Orlando Cabrera hit a run-scoring double in the ninth inning on reliever Justin Speier's second pitch of the game, giving the Boston Red Sox a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
Pinch-hitter Dave Roberts drew a leadoff walk and Johnny Damon hit into a forceout off Kevin Frederick (0-2). Cabrera, just 13-for-65 since he was acquired July 31, hit a drive off the left-field scoreboard. The ball bounded high in the air as Damon came around and slid in ahead of Kevin Cash's tag.
PHOTO: AP
Keith Foulke (3-3) pitched a perfect ninth. The Red Sox (66-52), who got home runs from Damon and Jason Varitek, are 8-3 in their last 11 games. Eric Hinske and Vernon Wells homered for the Blue Jays, who have lost 12 of 14.
Athletics 11, Orioles 0
In Baltimore, Tim Hudson (8-4) pitched a five-hitter, struck out four and walked none in his first victory since June 11, and Scott Hatteberg's second grand slam of the season highlighted a four-homer attack.
Jermaine Dye, Eric Byrnes and Adam Melhuse also homered for the A's, who have outscored Baltimore 14-1 in winning the first two games of the three-game set.
Rodrigo Lopez (10-8) gave up three runs, eight hits and three walks in 5 1-3 innings.
Devil Rays 8, Angels 3
In St. Petersburg, Florida, B.J. Upton became the first teenager to homer in a major league game since Pittsburgh's Aramis Ramirez on June 16, 1998, helping Tampa Bay stop a six-game losing streak.
The 19-year-old Upton, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 amateur draft, homered in the third on his 39th career at-bat with an opposite-field shot to right off Kelvim Escobar (7-9). He added an RBI double in a three-run eighth.
Toby Hall hit a go-ahead two-run double in the fifth. Dewon Brazelton (5-4) gave up three runs and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings to improve to 5-1 at home this season.
Twins 8, Yankees 2
In Minneapolis, Brad Radke (8-6) allowed one run and six hits in seven innings to improve to 4-9 against New York, and Corey Koskie drove in three runs as Minnesota ended a 13-game regular-season losing streak against the Yankees that dated to 2001.
Koskie and Justin Morneau each homered for Minnesota. The Twins, whose AL Central lead had been cut to one game Saturday, boosted it to 3 1/2 games over second-place Cleveland.
Javier Vazquez (13-7) gave up nine hits, tying a season high, and six runs in 6 2-3 innings. He allowed two homers, raising his season total to 26, fourth in the American League, one behind teammate Esteban Loaiza.
Rangers 16, Indians 4
In Arlington, Texas, Mark Teixeira became the second player in Rangers history to hit for the cycle, the first since Oddibe McDowell on July 23, 1985, against the Indians at Arlington Stadium.
Teixeira went 4-for-5 and drove in a career-high seven runs as the Rangers stretched their winning streak to five games and remained tied with Boston for the wild-card lead. He hit a two-run double in the third, a three-run homer in the fourth, a two-run triple in the fifth and a leadoff single in the seventh.
Scott Erickson (1-2) won for the first time since Aug. 7, 2002, while with Baltimore. He allowed one run and three hits in six innings, and Doug Brocail finished for his first save since July 7, 1999, with Detroit.
Cliff Lee (10-5) allowed a career-high eight runs and seven hits in 3 1-3 innings. Texas is 7-1 against Cleveland this year.
Mariners 16, Royals 3
In Kansas City, Missouri, Ichiro Suzuki went 4-for-4 and drove in a career-high five runs, leading off the game with a home run for the second straight day.
Bret Boone hit two home runs and four RBIs, and Raul Ibanez had a career-high five hits and scored four runs for Seattle, which set season highs for runs and hits (20).
Rookie Bobby Madritsch (3-0) allowed one run and five hits in seven innings, and became only the fourth Mariners pitcher to begin his career with three wins. Darrell May (9-13) allowed nine runs and nine hits in two-plus innings.
Victor Santos pitched well into the seventh inning and won for the first time in a month, leading the Milwaukee Brewers over the Chicago Cubs 3-1 Tuesday night.
Santos improved to 3-1 against the Cubs this season. He had lost five straight decisions since beating Chicago on July 16.
Bill Hall hit a two-run triple for last-place Milwaukee, which was helped by Nomar Garciaparra's error.
Sammy Sosa hit his 26th homer, but later struck out against Santos with the bases loaded. Dan Kolb pitched the ninth for his 34th save in 37 chances.
Carlos Zambrano (11-7) lost for the first time in four starts.
Astros 5, Phillies 0
In Philadelphia, Roy Oswalt and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, and Raul Chavez hit a three-run double in the Houston Astros' victory over free-falling Philadelphia.
Oswalt (13-8) allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked two in 7 2-3 innings to win his fifth straight decision. Mike Gallo got one out in the eighth, and Dan Miceli pitched a perfect ninth for the Astros' third win in nine games.
The Phillies fell to 1-7 on their current homestand. At 59-60, Philadelphia is under .500 for the first time since May 7.
Randy Wolf (5-8) took the loss.
Cardinals 7, Reds 2
In St. Louis, Tony Womack scored the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded walk from Danny Graves in the eighth inning and Larry Walker hit the next pitch for a grand slam to lead the Cardinals over the Reds.
The NL Central leaders are 13-2 against the Reds this season and will try to complete a three-game sweep Wednesday. St. Louis opened a 15-game lead over second-place Chicago _ the Cardinals' largest advantage since winning the 1968 pennant.
Cincinnati led 2-1 in the eighth when Joe Valentine hit Scott Rolen with a pitch leading off, Edgar Renteria grounded out and Jim Edmonds greeted Graves (1-5) with an RBI single. After Reggie Sanders was walked intentionally, pinch-hitter Marlon Anderson loaded the bases with a single. One out later, Womack walked on five pitches and Walker followed with his sixth career slam.
Cal Eldred (3-0) gave up one hit and struck out two in a scoreless eighth.
Rockies 6, Mets 4
In Denver, Jason Jennings overcame a slow start to pitch seven solid innings and Matt Holliday drove in the go-ahead run with a solo homer off Dan Wheeler (3-1) in the sixth for the Rockies.
Jennings added two hits and drove in a run, Aaron Miles had three hits and two RBIs, and Vinny Castilla eclipsed the 100-RBI mark to help the Rockies end a seven-game losing streak to the Mets.
Shawn Chacon pitched the ninth to become the third Colorado pitcher to save 30 games in a season. Richard Hidalgo had two doubles and three RBIs, but the Mets couldn't overcome the early loss of starter Victor Zambrano to a sore elbow.
Dodgers 6, Marlins 1
In Los Angeles, Wilson Alvarez won his fourth straight decision, and Steve Finley and Adrian Beltre each homered and drove in a pair of runs to lead the Dodgers.
Alvarez (7-3), facing A.J. Burnett (3-6) in a matchup of pitchers who have thrown no-hitters, allowed an unearned run and six hits in seven innings while striking out six and walking one.
Burnett allowed three runs, four hits and two walks over six innings and struck out nine. He's 0-6 in seven road starts this season and 0-8 in 11 road outings since beating Montreal on July 27, 2002.
Giants 5, Expos 4
In San Francisco, J.T. Snow singled in the winning run with one out in the ninth to lead the Giants to their sixth straight victory.
Barry Bonds homered twice and Jason Schmidt pitched eight strong innings, but his bullpen blew his chance to become the majors' first 16-game winner. The Giants maintained their lead in the NL wild-card race.
Snow singled to right off Luis Ayala (4-9) and right fielder Juan Rivera tried to throw out pinch-runner Ricky Ledee at the plate, but the ball sailed into the stands behind home plate.
Padres 11, Braves 6
In San Diego, Jake Peavy struck out nine in seven innings and Freddy Guzman got a hit, scored a run and had an RBI in his major league debut for the Padres.
Peavy (9-3) allowed just two hits -- a second-inning single by Andruw Jones and a fourth-inning home run by Chipper Jones that extended his streak of games with home runs to five. He walked none and retired his final 10 batters.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about £2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Less than a week after splashing out a world-record fee for Naomi Girma, Chelsea has spent big again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the English Women’s Super League. Walsh left European champions Barcelona after more than two years to join Chelsea for a reported £400,000 (US$496,000) on Friday. Walsh was the world’s most expensive player for two years after moving to Barcelona from Manchester City for a reported £400,000 in 2022. That status now belongs to Girma, the US defender who cost Chelsea a reported £900,000 to sign from the San Diego Wave. Still, it means 27-year-old Walsh — a technically