American League
Cory Lidle allowed one run and four hits in six innings in his first start with New York and Jason Giambi hit a three-run homer to help the Yankees beat Toronto 8-1 for their fourth straight victory on Thursday.
Lidle was acquired from Philadelphia on Sunday along with outfielder Bobby Abreu, who had three hits on Thursday. Giambi had an RBI double in New York's three-run sixth that made it 8-1. Craig Wilson, acquired from Pittsburgh on Monday, added a two-run single.
PHOTO: AFP
Toronto's Ryan Roberts homered for his first major league hit. The Blue Jays lost their season-high fifth in a row and fell 8 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Yankees.
Indians 7, Red Sox 6
At Boston, Jake Westbrook became the first pitcher in 18 years to win despite allowing 15 hits and Shin-Soo Choo hit a grand slam for Cleveland.
Westbrook gave up the most hits in the majors this season, permitting six runs in eight innings. Boston got 12 singles, three doubles and a walk against him. Westbrook (8-7) ended his three-game losing streak and won for the first time since July 4.
John Dopson was the last pitcher to win while permitting 15 hits when he pitched Montreal past Atlanta 9-2 on July 3, 1988, the Elias Sports Bureau said.
Choo, traded from Seattle for Ben Broussard on July 26, hit his first career slam. Travis Hafner and Aaron Boone also homered for the Indians, who split the four-game series.
Jason Davis got three outs for his first career save.
Devil Rays 2, Tigers 1
At St. Petersburg, Florida, B.J. Upton had an RBI single in a two-run seventh inning and Tampa Bay reliever Seth McClung won for the first time since May.
Upton, playing his third game since being called up from Triple-A Durham, singled to center to tie the game at 1. The go-ahead run scored when he got caught in a rundown after rounding first base.
McClung (3-10), recalled from Durham before the game, threw 1 1-3 scoreless innings. He had been sent to the minors on June 20 to be converted from a starter to a reliever. Brian Meadows pitched the ninth for his seventh save.
Twins 8, Royals 2
At Kansas City, Missouri, Justin Morneau had two hits and three RBIs and Brad Radke allowed two runs over eight innings to lead Minnesota.
Morneau, who is tied for second in the American League with 91 RBIs, had an RBI single in the first and a two-run single in the second.
Radke (10-8), a questionable starter because of a tender shoulder, gave up four hits, walked one and struck out six. After starting the season 4-6 with a 7.44 ERA, Radke had gone 6-2 with a 2.76 ERA in his past 13 starts.
National League
AP, CHICAGO
Matt Murton tied a major league record with four doubles and drove in five runs to help the Chicago Cubs beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-3 and split a doubleheader on Thursday.
Murton's doubles tied a club record, which has been accomplished four times, the most recent being Hall of Famer Billy Williams in April 1969.
The Diamondbacks won the first game 10-2 behind rookie Stephen Drew's four RBIs.
Murton's first three doubles drove in runs, giving rookie starter Juan Mateo an early lead. Mateo (1-0) gave up two earned runs in five innings for his first major league victory.
Murton's two-run double in the first off Enrique Gonzalez (3-3) gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead. Angel Pagan and Henry Blanco also drove in runs. Gonzalez gave up six runs in five innings.
Drew homered, tripled and drove in a season-high four runs in the first game. He added an RBI single in the second game.
Pirates 3, Braves 2
At Pittsburgh, Shawn Chacon limited Atlanta to one run in five innings to win his Pittsburgh debut and prevent a sweep by Atlanta.
Mike Gonzalez pitched a perfect ninth for his 19th consecutive save, breaking the Pirates' season record set by Jose Mesa in 2004. Gonzalez has converted 23 straight save opportunities since August 2004, the longest streak in the majors. Gonzalez became the Pirates' closer this season.
Padres 5, Astros 2
At San Diego, Adrian Gonzalez had three hits and three RBIs for San Diego, which snapped a three-game losing streak and remained in first place in the National League West division.
Clay Hensley (7-8) allowed one run and four hits in 5 2-3 innings, while Houston's Matt Albers (0-1) lost in his major league start, giving up five runs and eight hits in five-plus innings.
Marlins 4, Mets 1
At Miami, Miguel Cabrera's three-run double broke a tie with two outs in the eighth inning, and Dontrelle Willis earned his first victory since July 7 for Florida.
Willis (7-8) outdueled Pedro Martinez, limiting New York to an unearned run in eight innings
Florida's Mike Jacobs broke a scoreless tie with a two-out homer in the sixth, his 15th. New York scored an unearned run in the seventh.
Dodgers 3, Reds 0
At Cincinnati, Greg Maddux made a memorable debut for Los Angeles, pitching six no-hit innings before leaving after a rain delay as it won its sixth straight.
Phillies 8, Cardinals 1
At St. Louis, Chase Utley singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 35 games and finished with three hits as Philadelphia completed the three-game sweep and handed St. Louis its seventh straight loss.
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