May 13, 2007 7 min read

Baseball Roundup ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Bartolo Colon is more impressed with the way Vladimir Guerrero hits the Texas Rangers than his own success pitching against them.

With Colon’s pitching and Guerrero’s hitting, the Rangers never had much of a chance Saturday against Los Angeles.

Colon won his 12th straight game against Texas, tying a major league record, and Guerrero had an RBI double as the Angels won 6-3 to improve to 5-0 this season against their AL West rivals.

“What Vlad does is special,” Colon said. “What I do against them, there is no way to explain. … I was aware of it, but I didn’t know it was a record.”

The only other pitcher to win 12 straight starts against an opponent was Pedro Martinez, who won a dozen in a row against the Seattle Mariners from 1998-2004. Colon is 17-5 in 25 starts against the Rangers, including 11-0 in four seasons with the Angels.

Given a 2-0 lead before he threw his first pitch, Colon (4-0) needed only nine pitches to get out of the first inning. He allowed three runs and five hits, struck out six and walked two over six innings.

Colon, who left with a 5-3 lead after throwing 86 pitches, won his fourth straight start in a season that he began on the disabled list. The right-hander left his previous start Sunday with a mild strain of the right triceps.

“Bart’s velocity is terrific. He’s the same guy,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “Their lineup is tough and Bart has had to work for every out in every start against them. It hasn’t been a cakewalk.”

Still, it was much easier for Colon after Angels rookie leadoff hitter Reggie Willits and No. 2 batter Orlando Cabrera both had two hits and scored twice in the first two innings against Kameron Loe (1-3).

Francisco Rodriguez worked the ninth for his 12th save in 13 chances.

“We’re battling later, but digging ourselves a hole early,” Rangers shortstop Michael Young said.

In the opener of the four-game Friday night, Los Angeles jumped out to a 6-0 lead before winning by the same 6-3 count.

Red Sox 13, Orioles 4

BOSTON – Kevin Youkilis singled off Jon Leicester (0-1) for a 5-4 lead in the sixth, and Alex Cora added a two-run single in the seventh.

Julio Lugo had four of Boston’s 15 hits, including an RBI single in the eighth.

A night after a 6-3 loss to the Orioles, AL East-leading Boston improved its record against Baltimore to 18-4 since the start of last season.

Javier Lopez (1-0) relieved Curt Schilling and allowed a tying groundout but retired all three batters he faced.

Blue Jays 5, Devil Rays 4

TORONTO – Vernon Wells scored the go-ahead run from first base on Lyle Overbay’s two-out single in the seventh off Brian Stokes (1-5) as Toronto won its second straight following a nine-game losing streak.

Frank Thomas hit his 492nd homer and Adam Lind also connected for the Blue Jays, helping send Tampa Bay to its sixth straight loss.

Scott Downs (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings, and Jeremy Accardo worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the season.

Tigers 8, Twins 2

MINNEAPOLIS – The surging Detroit Tigers sent the reeling Twins to their fourth straight defeat, and Minnesota lost AL MVP Justin Morneau to a broken nose in the process.

Magglio Ordonez and Craig Monroe each drove in two runs to back Chad Durbin (3-1), who allowed two runs, seven hits and three walks in six innings. Detroit has won 11 of 12, while Minnesota has lost four straight.

AL MVP Justin Morneau left the game in the eighth inning after a relay throw bounced and broke his nose, another piece of bad news on another bad day for the Twins. Morneau’s status was announced as day to day.

Sidney Ponson (2-5) gave up six hits, six runs (five earned) and two walks in four innings.

Indians 6, Athletics 3

OAKLAND, Calif. – Fausto Carmona recovered from a shaky first inning to win his fourth straight start, and Josh Barfield hit a pair of run-scoring triples as Cleveland stopped a three-game losing streak.

Carmona (4-1) extended the longest winning streak of his major league career, allowing three runs, six hits and four walks in seven innings. The 23-year-old right-hander fell behind 3-0 in the first, when Jack Cust hit his fourth home run in three days.

Cust’s homer was his fifth in 19 at-bats since Oakland acquired him from San Diego on May 3.

Dallas Braden (1-2), called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Sacramento, gave up four runs – three earned – and six hits in four innings.

Phillies 11, Cubs 7

PHILADELPHIA – Filling in for the NL MVP, Greg Dobbs had a career day to bail out a decimated bullpen.

Dobbs was 4-for-4, including a go-ahead two-run triple in the seventh inning that led the Philadelphia Phillies over the Chicago Cubs.

Carlos Ruiz and Chase Utley homered, Abraham Nunez drove in three runs and right fielder Shane Victorino threw two runners out at the plate, helping the Phillies (17-19) win their third straight game and move closer to .500.

After blowing a lead for the 13th time this season by allowing six runs in the top of the seventh, the Phillies answered with six runs against relievers Will Ohman and Bob Howry in the bottom half.

Aaron Rowand singled to start a two-out rally. Utley doubled into the right-field corner and Rowand scored after right fielder Matt Murton’s throwing error.

Howry (0-3) entered and walked Pat Burrell. Dobbs then ripped a triple down the right-field line to put the Phillies ahead 8-7. Dobbs scored on Nunez’s infield single. Ruiz followed with an opposite-field homer to right to give Philadelphia a four-run cushion.

Dobbs started at first base for Ryan Howard, who was out of the lineup for the fifth straight game with a quad injury.

Antonio Alfonseca (2-1) got the final two outs in the seventh, though he allowed Jacque Jones’ tiebreaking two-run double after replacing Geoff Geary with two runners on. Brett Myers pitched two scoreless innings to finish it, striking out five.

The Phillies led 5-1 going into the seventh, but starter Freddy Garcia couldn’t hold the lead. Garcia left after walking Mark DeRosa and allowing a double to Cesar Izturis. Geary entered to face Murton, who connected for his first career pinch-hit homer to get the Cubs within 5-4.

Alfonso Soriano followed with a single and moved to second on Cliff Floyd’s tapper to Geary. Derrek Lee singled to right and Aramis Ramirez drove in the tying run with a single down the right-field line.

After a 64-minute rain delay, Alfonseca replaced Geary with runners at first and third. Michael Barrett lined out to third baseman Nunez, but Jones snapped an 0-for-16 skid with a two-run double to left-center to give the Cubs their first lead, 7-5. DeRosa followed with a single to right field, but Victorino threw Jones out at the plate.

Victorino also nailed Soriano trying to score in the sixth. He has six of the Phillies’ major league-leading 17 outfield assists.

Victorino was thrown out trying to score on Utley’s double to right in the eighth. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound Victorino barreled into catcher Barrett, who held onto the ball.

Nunez drove in Philadelphia’s first run with a fielder’s choice in the second inning. After Nunez easily was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first on a double by Ruiz, Garcia doubled to right-center to make it 2-0.

Ramirez had a two-out RBI single to cut it to 2-1 in the sixth. The Phillies answered with three runs in the bottom half. Utley lined an opposite-field shot to left. Nunez added an RBI triple and scored on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze by Ruiz for a 5-1 lead.