Baseball roundup
Wakefield’s strong outing helps Red Sox complete sweep of Devil Rays BOSTON (AP) – Tim Wakefield pitched eight shutout innings and Willie Harris threw out the tying run at the plate to end the game in the Boston Red Sox’s 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Sunday.
The Devil Rays scored four runs with two outs in the ninth to pull within one. Carl Crawford singled to left with the bases loaded allowing Greg Norton to score and make it 5-4, but Harris easily threw out Joey Gathright for the final out.
Harris’ play preserved the victory for Wakefield (4-6), who regained his mastery of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and completed a four-game sweep.
The knuckleballer got help from Mark Loretta, who drove in three runs and extended his hitting streak to 13 games, and Coco Crisp, who singled in a run after missing the previous 42 games with a broken finger.
Julian Tavarez got the final out for his first save of the season.
Yankees 6, Royals 5
NEW YORK – Johnny Damon hit a leadoff home run and Alex Rodriguez had a two-run single to highlight a five-run first inning, and the Yankees held off Kansas City.
The Yankees seemed to have their fourth victory in five games wrapped up before the Royals came back by scoring one run in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings and two in the seventh.
White Sox 7, Blue Jays 5
TORONTO – Jermaine Dye and Rob Mackowiak homered to help Chicago beat the Blue Jays.
The White Sox avoided a three-game sweep a day after manager Ozzie Guillen ripped his team following a lackluster performance in a 3-2 loss in 11 innings.
Indians 9, Tigers 0
DETROIT – Jason Johnson pitched six shutout innings, Jason Michaels hit a grand slam and Travis Hafner homered to help the Indians snap the Tigers’ eight-game winning streak.
Aaron Boone was also 3-for-4 with two runs scored as Cleveland avoided a sweep in the three-game, weekend series.
Johnson (3-4) allowed six hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out two in six innings against his former teammates in his first win since April 18.
Twins 4, Mariners 3
MINNEAPOLIS – Lew Ford led off the 10th inning with a game-winning home run off former teammate Eddie Guardado.
The homer, a 414-foot drive to right-center, was Ford’s second of the season and first since April 21. It came on a 1-2 pitch from Guardado (0-3), who played for the Twins for 11 seasons before signing with the Mariners in 2003.
Orioles 7, Angels 6
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Melvin Mora and Javy Lopez each went 3-for-5 with an RBI double, Miguel Tejada had a two-run single and the Orioles rallied over Los Angeles.
The win snapped the Angels’ season-high four-game winning streak. Rookie Kurt Birkins (1-0) recorded his first major league victory, retiring all four batters he faced in relief of starter Kris Benson.
LaTroy Hawkins came on in the eighth and gave up first-pitch singles to Vladimir Guerrero and Garret Anderson, then fell behind 2-0 to Kendry Morales before the rookie singled in a run to cut the Orioles lead to 7-5. But closer Chris Ray restored order and got six outs for his 13th save in as many chances. Ray gave up an RBI groundout in the ninth to Adam Kennedy after Erick Aybar had tripled.
Ray then loaded the bases on two singles and a walk before getting Anderson to ground into a double play to end the game.
Braves 13, Cubs 12
CHICAGO – Edgar Renteria hit two of the Braves’ club-record eight homers and Marcus Giles singled in Ryan Langerhans in the 11th inning to put Atlanta in front.
Giles also hit a three-run homer and Adam LaRoche homered twice for the Braves. Atlanta also got solo shots from Andruw Jones, Langerhans and Brayan Pena to complete the three-game sweep of the Cubs, who have lost 21 of their last 25 games, including six straight.
Phillies 6, Brewers 2
PHILADELPHIA – Ryan Howard hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to help the Phillies salvage the finale of the season series.
Howard’s drive was his 17th of the season and his major league-leading 12th this month. Ryan Madson (5-3) pitched five solid innings and struck out a career-high seven to win his first start since May 6. He also had a two-run double.
Padres 10, Cardinals 8
SAN DIEGO – Mark Bellhorn hit the longest home run in Petco Park’s three-year history and drove in four runs and Josh Bard connected twice and had three RBIs for the Padres.
San Diego scored eight runs in the fifth inning.
Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit a three-run drive for his major league-leading 24th homer. Juan Encarnacion and Scott Rolen also homered for St. Louis.
Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his ninth save in as many chances. Mark Mulder (5-3) allowed eight runs and 10 hits in 4 1-3 innings.
Nationals 10, Dodgers 4
WASHINGTON – Nick Johnson hit two home runs and the Nationals completed their first winning homestand of the season.
The Nationals finished the homestand 7-3, a remarkable turnaround from their 3-10 record at RFK Stadium. Johnson has 12 homers this season.
Reds 5, Diamondbacks 4
CINCINNATI – Javier Valentin hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Reds to the win.
Austin Kearns hit a pinch-hit single off Arizona closer Jose Valverde with one out in the ninth. Valentin followed with his first career pinch-hit drive.
Mets 7, Marlins 3
MIAMI – Orlando Hernandez won his first start with the Mets, and Carlos Beltran homered. Hernandez (3-4), who was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, allowed three runs and five hits in five innings. He struck out seven and walked three.
The Mets never trailed after scoring four runs off Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco (3-2) in the first. Florida cut it to 5-3 but Beltran hit a two-run homer in the fourth, his 14th of the season.
Jose Reyes also finished with three hits as the Mets won their third straight series.
Jeremy Hermida hit a three-run homer for the Marlins.