MLB ROUNDUP Monday’s other games
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Yankees 6, Red Sox 2
NEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez homered for the third straight game and Chien-Ming Wang stymied Boston. Jason Giambi snapped a 1-for-26 slide with an upper-deck homer and leadoff batter Johnny Damon got the Yankees started all game against his former team. The Yankees drew eight walks and ran on Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield all night. New York had five two-out RBIs, and the Red Sox went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Robinson Cano hit a two-run triple and Damon finished with three singles, a walk and two stolen bases. Wang (3-3) yielded two runs and seven hits in 61⁄3 innings to win his second consecutive start. David Ortiz drove in both Boston runs.
White Sox 8, Athletics 5
CHICAGO — Rob Mackowiak hit a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth inning, and Darin Erstad drove in three runs in Chicago’s victory. Paul Konerko added three of Chicago’s season-high 14 hits and scored three runs. Jose Contreras (4-4) allowed three runs on nine hits in 61⁄3 innings, and struck out a season-high eight and walked one. Bobby Jenks pitched out of trouble in the ninth for his 14th save. After Jenks walked Jack Cust and allowed a single to Eric Chavez, he struck out Bobby Crosby, got Marco Scutaro to pop out to shortstop and Mark Ellis to line out to right to end it. The A’s also had a chance to score in the seventh when they had the bases loaded, but reliever Matt Thornton got Chavez to ground out with the bases loaded. Nick Swisher went 3-for-5 and drove in all five runs for Oakland. With the game tied at 3 in the sixth, Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski hit back-to-back leadoff singles off Joe Blanton (4-2) and advanced to second and third on Pablo Ozuna’s bunt. Mackowiak followed with a two-run single to left to make it 5-3. Alex Cintron chased Blanton with a single to put runners on first and third, and Erstad followed with an RBI single off Jay Marshall. Blanton allowed six runs — four earned — and eight hits, struck out four and walked two. White Sox right fielder Jermaine Dye was ejected for arguing two called strikes in the fifth inning. Dye became upset with plate umpire Chris Guccione after taking a strike from Blanton. Then after taking a called third strike, Dye dropped his bat at the plate in disgust and continued to argue with Guccione, who tossed him after a short argument.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Reds 8, Nationals 7
CINCINNATI — Javier Valentin’s pinch-hit, two-run homer in the eighth inning rallied Cincinnati and the Nationals suffered their biggest blown lead of the season. Valentin’s homer off Jon Rauch (2-1) was set up by a misplay characteristic of the NL’s worst team. Center fielder Nook Logan and right fielder Austin Kearns let Scott Hatteberg’s fly drop for an RBI double ahead of Valentin’s homer. Jon Coutlangus (2-0) retired the four batters he faced, and David Weathers finished for his ninth save in 10 chances. Hatteberg homered and double twice, driving in four runs as the Reds overcame a six-run deficit. Ken Griffey Jr. added a solo homer, the 572nd of his career. Griffey is one behind Harmon Killebrew for eight place on the list.
Associated Press