Major League Baseball roundup
Damon’s key hit spurs Red Sox past Angels BOSTON (AP) – Johnny Damon is still trying to knock down the center-field wall. Now he’s using his bat instead of his body.
Three games after knocking himself out of a game by running into an outfield fence, a stitched-up Damon hit a three-run double to break an eighth-inning tie and send the Boston Red Sox to a 7-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
“That’s one of the hardest-hit balls I’ve ever seen,” said Angels reliever Scot Shields, who was charged with his third blown save after Damon lined a 1-2 pitch over Steve Finley’s head.
“Any time I get 1-2 on a guy I think I’m in a good spot,” Shields said. “But you look at the year he’s having and you don’t have him until he’s walking back to the dugout.”
The Angels led 4-1 and Kelvim Escobar was coasting, allowing just three Red Sox hits and one unearned run over six innings. But Escobar, in just his second start since right elbow bone spurs landed him on the disabled list, was lifted after 95 pitches so Angels manager Mike Scioscia could turn the game over to his usually dependable bullpen.
Boston scored three times off Brendan Donnelly in the seventh and three more off Shields (4-3) in the eighth. The Angels had been 23-3 when leading after six innings, and the bullpen had stranded 44 of 50 inherited runners coming into the game – best in the AL.
“Brendan and Scot have been there all year for us,” Scioscia said. “They hit a little bump in the road here the last outing or two, but they’ll bounce back.”
Mike Myers (2-1) gave up one hit and an intentional walk in one inning, striking out two to win the matchup of first-round opponents from last year’s AL playoffs. Keith Foulke pitched the ninth, giving up three consecutive singles before striking out Finley with the bases loaded for his 12th save – his first since May 20.
It was 4-4 when Trot Nixon led off the eighth with a single and stole second on Jason Varitek’s strikeout. After Kevin Millar popped out, Bill Mueller was walked intentionally and No. 9 hitter Mark Bellhorn was walked unintentionally.
Damon, who lined out with the bases loaded in the second inning, followed with a shot that turned Finley around in straightaway center, clearing the bases.
“When a ball’s hit like that, you’re pretty much in no-man’s land,” said Damon, who’s batting .347 overall and 5-for-10 with two doubles and 13 RBIs this season with the bases loaded. “That ball just all of the sudden took off. I definitely wouldn’t have caught it.”
Adam Kennedy was 4-for-4 for Los Angeles. Chone Figgins had three hits, including a two-run homer that gave the Angels a 4-1 lead in the fifth.
The bottom of the order also helped Boston tie it in the seventh. Millar doubled, Mueller walked and Bellhorn doubled to make it 4-2. Damon followed with an RBI groundout, and Edgar Renteria walked before Shields replaced Donnelly.
David Ortiz, who won Thursday’s game with a last-chance homer, hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-all. Manny Ramirez grounded out to end the inning.
David Wells allowed four runs and nine hits in seven innings, striking out four. He fanned Finley in the first inning for his 2,000th career strikeout.
Orlando Cabrera, who endeared himself to Boston fans during last year’s World Series run, went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored. The former Red Sox shortstop got a standing ovation before his first at-bat.
Tigers 5, Orioles 3
DETROIT – Ivan Rodriguez homered and hit a tiebreaking double, and Jason Johnson pitched into the ninth inning to lead the Tigers.
Detroit (26-26) has won six of seven – including a three-game sweep last weekend at Baltimore – to reach .500 this late in the season for the first time since Sept. 8, 2000.
Johnson (4-4) gave up three runs – one earned – and six hits in eight-plus innings, striking out six and walking one. He improved to 3-1 in six career starts against Baltimore, where he played from 1999-03.
Baltimore’s Bruce Chen (5-3) allowed three runs and five hits while striking out four in 6 1-3 innings.
White Sox 6, Indians 4
CHICAGO – Jermaine Dye had three hits and Orlando Hernandez came off the disabled list to get his first win since May 11 to lead the White Sox.
Activated before the game after being put on the DL with a sore shoulder, Hernandez (6-1) had control problems, hitting four batters and squandering a 4-0 first-inning lead. He gave up four runs and six hits in six innings, including a game-tying three-run homer to Coco Crisp in the third.
Neal Cotts pitched two shutout innings of relief and Dustin Hermanson pitched the ninth for his 12th save in as many chances.
Carl Everett hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the fifth when the White Sox broke the tie against Jake Westbrook (2-8), who had settled down after giving up six first-inning singles and four runs.
Twins 6, Yankees 3
MINNEAPOLIS – Lew Ford homered, tripled and drove in three runs to lead the undermanned Twins past the slumping Yankees.
An upset George Steinbrenner held a conference call Friday afternoon with manager Joe Torre and GM Brian Cashman after watching his team get swept by the Kansas City Royals, the worst team in the major leagues. Steinbrenner made it clear that the team’s five-game losing streak was unacceptable.
However, the Yankees (27-27) squandered a 3-0 lead and lost their sixth in a row, their longest skid since dropping seven straight in September and October 2000.
The Twins roughed up Yankees starter Mike Mussina (5-4) with two home runs and eight hits to win their third in a row and sixth in their last eight.
Brent Abernathy hit his first homer of the season to start the Twins’ comeback in the fourth, and Kyle Lohse (5-3) settled down after a rocky start to get the victory.
Royals 2, Rangers 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Matt Stairs homered and Runelvys Hernandez pitched six solid innings, leading the resurgent Royals to their first four-game winning streak in 21 months.
Buddy Bell joined Whitey Herzog as the only Royals managers to win their first four games.
Stairs hit a 1-0 pitch from Pedro Astacio (2-6) over the fence in left leading off the second inning for his seventh home run and second in two games. The Rangers, who swept the Royals at home last week, became the last team in the majors to lose three straight.
Nationals 3, Marlins 2
WASHINGTON – Ryan Church drove in the winning run with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly off John Riedling in the 11th inning Friday night to give the Washington Nationals a 3-2 victory over the Florida Marlins.
Jamey Carroll walked to open the bottom of the 11th, and Jose Guillen hit a grounder to Nate Bump (0-3) that seemed destined for a rally-ending double play. But the reliever’s throw to second sailed over shortstop Alex Gonzalez’s head for an error. Matt Perisho then walked Nick Johnson to load the bases with no outs.
One out later, Church hit a shallow fly to left, and Carroll easily beat left fielder Miguel Cabrera’s throw to the plate, which was wide and short.
Luis Ayala (4-3) threw just one inning, getting out of a bit of a jam in the 11th with an inning-ending double play.
The Nationals, who didn’t have a hit after the fourth inning, got their 19th comeback victory of the season.
Cardinals 2, Astros 0
HOUSTON – Chris Carpenter pitched eight mostly dominant innings, and Albert Pujols hit a solo homer in the ninth to lead St. Louis to a 2-0 win over Houston.
Carpenter (8-3) became the latest pitcher to stifle the Astros’ punchless offense, striking out six and walking two for his fourth win in five starts. Julian Tavarez got three outs for his third save.
Carpenter gave up eight hits and joined a list of starters that includes teammate Mark Mulder, Atlanta’s Tim Hudson and Atlanta’s Mike Hampton in keeping Houston scoreless for at least seven innings. The Astros have been shut out a major league-leading 10 times this season. St. Louis found the perfect opponent for a rebound after splitting a four-game series with lowly Colorado.
Jim Edmonds’ run-scoring double in the third gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead, one that would prove too much to overcome for the worst-hitting club in the majors.
The Astros bungled a couple of prime opportunities to score in the fifth.
With Adam Everett on third and pitcher Andy Pettitte at first, rookie outfielder Willy Taveras failed to get a bunt down on a squeeze and Everett was caught in a rundown.
Taveras followed with a liner to right, but So Taguchi scooped up the ball and easily cut down the plodding Pettitte at the plate to end the inning. That ugly sequence was followed by a loud chorus of boos from the crowd of 34,092.
Pettitte (3-6) allowed five hits in seven innings.
, striking out five with no walks. But his solid effort was wasted – again – as the Astros came up with nothing against Carpenter.
Pujols backed Carpenter in the ninth with a solo shot that bounced off the replica 1860 railroad tracks atop the 58-foot wall in left. It was his 13th homer of the season.