White Sox win second straight over Cubs
CHICAGO (AP) – Carlos Quentin hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the bottom of the seventh Saturday, closer Bobby Jenks escaped a ninth-inning jam and the White Sox made it two straight over the Cubs with a 6-5 victory. Quentin drove an 0-2 pitch from Carlos Marmol (1-3) for an opposite-field home run into the Cubs’ bullpen in right field – his 18th of the season – to snap the 5-5 tie.
Derrek Lee was 5-for-5 with three RBIs for the Cubs, who’ve lost seven of 11. He led off the top of the ninth with a double and moved to third on an infield out.
But Lee was stranded when Jenks got Aramis Ramirez to ground out to short with the infield in and retired Jim Edmonds on a grounder to second to end the game.
Jermaine Dye and Alexei Ramirez also homered for the White Sox, who were swept last weekend by the Cubs but have rebounded and won four of five.
Matt Thornton (4-1), the third of five White Sox’s relievers, pitched 1 2-3 perfect innings, striking out four of the five batters he faced to get the win. Jenks’s save was his 18th in 21 chances.
Yankees 3, Mets 2
NEW YORK – Andy Pettitte outpitched Johan Santana for his sixth straight win, leading the Yankees past the Mets at rainy Shea Stadium.
Robinson Cano delivered a key RBI single off Santana (7-7), who has received little support from his teammates while dropping four consecutive decisions for the second time in his career.
Pettitte (9-5) allowed only solo homers to Ramon Castro and David Wright in six neat innings, winning his fourth start in a row since allowing 10 runs in a June 7 no-decision against Kansas City. The left-hander improved to 6-0 with a 3.54 ERA in eight outings since a May 17 loss to Santana at Yankee Stadium.
Carlos Beltran struck out all four times up, three against Pettitte, and the Mets fell to 3-2 in the Subway Series this season. The road team has won all five games.
Brewers 5, Twins 1
MINNEAPOLIS – Manny Parra allowed two hits in seven innings to win his sixth straight start and Milwaukee beat Minnesota to end the Twins’ 10-game winning streak.
Bill Hall had a two-run double and Ryan Braun and Corey Hart also had RBIs for the Brewers, who have won nine of 12.
Jason Kubel hit a home run with two outs in the ninth for Minnesota.
Parra (8-2), who has seven wins in his last eight starts dating to May 20, kept Minnesota hitters off balance all night. He struck out six, but walked four.
Livan Hernandez (8-5) lost for the first time in three starts. After a rocky start, he went seven innings, allowing four earned runs and seven hits, throwing a season-high 115 pitches.
Tigers 7, Rockies 6
DETROIT – Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth and Detroit overcame Todd Jones’ blown save to beat Colorado and improve to .500 for the first time this season.
It was the Tigers’ fourth straight win and 14th in 17 games.
The Rockies used three consecutive two-out hits to claw back from a three-run deficit in the top of the ninth. But closer Brian Fuentes (1-3) gave up a single, a walk and Cabrera’s double to blow his fourth save of the year.
Colorado lost its sixth straight game. The Rockies have lost six or more in a row three times this season.
Freddy Dolsi (1-2) got one out for his first major league win.
Astros 11, Red Sox 10
HOUSTON – Lance Berkman atoned for three strikeouts with a two-run double in the eighth inning to lift the Astros over the Boston Red Sox.
Mark Loretta hit a three-run homer and Carlos Lee added a solo shot and a two-run double for the Astros, who beat Boston for the first time in five all-time meetings.
Houston rallied from 4-0 and 9-6 deficits. Ty Wigginton tied it at 9 with a solo homer in the eighth off Manny Delcarmen (0-2), setting up Berkman’s big hit later in the inning.
Doug Brocail (3-3) got two outs for the victory. Jose Valverde gave up a solo homer to Mike Lowell in the ninth, but struck out Jason Varitek to secure his 20th save.
Reds 5, Indians 0
CLEVELAND – Johnny Cueto won for the first time in four starts for Cincinnati, combining with four relievers to shut out Cleveland.
Cueto (6-8) constantly worked out of trouble to win for the first time since June 6 at Florida. The rookie right-hander gave up five hits, walked three and hit two batters over 6 1-3 innings.
Cincinnati won for only the fourth time in 13 games, but clinched the season series in the interleague battle of Ohio’s teams. The Reds swept three games from the Indians last month in Cincinnati and are 1-1 in this three-game series.
Paul Bako, in an 0-for-15 slump, sliced on opposite-field three-run double to the left field in the fourth to give the Reds a 4-0 lead against Paul Byrd (3-8).
Adam Dunn hit his 19th homer with one out in the first off Byrd, who struck out four, but walked a season-high three and hit a batter.
Cardinals 5, Royals 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Rick Ankiel hit a two-run home run to help rookie Mitchell Boggs remain unbeaten and St. Louis snapped Kansas City’s six-game winning streak.
Boggs (3-0) worked out of a jam in the first inning against what has been one of the hottest teams in the majors and allowed only four hits and one run in six innings. The Cardinals, who beat the Royals for the first time in five games, are 4-0 in the six starts the 24-year-old right-hander has made since being called up on June 6 from Triple-A Memphis.
Ankiel connected off Kyle Davies for a 407-foot shot that put the Cardinals on top 4-0 in the sixth. It was the 15th home run for the converted pitcher, who has hit in nine of his last 10 games.
Davies (3-1) gave up seven hits and five runs, three earned, in 6 1-3 innings and lost for the first time since being called up from Triple-A on May 31. The Royals lost for only the second time in 13 games.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Kansas City is the first team since the Oakland A’s in 1994 to have a 12-game losing streak and a span of 11 wins in 12 games in the same season.
Diamondbacks 6, Marlins 2
MIAMI – Brandon Webb returned to his All-Star form, Chris Young had three RBIs and the Diamondbacks beat Florida for the first time in five tries this season.
Webb (12-4), the 2006 Cy Young Award winner, stuck out eight and gave up two runs in six innings for the Diamondbacks, who ended a three-game skid. The Diamondbacks’ ace gave up 11 earned runs in his previous two starts, both losses.
Young’s triple in the sixth drove in two runs, giving Arizona a 5-1 lead and chasing Marlins starter Andrew Miller (5-7).
Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, who began Saturday leading the majors with 23 home runs, left the game in the fourth because of a left ankle sprain.
Blue Jays 9, Braves 5
TORONTO – Vernon Wells homered and drove in three runs to help Toronto beat Atlanta.
Wells had three hits, Rod Barajas hit a solo homer and Joe Inglett had two RBIs for Toronto, which got a solid effort from John Parrish in his first start since 2004.
Mark Teixeira hit his 16th homer and Gregor Blanco had a career-high four hits for the Braves. Teixeira has six homers and 11 RBIs in his past six games.
Parrish (1-0) allowed one run and four hits in six innings to win for the first time since May 19, 2007, for Baltimore against Washington.
Tim Hudson (8-6) allowed six runs and seven hits in five-plus innings for Atlanta. The right-hander, who walked three and struck out three, has won just one of his past seven starts.
Copyright Associated Press 2008