Freddy Garcia won for the third time in four starts since his trade to the White Sox to lead Chicago over the Oakland Athletics 5-2 Saturday.
Paul Konerko, Carlos Lee and Aaron Rowand homered for the White Sox, who won for the second time in their last 17 games at Oakland.
"We finally won a game here," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We'll do anything we can to score runs, especially against a pitching staff like Oakland's. A one-run lead is not easy against them."
PHOTO: AFP
Garcia (7-8) is 3-1 with a 3.95 ERA since Seattle dealt him to the White Sox on June 27. He allowed two runs -- one earned -- and two hits in 6 2-3 innings, striking out six and walking two.
"He's been great in his four starts here," said Chicago catcher Ben Davis, who also came over in the trade. "He's doing the job they've asked of him. He wants the big games. He likes that pressure."
Shingo Takatsu finished the four-hitter to remain perfect in six save chances.
Mark Redman (6-7) allowed five runs and six hits in seven innings.
Orioles 3, Devil Rays 2
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Miguel Tejada had three hits and an RBI, leading Rodrigo Lopez and Baltimore past Tampa Bay.
Earlier in the day, Tampa Bay designated Fred McGriff for assignment, ending his comeback with the Devil Rays. The 40-year-old slugger is seven homers shy of 500.
Lopez (7-5) allowed only one run despite walking five in 5 1-3 innings. He got help from four relievers, and Jorge Julio worked the ninth for his 14th save in 16 opportunities. Julio gave up a solo homer to Aubrey Huff.
The loss was the sixth in seven games for the Devil Rays. Dewon Brazelton (2-3) has dropped three straight decisions. He lasted 4 2-3 innings.
Yankees 5, Tigers 3
In Detroit, Orlando Hernandez won his second straight start since getting called up from the minors as New York beat Detroit for its sixth victory in seven games.
Gary Sheffield homered and drove in three runs for the Yankees. The Tigers, who matched their 2003 wins total Friday, lost for just the third time in nine games.
Before a crowd of 41,857, the third-largest in Comerica Park's five-year history, Hernandez (2-0) allowed three runs and six hits in five innings. He beat Tampa Bay 10-3 last weekend, his first game in the majors since 2002.
Paul Quantrill, Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera finished. Gordon struck out four in 1 2-3 perfect innings, and Rivera got three straight outs for his AL-leading 33rd save in 34 chances.
Gary Knotts (5-4) gave up four runs in 5 2-3 innings.
Angels 8, Red Sox 3
In Anaheim, California, Vladimir Guerrero and Adam Kennedy homered, and Bartolo Colon pitched six solid innings to lead the Anaheim over Boston.
Colon (7-8) won his second straight start after going 1-6 with an 8.45 ERA in his previous 10 outings. The right-hander allowed a run and three hits, including the first of Johnny Damon's two homers. He struck out one and walked five.
Darin Erstad and Garret Anderson each hit a two-run single, helping the Angels win for the seventh time in nine games.
Tim Wakefield (5-6) gave up five runs and eight hits in four innings.
Indians 6, Mariners 5
In Seattle, Ben Broussard hit a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning and drove in three runs ti send C.C. Sabathia and Cleveland to a victory over Seattle.
All-Star second baseman Ronnie Belliard made a running catch of Miguel Olivo's broken-bat mishit with the bases loaded in the ninth, preserving the victory for Cleveland. David Riske struck out his first two batters in the ninth, then loaded the bases before retiring Olivo for his fifth save.
The last-place Mariners lost for the 11th time in 12 games despite Bucky Jacobsen's first major league home run and three RBIs.
Sabathia (6-4) allowed three runs, six hits and a season-high five walks in six innings. The two-time All-Star struck out six, winning for the fourth time in five decisions. Ryan Franklin (3-8) was the loser.
Greg Maddux pitched a six-hitter for his first complete game in exactly one year and his first shutout in three years, leading the Chicago Cubs over the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0 Saturday.
Sammy Sosa hit his 556th homer and Moises Alou also homered for the Cubs.
"As far as a day to pitch on, this was as easy it gets," Maddux said. "It was cool, the wind was blowing in and all the mistakes were hit at guys."
Maddux (8-7) earned his 297th win and his first shutout since a six-hitter against Tampa Bay on July 17, 2001. The 38-year-old right-hander pitched his first complete game since an eight-hitter against the New York Mets last year -- also on July 17. Maddux retired eight of his first nine batters and struck out the side in the eighth.
"He said ordinarily he doesn't go that far, but he said he felt great," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said of Maddux. "Some days, your limits are higher than others, and today was a high limit day for him."
Ben Sheets (9-6) gave up two runs and six hits in seven innings while striking out eight.
Phillies 8, Mets 2
In New York, Jim Thome hit his major league-leading 30th homer in the ninth inning to blow open a close game and help Philadelphia to a convincing win over New York.
With Philadelphia leading 4-2, Thome homered off Jose Parra with one out, his third hit of the game. Jimmy Rollins added a two-run double in second.
Randy Wolf (4-5) allowed one run and six hits in 5 1-3 innings to win for just the second time in 10 starts.
Tom Glavine (7-8) allowed four runs -- two earned -- in 6 1-3 innings and has lost five straight starts for the first time in his career. He's winless since beating Kansas City on June 13.
Mike Piazza hit his 17th home run in eighth. The Mets dropped back to .500 at 45-45, three games behind Philadelphia in the National League East.
Reds 7, Cardinals 5
In Cincinnati, Adam Dunn hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning as Cincinnati beat St. Louis.
After Julian Tavarez (2-3) hit Ryan Freel with one out, Steve Kline walked Barry Larkin, then surrendered Dunn's 26th home run of the season.
St. Louis, which had won 10 of 11 games, entered the seventh inning trailing 4-0, but rallied to tie the game on Albert Pujols' 24th home run in the eighth.
Larkin and Wily Mo Pena also homered for the Reds, just 2-7 against St. Louis this season.
Braves 6, Expos 2
In Atlanta, Marcus Giles hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning for Atlanta as Russ Ortiz continued his domination of Montreal.
J.D. Drew and Adam LaRoche had solo shots for the Braves, who won for the 14th time in 18 games and stayed one game behind Philadelphia in the NL East.
Ortiz (11-6) won his fifth straight start and improved to 4-0 this season against the Expos. He allowed only one hit -- an RBI single by Carl Everett in the first -- and pitched around five walks in 7 2-3 innings.
Giants 4, Rockies 0
In Denver, Jason Schmidt allowed four hits in eight innings for his 12th straight win, pitching San Francisco past Colorado in the 26th shutout in Coors Field history.
The Giants managed just three hits, but Barry Bonds had a two-run double in the eighth after being walked twice.
That was more than enough for Schmidt (12-2), who struck out eight and walked two in combining with Jim Brower and Scott Eyre on a four-hitter.
Schmidt has not lost since April 26 -- a span of 16 starts. Jack Sanford won 16 straight decisions for the Giants in 1962.
Aaron Cook (4-4) walked Bonds twice with a base open in the first seven innings, but the Rockies had no choice but to pitch to the Giants' slugger in the eighth.
Dodgers 7, Diamondbacks 6
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Adrian Beltre had an RBI single earlier in the inning off Mike Koplove, who hit two batters, walked one and gave up three runs while getting just one out.
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