Monday, June 18, 2007
INTERLEAGUE
Yankees 8, Mets 2
NEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez hit his major league-leading 27th homer and Chien-Ming Wang came within one out of a complete game. Johnny Damon and Jorge Posada also homered, helping the Yankees win for the 11th time in 12 games. Wang (7-4) struck out a career-high 10 and walked one. He scattered six hits, sending the Mets to their 11th defeat in 13 games.
Angels 10, Dodgers 4
LOS ANGELES — Howie Kendrick and Orlando Cabrera had three hits each and drove in a combined three runs for the Angels. Kelvim Escobar (8-3) allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings. The right-hander struck out eight and walked two. Randy Wolf (8-5) gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings, walked three and struck out one in losing for the second time in three games. Gary Matthews Jr. hit an inside-the-park homer in the eighth. Dodgers right fielder James Loney attempted to backhand the drive to the wall and crashed into an auxiliary scoreboard. He was taken off the field in a cart after a delay of several minutes. The team said Loney bruised his right knee.
Cardinals 10, Athletics 6
OAKLAND, Calif. — Ryan Ludwick hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning and drove in a career-high five runs, leading St. Louis to their first interleague series win this season. Colby Lewis (0-2) allowed three straight singles to start the seventh before Ludwick’s high drive landed in the elevated seats in left-center for his third homer. Lewis’ streak of 24 straight retired batters ended on Albert Pujols’ base hit up the middle to start the rally.
Tigers 7, Phillies 4
PHILADELPHIA — Justin Verlander lost his bid for another no-hitter early and watched Detroit come through late, scoring five runs in the seventh. The Tigers used three pinch-hitters in the seventh, including Gary Sheffield who hit for Verlander and knocked in a run off Geoff Geary (1-2) that cut it to 3-2. Craig Monroe and Magglio Ordonez followed with consecutive two-RBI hits to complete the rally for a 6-3 lead. Todd Jones pitched the ninth for his 17th save in 21 chances. Verlander (8-2) saw his bid for consecutive no-hitters spoiled with one out in the second. He gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings.
Twins 10, Brewers 9
MINNEAPOLIS — Justin Morneau hit the first pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning over the baggie in right field for his third walk-off homer of the season for Minnesota. The blast by the reigning AL MVP bailed out teammate Lew Ford, whose two fielding miscues in the top of the inning allowed Milwaukee to tie the game off closer Joe Nathan (3-1).
Astros 10, Mariners 3
HOUSTON — Mike Lamb hit a grand slam and drove in five runs and Houston completed a three-game sweep. Lamb went 8-for-10 with two homers, eight RBIs and three doubles in the series. Roy Oswalt (7-4) wasn’t sharp, allowing a season-high 12 hits but giving up just three runs in 52⁄3 innings.
Devil Rays 7, Rockies 4
DENVER — Jonny Gomes hit a pair of two-run homers and Carlos Pena hit a solo shot into the third deck at Coors Field as Tampa Bay avoided a three-game sweep. Gomes, who has four homers this season, finished the day with three hits and four RBIs. Pena’s shot to deep right was the 27th homer at Coors Field to reach the third deck. The last one hit up there was by Todd Helton on July 7, 2005.
Nationals 4, Blue Jays 2
TORONTO — Ryan Zimmerman homered for the second straight game for Washington, which overcame Frank Thomas’ record 244th homer as a designated hitter. Thomas tied it at 2 with a solo homer in the third inning, moving him past Edgar Martinez for the most by a DH in major league history. Micah Bowie (4-2) allowed two runs and four hits over six innings, matching his longest start of the season, to win his fourth straight decision.
Royals 5, Marlins 4
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brian Bannister won his fourth consecutive start and Esteban German drove in the go-ahead run for Kansas City. Bannister (4-3) worked six-plus innings, allowing four runs and nine hits with a walk. Octavio Dotel got three outs for his fifth save in five chances. Jeremy Hermida hit a two-run homer, and Josh Willingham had three of the Marlins’ nine hits.
Diamondbacks 6, Orioles 4
BALTIMORE — Chad Tracy singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and Arizona capitalized on another poor performance by the Baltimore bullpen to extend the Orioles’ losing streak to eight. Eric Byrnes and Chris Snyder homered for the Diamondbacks, who outscored Baltimore 21-11 during a three-game sweep. Brandon Webb (7-4) allowed three runs, two earned, and seven hits in seven innings for Arizona. The 2006 Cy Young winner is 4-1 in his last five starts.
Rangers 11, Reds 4
CINCINNATI — Kevin Millwood got his first victory in two months, and Marlon Byrd hit his first homer in nearly a year and drove in three runs for Texas. Sammy Sosa pinch-hit and grounded into a forceout, leaving him one homer away from becoming the fifth to reach 600. Byrd took his place in right field and had a breakout game. Adam Dunn had two homers off Millwood (3-6), who struck out a season-high 10 batters to get his first victory since April 13.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Padres 11, Cubs 3
CHICAGO — Mike Cameron hit two of San Diego’s season-high five home runs. Cameron hit a two-run shot to center in the first inning and followed Adrian Gonzalez’s two-run drive in the third with a homer off Rich Hill (5-5) that made it 5-1. Khalil Greene added a three-run homer off Sean Gallagher in the fifth, and Rob Bowen hit a solo drive against Michael Wuertz in the eighth. That was plenty for Greg Maddux (6-3), who allowed three runs and seven hits.
Associated Press