Aug 26, 2008 5 min read

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Brett Myers tossed seven gritty innings, Jimmy Rollins had three hits and two RBIs, and the Philadelphia Phillies completed their first four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 23 years with a 5-0 win Monday night. Philadelphia remained a half-game behind the NL East-leading New York Mets with its eighth victory in 10 games since losing four straight at Dodger Stadium. The Mets visit Tuesday for a two-game set.

It was the Phillies’ first four-game sweep over the Dodgers since Aug. 29 to Sept. 1, 1985, at Los Angeles. Philadelphia had never swept the Dodgers in a four-game series at home.

Coming off his first shutout in four years, Myers (7-10) ran his scoreless innings streak to 16. He allowed nine hits, struck out eight and walked three.

J.C. Romero worked the eighth and Clay Condrey finished the 13-hitter. Only two teams have had more hits without scoring a run in a nine-inning game: The New York Giants got 14 hits in a 7-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 14, 1913, and the Cleveland Indians had 14 hits in a 9-0 loss to the Washington Senators on July 10, 1928.

Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley (12-10) gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings.

Mets 9, Astros 1

NEW YORK – Carlos Delgado hit a pair of three-run homers and Mike Pelfrey pitched his second straight complete game, leading New York over Houston.

Jose Reyes also had a big night at the plate, and Pelfrey came within two outs of his first major league shutout. The six-hitter followed his first career complete game, when he allowed three hits in a 6-3 victory over Atlanta last Wednesday.

With a crowd of 49,791 chanting his name, Pelfrey (13-8) became the first Mets pitcher with consecutive complete-game wins since Bret Saberhagen in 1995.

Delgado’s homer in the first off Brian Moehler (9-5) barely creeped over the wall in the left-field corner, but his drive off Wesley Wright in the seventh cleared the 410-foot sign in center.

New York put starter John Maine on the disabled list. He is out for at least three weeks with a bone spur in his right shoulder.

Indians 4, Tigers 3

DETROIT – Grady Sizemore homered twice to join the 30-30 club and Franklin Gutierrez hit a 10th-inning home run to help the Cleveland Indians win their eighth straight, 4-3 over the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.

Sizemore homered on the game’s second pitch and became the second Indians player to have at least 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in a season. Joe Carter also accomplished the feat with Cleveland in 1987. Sizemore is the 14th American League player to join the 30-30 club, and first since Alfonso Soriano did it for Texas in 2005.

Gutierrez hit the second pitch thrown by reliever Gary Glover (1-3) into the left-field stands to break a 3-3 tie and Jensen Lewis worked the bottom of the inning to earn his seventh save in eight chances.

Sizemore, who has 34 steals, added his 31st homer in his next at-bat.

Brendan Donnelly (1-0) worked the ninth inning for the Indians.

Orioles 4, White Sox 3, 14 innings, end of suspended game

White Sox 4, Orioles 3

BALTIMORE – Jim Thome hit his 535th home run to gain sole possession of 15th place on the career list, and Chicago beat Baltimore after losing the completion of a game suspended by rain.

Thome’s 28th homer of the season gave the White Sox a 4-3 lead in the sixth. The drive, off Baltimore rookie Chris Waters (2-1), moved Chicago’s designated hitter past Jimmie Foxx and put him within one of Mickey Mantle on baseball’s home run chart.

Earlier, Lou Montanez singled in the tiebreaking run in the 14th inning to give the Orioles a 4-3 victory in a game halted in Chicago after 11 innings on April 28.

In the regularly scheduled game, White Sox rookie Clayton Richard (2-2) gave up three runs and six hits in six innings.

In the suspended game, Baltimore’s Nick Markakis led off the 14th with a single off Horacio Ramirez (1-3) and scored later in the inning when Montanez greeted D.J. Carrasco with a soft single to center. Alberto Castillo (1-0) got the final out in the 13th to earn his first major league victory.

Rangers 9, Royals 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Nelson Cruz had three hits including a three-run homer in his season debut, and Texas beat Kansas City.

Cruz, promoted from Triple-A Oklahoma earlier in the day, homered in the third with Josh Hamilton and Marlon Byrd aboard. Cruz hit .342 with 37 home runs at Oklahoma and led the minors with a .693 slugging percentage,

Last July 28, Cruz was recalled from the minors and went had two homers and five RBIs at Kansas City in his first game of the season for Texas.

Scott Feldman (5-5), winless in five starts since a July 21 victory over the Chicago White Sox, gave up three runs – two earned – and eight hits in seven innings.

Royals right-hander Gil Meche (10-10) gave up a career-high 14 hits, allowing five runs in 6 1-3 innings to lose for the first time since July 2. He had been 4-0 with a 2.17 ERA in seven starts since the All-Star break.

Copyright Associated Press 2008