AROUND THE HORN | Friday's other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Red Sox 2, Rangers 0
BOSTON -- Pedro Martinez pitched the Red Sox to their longest winning streak in nine years and pulled Boston within 21/2 games of the New York Yankees in the AL East. Martinez allowed four hits in seven innings, and Manny Ramirez and Bill Mueller homered in a victory over the Texas Rangers that extended Boston's winning streak to 10. The Red Sox, who have won 16 of 17 and 22 of 26, has not been this close to first place since before games of June 12.
Orioles 3, Yankees 1
NEW YORK -- Rodrigo Lopez shut down the Yankees into the eighth inning, outpitching Kevin Brown and leading the Baltimore Orioles to victory that cut New York's AL East lead over Boston to 21/2 games. Miguel Tejada got his major league-leading 122nd RBI, and the streaky Orioles won their fifth straight following a 12-game losing streak. They improved to 3-11 against New York this season, winning for only the sixth time in the last 24 matchups.
Tigers 4, Devil Rays 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Before the storm, the Detroit Tigers sent Tampa Bay to one more loss. Jeremy Bonderman pitched seven solid innings to send rookie Scott Kazmir to his first major league loss, and Dmitri Young hit a two-run homer that led the Tigers past Tampa Bay and extended the Devil Rays' losing streak to seven. The remainder of the three-game series today and Sunday was postponed because of Hurricane Frances, which was approaching Florida.
Athletics 7, Blue Jays 4
TORONTO -- Bobby Kielty hit a go-ahead homer off Ted Lilly -- the pitcher he was traded for -- and Nick Swisher doubled and walked twice in his major league debut to lead the Oakland Athletics past the Toronto Blue Jays. Tim Hudson won his fourth straight start for the AL West-leading A's, who won for the 15th time in 17 games. Kielty's two-run homer off Lilly (9-10) gave Oakland a 5-4 lead in the sixth. The A's swapped Lilly for Kielty in the offseason.
Twins 2, Royals 0
MINNEAPOLIS -- Johan Santana pitched a no-hitter through six, finishing with seven shutout innings for the Minnesota Twins in a victory over the Kansas City Royals. Desi Relaford lined a clean single to left leading off the seventh to end Santana's bid. Still, the AL's Pitcher of the Month for July and August won his ninth straight start and further strengthened his credentials as a Cy Young candidate.
White Sox 7, Mariners 5
CHICAGO -- Juan Uribe homered and Roberto Alomar had a two-run double to lead the Chicago White Sox over the Seattle Mariners. The game was halted for a few minutes in the sixth inning when a man ran across the outfield after Uribe's home run. The man was chased by 11 security guards from right field to left-center and was escorted off the field. The White Sox tightened security after Kansas City first-base coach Tom Gamboa was attacked by a spectator on Sept. 19, 2002, and umpire Laz Diaz was attacked by a fan on April 16 last year.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Braves 7, Expos 1
MONTREAL -- Paul Byrd pitched eight strong innings and Eli Marrero homered to help the Atlanta Braves extend their winning streak to four games with a victory over the Montreal Expos. Byrd (6-4) held the Expos scoreless into the eighth before Maicer Izturis hit a leadoff triple and scored on pinch-hitter Ryan Church's RBI grounder. Byrd, who returned June 19 from Tommy John surgery which caused him to miss the entire 2003 season, allowed four hits, struck out five and walked two.
Phillies 8, Mets 1
PHILADELPHIA -- Maybe Philadelphia waited too long to call up Gavin Floyd. Floyd, the fourth overall pick in the 2001 draft, made the most of his major league debut, holding the Mets to four hits over seven innings to give the Philadelphia Phillies a victory and send New York to its seventh straight loss. Pat Burrell helped him out, homering in his first game since Aug. 3, Jason Michaels homered twice and Placido Polanco also homered for the Phillies.
Cardinals 3, Dodgers 0
ST. LOUIS -- Matt Morris pitched a two-hitter and struck out a season-high 11, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to their seventh straight victory, over the Los Angeles Dodgers in a matchup of division leaders. Reggie Sanders homered, doubled and had two RBIs. Mike Matheny also homered for the Cardinals, who have won 11 of 13 overall and are a major league best 90-44. Morris (15-8) won his third straight start and walked none, pitching the low-hit complete game of his career.
Brewers 11, Reds 4
MILWAUKEE -- Geoff Jenkins and Wes Helms drove in three runs each, and Scott Podsednik tied a career high with four hits to lead the Milwaukee Brewers over the Cincinnati Reds. Helms and Gary Bennett homered for the Brewers, who scored their most runs since beating Anaheim 12-2 on June 9 and have won consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 8-10. Milwaukee is 13-35 since the All-Star break. Podsednik had three singles, a double and scored two runs, getting four hits for the fourth time this season and the fifth time in his career.
Source: Associated Press
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.