Monday, May 26, 2008
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Athletics 6, Red Sox 3
OAKLAND, Calif. — Jon Lester’s hopes for another no-hitter ended with the first batter he faced, and the day never got better for the Boston Red Sox. Jack Hannahan hit that leadoff single and later drove in two runs, and Jack Cust hit a two-run homer as the Oakland Athletics completed a three-game sweep of the defending World Series champions. Lester (3-3) allowed seven hits and four runs over five innings, taking the loss in his first start since throwing a no-hitter last Monday against Kansas City. The Boston left-hander scuffled through early trouble before retiring the last six batters he faced.
Yankees 6, Mariners 5
NEW YORK — Jose Molina hit a two-out RBI double to cap a four-run eighth inning, and the Yankees rallied for their fifth straight victory. The Yankees won consecutive series for the first time this season, while the Mariners have lost a season-worst six games in a row. Seattle owns the worst record in the AL at 18-33. New York (25-25) was down 5-2 coming into the eighth and had been 0-23 when trailing after seven innings.
Blue Jays 3, Royals 1
TORONTO — Shannon Stewart drove in the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice, Dustin McGowan won for the first time in four starts and the Royals have now lost seven straight. McGowan (3-4) allowed one run and nine hits in seven innings to win for the first time since May 5 against Cleveland. He matched a season-high by striking out seven and walked none. Scott Downs worked the eighth and B.J. Ryan pitched the ninth for his 11th save.
Twins 6, Tigers 1
DETROIT — Jason Kubel hit a tiebreaking grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning and Glen Perkins shut down Detroit’s offense to take two of three in the series. Carlos Guillen homered and finished with three hits for Detroit, which wasted a strong start by Justin Verlander after blowing out Minnesota 19-3 on Saturday.
Rays 5, Orioles 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Evan Longoria drove in the winning run with a double in the ninth inning, giving the Rays a three-game sweep of the Orioles. Carlos Pena drew a one-out walk in the ninth off George Sherrill (1-1) and scored on Longoria’s double to center. Longoria also caused Baltimore problems on Saturday, hitting two homers and driving six runs in Tampa Bay’s 11-4 victory.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Rockies 4, Mets 1
DENVER — Seth Smith hit his first major league homer, a three-run shot off John Maine to back an impressive start by Aaron Cook (7-3). The right-hander allowed four hits, all singles, in his seventh career complete game and first since July 25.
Phillies 15, Astros 6
HOUSTON — Chase Utley and Shane Victorino each had three RBIs for the Phillies, who finished with 16 hits after Houston’s Chris Sampson allowed five through five innings. Fernando Nieve (0-1), called up from the minors on May 16, gave up four hits and two runs without recording an out in the sixth and Utley hit a two-run homer off Dave Borkowski to cap a six-run seventh. Nieve was sent back to the minors after the game.
Diamondbacks 9, Braves 3
ATLANTA — Eric Byrnes hit his first career grand slam to knock Tom Glavine out of the game. Glavine (2-2) gave up six runs and five hits while walking six in 42‚Ñ3 innings. Braves pitchers issued a season-high 11 walks in the game.
Diamondbacks starter Micah Owings (6-2) gave up six hits and three runs, two earned, in six innings. The Braves did not have a hit after the third inning.
Marlins 8, Giants 6
MIAMI — Dan Uggla hit one of four homers by the Marlins, who snapped San Francisco’s three-game winning streak in the first game of a doubleheader. Jeremy Hermida and Jorge Cantu hit back-to-back homers and Cody Ross also went deep for the Marlins. Uggla’s two-run homer in the fifth was his 12th this month and gave Florida a 7-5 lead.
Mark Hendrickson (7-2) survived five shaky innings, giving up five runs and nine hits, to win for the seventh time in his last nine starts for the NL East leaders.
Nationals 7, Brewers 6
WASHINGTON — Elijah Dukes scored on Guillermo Mota’s ninth-inning wild pitch.
Dodgers 4, Cardinals 3, 10 innings
LOS ANGELES — Andre Ethier singled home the winning run in the 10th inning and Luis Maza hit his first big league homer.
Associated Press