Manny Ramirez homered and drove in four runs against his former team, and the Boston Red Sox beat Cleveland 10-9 on Monday night to stop the Indians' nine-game winning streak.
Ramirez and Jason Varitek each hit a three-run homer, with Varitek's shot coming during a six-run fifth inning that sent C.C. Sabathia (5-4) walking off the field in disgust after one of the worst starts of his career.
Johnny Damon also connected to provide a key insurance run for the Red Sox, who have won seven of eight. All that offense made a winner of David Wells (6-4), who won his fourth straight decision despite a rough outing.
Cleveland made it close with consecutive home runs in the eighth. Travis Hafner hit a two-run shot, his 10th, off Alan Embree. Keith Foulke took over and gave up a homer to Victor Martinez, making it 9-8.
Damon homered leading off the ninth to make it 10-8. Foulke allowed an RBI double to Jhonny Peralta in the bottom half, then retired Grady Sizemore and Coco Crisp for his 14th save in 16 chances.
Devil Rays 5, Yankees 4
At New York, Casey Fossum took a shutout into the eighth inning to win as a starter for the first time since last August, and Tampa Bay ended New York's winning streak at six.
Hideki Matsui hit a three-run homer off Lance Carter in the eighth as the Yankees rallied from a five-run deficit to make it close.
Sean Henn (0-2), roughed up at Tampa Bay in his major league debut on May 4, did little better in start No. 2. Pitching because Kevin Brown is on the disabled list with back spasms, Henn allowed four runs -- three earned -- four hits and seven walks in 4 2-3 innings.
Fossum (3-5) had been 0-7 in 12 starts since beating Cincinnati for Arizona on Aug. 28. He didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning. Danys Baez relieved and got four outs for his 10th save in 16 chances, completing a six-hitter and pushing Tampa Bay to 6-28 on the road.
Blue Jays 11, Orioles 2
At Toronto, Ted Lilly and Justin Speier combined on a three-hitter, and Vernon Wells and Aaron Hill each hit first-inning home runs for Toronto.
Wells hit a three-run homer off Bruce Chen (6-5) in his first at-bat since returning to the team after missing three games to be with his wife, who gave birth to a baby boy this past weekend.
One batter later, Hill hit his first major league home run. Hill, a rookie, went 4-for-4 to establish a career high for hits and raise his average to .382. He also walked.
Lilly (5-7) allowed two runs and three hits in seven innings, lowering his ERA 6.08 while striking out a season-high 10.
White Sox 11, Royals 8
At Chicago, Paul Konerko, Frank Thomas and Jermaine Dye each homered, and A.J. Pierzynski had a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth inning to lead the White Sox to their fifth straight win.
Konerko hit a three-run homer in the first, Thomas had a solo shot in the third and Dye led off the fifth with a home run. The Royals tied it 8-all on back-to-back home runs by John Buck and Ruben Gotay in the sixth.
Neal Cotts (2-0) struck out three and allowed one hit in 2 1-3 innings, extending his scoreless streak to nine straight outings. Dustin Hermanson pitched the ninth for his 17th save in 18 chances.
Ryan Jensen (3-2) took the loss.
Angels 5, Rangers 1
At Anaheim, California, Paul Byrd pitched his first complete game since undergoing elbow surgery two years ago, and Vladimir Guerrero homered and drove in four runs to lead Los Angeles.
The teams began a 10-game stretch in which they will play each other seven times. After that, they won't meet again until Sept. 20. The Angels lead the AL West by 2.5 games and have beaten the Rangers in 11 of their last 16 meetings.
Byrd (7-5) threw only 92 pitches and won for the sixth time in eight decisions. He allowed six hits, struck out four and retired 19 of his last 21 batters after being pushed back a day in the rotation because of tightness in his triceps.
Rookie Chris Young (6-4) allowed five runs and 10 hits in five innings and struck out six for Texas.
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College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
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