American LeagueMelky Cabrera robbed Manny Ramirez of a tying homer with a leaping catch in the eighth inning, and the New York Yankees edged the Boston Red Sox 2-1 on Tuesday behind a strong start from Wang Chien-ming (
Bernie Williams homered and Jason Giambi drew a bases-loaded walk to break a seventh-inning tie for New York, which played without ailing captain Derek Jeter (bruised right thumb) for the second consecutive night.
The first-place Yankees (35-22) have won the first two meetings of a four-game series to move one-and-a-half games in front of Boston in the American League East. They won for the ninth time in 11 games overall and moved a season-high 13 games above .500.
PHOTO: AFP
Wang was locked in a pitchers' duel with David Pauley (0-1), who was making his second major league start, when the Yankees came to bat in the seventh.
Pauley retired the first two hitters, but New York loaded the bases on singles by Miguel Cairo and Johnny Damon and a four-pitch walk to Cabrera. With no left-handers in the Boston bullpen, right-hander Rudy Seanez relieved Pauley to face the lefty-swinging Giambi.
The count stretched to 3-2 and then Seanez threw ball four, forcing in the go-ahead run.
White Sox 4, Tigers 3
At Chicago, Alex Cintron hit a three-run homer off reliever Fernando Rodney in the eighth inning to lead Chicago over Detroit.
With Detroit ahead 3-1, Rodney walked Jermaine Dye leading off the eighth and Joe Crede with one out. Cintron then hit a 3-2 pitch out to right for his first homer of the season, sending the White Sox to their second victory in seven games.
Brandon McCarthy (3-3) tossed two scoreless innings of relief to get the win, and Bobby Jenks pitched the ninth for his 16th save in 17 opportunities.
Dye hit his 17th homer leading off the second inning for Chicago.
Mariners 4, Twins 2
At Seattle, Felix Hernandez outlasted Minnesota's Francisco Liriano in a matchup of two of the best young arms in baseball, and Seattle handed Minnesota's Liriano his first loss.
The 20-year-old Hernandez (5-6) allowed one run and scattered six hits over seven innings, winning for the third time in his last four starts. He struck out five and threw 60 of his 100 pitches for strikes, paying back a 3-1 loss to Liriano and the Twins on May 26.
Seattle scraped a pair of runs off the 22-year-old Liriano (4-1) in the fourth, just the second and third runs he has allowed since moving into the Twins' rotation on May 19. The Mariners added another in the sixth before Liriano was lifted.
Liriano gave up seven hits and struck out three in six-plus innings.
Ichiro Suzuki had four hits and Mike Morse drove in a pair of runs as Seattle broke a four-game losing streak to the Twins.
In other games it was: Athletics 7, Indians 6; Angels 12, Devil Rays 2; Blue Jays 6, Orioles 4; Rangers 6, Royals 2.
National League
Eric Gagne earned his first save in nearly a year and Nomar Garciaparra homered off former teammate Pedro Martinez, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers over the New York Mets 8-5.
Matt Kemp also homered for the fourth time in his last six games for the Dodgers, who took advantage of two errors and a wild pitch to score six runs in the sixth inning.
Derek Lowe (5-3) won his fourth straight start in his first matchup against Martinez, who was Lowe's teammate with Boston in 2004 when the Red Sox won their first World Series title since 1918. Lowe gave up two runs and five hits over six innings on the ninth anniversary of his first big league victory. He struck out three and walked four.
In the ninth, Gagne and catcher Russell Martin became the first All-French-Canadian battery in the major leagues. Gagne struck out two in a perfect inning for his first save since June 12, 2005. The 2003 NL Cy Young pitching award winner returned May 30 from his second elbow surgery in an 11-month span, but had never thrown to Martin in a regular-season game.
Reds 7, Cardinals 0
At St. Louis, Eric Milton threw seven sharp innings and Cincinnati got homers from Felipe Lopez and Adam Dunn, beating St. Louis for its sixth straight win.
Lopez hit his sixth homer in the first off Chris Carpenter for a two-day cycle after hitting a double, triple and single in his last three at-bats on Monday. The Reds matched their season-best winning streak while slicing the Cardinals' National League Central lead to one game.
St. Louis has lost four of five overall.
Scott Rolen had two hits for the Cardinals, who are 1-2 since Albert Pujols went on the 15-day disabled list with a strained muscle on his right side.
In other games it was: Phillies 10, Diamondbacks 1; Braves 5, Nationals 3; Brewers 5, Padres 1; Astros 4, Cubs 1; Rockies 5, Pirates 4; Giants 2, Marlins 1.
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