Major League Baseball
Ninth-inning rally carries Rays past Indians ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Carlos Pena’s three-run homer capped a six-run rally in the ninth inning that carried the Tampa Bay Rays past the Cleveland Indians 10-7 on Wednesday.
Eric Hinske had an RBI double in the ninth and Gabe Gross tied it 7-all with a two-run homer off Edward Mujica, who was trying for his first major league save.
Masa Kobayashi (4-5) replaced Mujica and gave up an infield single to Akinori Iwamura. The right-hander then walked Ben Zobrist before Pena homered to center for his fifth career game-ending homer, setting off a raucous celebration at Tropicana Field.
The AL East leaders, who have never won more than 70 games in 10 previous seasons, improved to 68-45 with their eighth victory in 11 games. A major league-best 45-17 at home, Tampa Bay now embarks on its final trip out West this season beginning Thursday night at Seattle.
Troy Percival (2-0) got two outs in the ninth for the win.
Angels 9, Orioles 4
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Vladimir Guerrero homered and drove in four runs, Garret Anderson had three hits and two RBIs, and the Angels rolled past the Orioles.
Ervin Santana (13-5) allowed four runs and eight hits over seven innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. The first-time All-Star got as much run support in this outing as he did over his previous four starts combined, including a 5-2 loss at Camden Yards on July 27.
Baltimore left fielder Luis Montanez homered on the second pitch he saw in the major leagues, trimming the Angels’ lead to 4-1 in the third. The only other player in Orioles history to homer in his first big league at-bat was relief pitcher Les “Buster” Narum on May 3, 1963.
Twins 7, Mariners 3
SEATTLE – Rookie Denard Span drove in a career-high four runs and robbed Adrian Beltre of a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning, leading the Twins to a victory.
Cubs 11, Astros 4
CHICAGO – Mark DeRosa hit a grand slam and Alfonso Soriano had a three-run homer during an eight-run third inning that carried Chicago past Houston.
DeRosa’s fourth career slam made it 5-4 and propelled the Cubs to their ninth win in 11 games. The surging Soriano capped the burst with his second three-run shot in two days. He has 20 hits, six homers and 14 RBIs in his last 11 games after going 2-for-5 while driving in three runs.
DeRosa had two hits and drove in five runs after going 3-for-5 with three RBIs the previous day.
The Cubs roughed up Brandon Backe (6-11), who allowed a career-high 11 runs and nine hits in 3 1-3 innings. He walked six.
Brewers 6, Reds 3
CINCINNATI – Struggling leadoff hitter Rickie Weeks matched his career high with four hits, and the slumping bottom of Milwaukee’s batting order chipped in, too, setting up a victory over Cincinnati.
The Brewers took two of three in a series that started with slugger Prince Fielder shoving pitcher Manny Parra in the dugout twice during a 6-3 loss Monday night, when Milwaukee’s NL wild-card lead was trimmed to a half-game over St. Louis.
Fielder apologized a day later, and the Brewers were on their best behavior the rest of the way. They even managed to get some clutch hits, the thing they’ve missed the most during their recent slide of seven losses in 11 games.
Phillies 5, Marlins 0
PHILADELPHIA – Kyle Kendrick pitched six effective innings, Ryan Howard homered and first-place Philadelphia beat Florida to move 21/2 games ahead of the Marlins in the NL East.
Kendrick (10-5) allowed four hits and pitched around five walks to win at home for the first time since beating Cincinnati on June 2. He matched his win total from his rookie year when he came from nowhere last season and bailed out a depleted staff to help the Phillies win the division.
Chad Durbin tossed two scoreless innings and Ryan Madson finished the five-hitter.
Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez (1-1) gave up four runs – three earned – and five hits in five innings in his second start since returning from shoulder surgery.
Padres 4, Mets 2
NEW YORK – Jody Gerut hit Pedro Martinez’s first pitch for a home run and Mets third baseman David Wright committed a costly error, helping San Diego beat New York.
Cha Seung Baek (4-5) stymied the Mets again, allowing two runs in 6 1-3 innings. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA in two starts against New York this season.
Brian Giles and Chase Headley also homered for the last-place Padres, who improved to 5-1 against the Mets this year. Trevor Hoffman worked a perfect ninth for career save No. 548, his 24th in 27 opportunities this season.
Martinez (3-3) allowed four hits and three runs, two earned, in 6 1-3 innings – his longest outing this season.
Giants 3, Braves 2
SAN FRANCISCO – Tim Lincecum pitched eight innings for his first win in more than three weeks and Aaron Rowand homered and drove in three runs to help San Francisco beat Atlanta.
Randy Winn added four hits, including the 1,500th of his career, and scored twice for the Giants. San Francisco won for the fourth time in six games after going 4-8 following the All-Star break.
Brian Wilson pitched a perfect ninth for his NL-leading 32nd save in 34 chances.
Lincecum (12-3) is 11-2 in 19 starts following a Giants loss. The NL strikeout leader allowed five hits and struck out eight to earn his first win since July 13.
Copyright Associated Press 2008