs in the seventh. Andruw Jones had a run-scoring single that knocked out Washington starter Ramon Ortiz (0-4), and Jeff Francoeur drove in two more with a bases-loaded single that extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Francoeur had three RBIs overall.
Smoltz (3-2) made his only big mistake in the fifth, surrendering a two-run homer to Ryan Zimmerman. The right-hander pitched his second complete game of the season and struck out seven, moving past Chuck Finley for 21st place on the career list with 2,611.
Phillies 8, Reds 4
At Cincinnati, left-hander Cole Hamels threw five shutout innings in a solid major league debut, and Shane Victorino's four hits sent surging Philadelphia over Cincinnati.
Victorino and Ryan Howard had two-run homers that helped the Phillies win for the 11th time in 12 games, a stretch that includes one impressive streak -- nine straight victories -- and one equally impressive debut.
The 22-year-old Hamels gave up one hit -- Felipe Lopez's double with two outs in the fifth -- and struck out seven on a raw night, meeting the grand expectations for Philadelphia's top pitching prospect.
Ryan Madson (2-2) gave up solo homers to Austin Kearns and Edwin Encarnacion in the sixth, tying it at 2.
That's when a move by Reds manager Jerry Narron backfired. Outfielder Adam Dunn, making his first start of the season at first base, let Jimmy Rollins' grounder deflect off his glove for a two-base error that opened the seventh. Utley followed with his go-ahead single off Elizardo Ramirez (1-3).
Pirates 12, Marlins 9
At Pittsburgh, Jason Bay had four RBIs after getting dropped to sixth in the batting order, and Pittsburgh overcame an early five-run deficit to beat Florida.
Craig Wilson and Jose Castillo each had three hits for the Pirates. Jeromy Burnitz and Freddy Sanchez drove in two runs apiece, and Nate McLouth scored four times. Bay hit a bases-loaded triple.
Pittsburgh has won three of five, improving to 11-25. The Marlins (9-24) have dropped six of seven and 11 of 14.
Florida blew a 5-0 first-inning lead, then rallied to tie it at 9 before Bay's sacrifice fly off Todd Wellemeyer (0-2) scored McLouth for the go-ahead run in the eighth. Ronny Paulino added a two-run single.
Matt Capps (1-0) got two outs for his first major league win, and Mike Gonzalez earned his fifth save with a scoreless ninth. With the bases loaded, he struck out Reggie Abercrombie and retired pinch-hitter Chris Aguila on a soft looper to second to end it.
Cardinals 5, Diamondbacks 3
At St. Louis, Jim Edmonds homered and drove in three runs, helping Mark Mulder and St. Louis beat Arizona.
Albert Pujols drove in his major league-leading 44th run and David Eckstein singled twice for his 15th multihit game. The Cardinals have won six of seven overall and are 13-4 against the Diamondbacks the last four seasons.
Edmonds has gotten off to a slow start both in the field and at the plate. He entered the game hitting .243, but is 6-for-15 with five RBIs in his last five games. He had a sacrifice fly off Juan Cruz (1-1) in the first after Pujols' RBI single, and Edmonds' fifth homer, a two-run shot, snapped a 2-all tie in the fifth.
Mulder (4-1) gave up six hits in six innings, the only damage Eric Byrnes' two-run homer in the fifth. Those are the only runs Mulder has allowed the Diamondbacks in three starts covering 24 innings, the first two appearances producing a one-hitter in 2001 when he was with the Athletics and a second shutout last year.
Jason Isringhausen gave up an RBI single to pinch-hitter Johnny Estrada in the ninth before finishing for his 11th save in 13 chances.
Astros 12, Rockies 2
At Houston, Morgan Ensberg had four RBIs, including a tie-breaking three-run homer in the sixth inning, and Houston beat Colorado.
Craig Biggio and Mike Lamb also had home runs for the Astros, who came up one run shy of their season high.
The loss gave Colorado its first three-game losing streak of the season.
Ensberg took Rockies starter Jason Jennings (2-3) to a full count with the scored tied 1-1 and the crowd on its feet and cheering wildy. He then homered to left field to drive in Biggio and Lance Berkman.
Colorado's Matt Holliday had an RBI-single in the third to extend his hitting streak to seven games. Luis Gonzalez added a homer in the ninth off Trever Miller, who was activated off the disabled list on Friday.
Houston starter Fernando Nieve pitched 5 1-3 innings and allowed six hits and one run. Mike Gallo (1-0) pitched 2-3 innings and allowed one hit and no runs to get the win
Brewers 9, Mets 6
At Milwaukee, Prince Fielder homered twice, Geoff Jenkins hit a three-run double and Milwaukee finally figured out Jose Lima in a victory over New York.
The Brewers scored their first seven runs with two outs, including six in the fifth inning to deal the NL East-leading Mets their fourth loss in five games. Carlos Delgado homered and David Wright drove in two runs for New York.
Lima (0-2) came in with a 10-0 record and 1.92 ERA in 14 appearances against Milwaukee, and the Mets' starter was cruising into the fifth, allowing just two hits and one run.
Meanwhile, there was little in-between for Brewers starter Dave Bush (3-4), who either couldn't find the plate or fired 86 mph fastballs down the middle in the process of giving up four runs and seven hits in six innings.
Derrick Turnbow retired Kaz Matsui on a grounder with runners at second and third for his 12th save in 12 chances.
Dodgers 6, Giants 1
At San Francisco, Barry Bonds is still sitting at 713 home runs, one short of tying Babe Ruth for second place on the career list after the Giants lost to the Dodgers.
A sellout crowd of 42,885 showed up hoping to witness history. Instead, Bonds went 0-for-3 with an intentional walk in his fourth straight homerless game, and blew a play in the outfield, too.
The Giants threw a belated 75th birthday bash for his godfather, Willie Mays, and celebrated manager Felipe Alou's 71st birthday. But Kenny Lofton hit a two-run single in Los Angeles' three-run third off Matt Morris (2-4) and singled in another run in the fifth for a season-high three RBIs. Nomar Garciaparra had three hits and drove in a run for the sixth straight game.
Brad Penny (3-1) pitched five scoreless innings as the Dodgers won for the sixth time in seven games since a season-long five-game skid. Penny came out because of stiffness in his back.
Immediately following surgery Friday to repair a broken wrist that will sideline him for at least three months, Hideki Matsui apologized for getting hurt.
Matsui was injured trying to make a diving catch in left field during the New York Yankees' 5-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night. The broken radius bone ended his consecutive games played streak that dated to August 1993 and included 1,250 games with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan and 518 with the Yankees.
"Due to this injury, I feel very sorry and, at the same time, very disappointed to have let my teammates down," Matsui said in a statement. "I will do my best to fully recover and return to the field to help my team once again."
Yankees manager Joe Torre spoke with Matsui, who was operated on at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. Torre expects Matsui will return to the ballpark in the next few days and remain in the New York area while his wrist heals.
Torre wasn't surprised by the apology.
"It's all about responsibility -- what he thinks his responsibility is to this team, this organization, because the Yankees committed to him and he feels it's a two-way street in that regard," Torre said. "He's done that before here, where he's made an error, he's come up and apologized to me."
Matsui's statement also praised his manager.
"I would like to thank Joe Torre from the bottom of my heart for having been considerate of my consecutive games played streak these past several years and for placing me in the lineup every day," he said.
With right fielder Gary Sheffield also on the disabled list with a left wrist injury that will keep him out of the lineup until at least late May, New York will go with a makeshift outfield that includes Bubba Crosby and Melky Cabrera in the corners on most days, with Bernie Williams sharing time.
Torre estimated that Matsui will miss most of the remainder of the season.
"We don't know what the timetable is. It's probably a minimum of three months," Torre said. "I think my feeling is, with everything involved and trying to get back into game shape, it's probably closer to the end of the year, the end of the season."
Matsui was put on the 15-day disabled list, and outfielder Kevin Reese was recalled from the Yankees top-level minor-league affiliate in Columbus, Ohio.
Torre addressed the Yankees before Friday night's game against Oakland to tell them how the surgery went. After getting about an hour of treatment on his shoulder and foot, center fielder Johnny Damon said the absences of Matsui and Sheffield left a big void.
"That's two to three runs a game. And that's quality at-bats that give us more and more chances to succeed," Damon said. "But we know what we have to do. We know during this time when Gary's out, we've got to bear down."
Damon said that when he ran into the center-field wall to catch a drive by Doug Mirabelli on Thursday, "It rattled me a little bit."
"I got to try to be a little more graceful," he said.
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