(Saturday, June 30th)
Final Score: Oakland 7, New York 0
Bronx, NY - Chad Gaudin and Rich Harden combined to one-hit the Yankees, as the Athletics blanked New York, 7-0, at Yankee Stadium. Gaudin (7-3) started for Oakland and didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning. He struck out four and walked three in seven innings while Harden pitched two scoreless frames. Gaudin and Harden pitched the first one-hitter for the A’s since April 8, 2006 when Barry Zito, Kiko Calero, Joe Kennedy and Huston Street combined to allow just one hit to Seattle. Jason Kendall, Shannon Stewart and Dan Johnson all hit home runs for the Athletics, who won for just the second time in their last nine games. New York starter Kei Igawa pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on five hits, including three home runs. Igawa (2-2) also fanned four and walked three. Johnny Damon had the lone hit of the contest for the Yankees, who have dropped five of their last six games and eight of their last 10. Final Score: Minnesota 8, Detroit 5
Detroit, MI - Michael Cuddyer hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning, and the Minnesota Twins downed the Detroit Tigers, 8-5, in the second of a three-game set from Comerica Park. Lew Ford also homered for the Twins, who won their third straight. Jason Bartlett ended 2-for-5 with an RBI and scored a run in the win. Curtis Granderson, Marcus Thames and Ivan Rodriguez each homered for the Tigers, who lost their second straight. Magglio Ordonez finished 0-for-4, snapping a 15-game hitting streak. Both teams had inexperienced arms taking the hill as the Twins gave the ball to rookie Kevin Slowey and Detroit countered with Andrew Miller. Slowey (3-0), who was called up to the majors to start the month of June, allowed four runs on nine hits with a walk and two strikeouts over six innings. Joe Nathan tossed a perfect ninth for his 16th save of the season. Miller (3-2), in his second year in the majors after making eight appearances for the Tigers in 2006, gave up six runs — five earned — on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts over five frames. Final Score: Baltimore 6, LA Angels of Anaheim 3
Baltimore, MD - Ramon Hernandez’s three-run homer in the seventh inning proved to be the difference, as Brian Burres tossed 7 2/3 strong innings to lead the Baltimore Orioles over the LA Angels of Anaheim, 6-3, at Camden Yards. Hernandez ended 2-for-4 and Kevin Millar added two RBI and scored twice for the Orioles, who evened this three-game set. Brian Roberts went 2-for-4 with a run for Baltimore, which has won three of four. Melvin Mora had three hits and an RBI. Burres (4-2) won his third straight decision, earning his first win since May 31. The left-hander allowed three runs on five hits, striking out four and walking four. Paul Shuey recorded the final four outs for his first save since 2002. Chone Figgins went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, and Orlando Cabrera also had two hits with an RBI and scored for the Angels, who have lost four of five. Bartolo Colon (6-4) started on the hill and suffered the loss. The right- hander allowed three runs on eight hits, striking out six and walking two in six innings.
Final Score: Texas 5, Boston 4
Boston, MA - Frank Catalanotto went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored and Sammy Sosa hit the go-ahead run with a homer, as Texas rallied from four runs down to edge Boston, 5-4, in the second of a four-game series at Fenway Park. Ron Mahay (1-0) picked up his first win of 2007 by yielding one hit in two innings of relief. Eric Gagne set down the side in order in the ninth for his ninth save. Starter Robinson Tejeda was charged with five hits and four runs over four innings, striking out four but walking six on 101 pitches. Kenny Lofton finished 2-for-4 with a double for the Rangers, who snapped a modest two-game losing streak. Marlon Byrd collected two hits and an RBI and Brad Wilkerson drove in a pair. Josh Beckett (11-2) lasted only five innings, allowing 10 hits and five runs with four strikeouts, denied in his attempt to become a 12-game winner. Kevin Youkilis had a two-run homer and scored twice for the Red Sox, who have dropped three of four. Alex Cora was 2-for-4 with a triple, David Ortiz picked up an RBI single, Dustin Pedroia scored once and Jacoby Ellsbury picked up his first major-league hit in the loss.
Final Score: Cleveland 8, Tampa Bay 6
Cleveland, OH - C.C. Sabathia struck out eight batters over seven innings to continue his mastery of Tampa Bay and become the first 12- game winner, as Cleveland topped the Devil Rays, 8-6, in the continuation of a four-game series at Jacobs Field. Sabathia (12-2) continued his bid to be the starting pitcher at the All-Star Game, allowing six hits and three runs — two earned — while not walking a batter to pick up his third straight win. The lefty moved to 7-1 lifetime against Tampa Bay and incredibly equaled his victory total (12-11) from last season. He’s also the first Indian to have at least 12 wins by the All-Star break since Gaylord Perry in 1974. Grady Sizemore had three hits and knocked in three runs and Travis Hafner homered for the AL Central-leading Indians, who won for the fifth time in six games overall and moved to 29-12 at home this season. Victor Martinez had three of Cleveland’s 15 hits. Raul Casanova homered and had three RBI for the Devil Rays, losers of six in a row, tying a season-high. They’ve dropped nine of 11 overall and have fallen in 11 of the last 13 meetings to the Indians. J.P. Howell (1-2) allowed eight hits and five runs over 4 1/3 innings in the loss. Final Score: Chicago 3, Kansas City 1 (10 innings)
Kansas City, MO - Tadahito Iguchi singled home the winning two runs in the 10th inning, as the Chicago White Sox downed the Kansas City Royals, 3-1, in the second of a three-game set at Kauffman Stadium. With the score knotted at one, Chicago got the winning runs in the 10th off Octavio Dotel (0-1). Pinch-hitter A.J. Pierzynski singled, Scott Podsednik got hit by a pitch, and both baserunners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Dotel intentionally walked Paul Konerko to load the bases for Iguchi, who grounded a single to right field scoring the winning runs. Podsednik scored two runs for the White Sox, who have won five of their last six. John Danks gave up one run on four hits with six strikeouts and a walk over eight innings in his first-ever look at the Royals lineup in his young career. Matt Bukvich (1-0) threw one pitch to one batter in the ninth for the win, and Bobby Jenks tossed the 10th for his 21st save of the season. Emil Brown homered for the Royals, who were already assured of having their first winning month since July 2003. On Friday, following the team’s first three- game sweep of the Angels in California in 11 years, the Royals won their fifth straight outing with a convincing 8-1 thumping of the Sox in the series opener. Odalis Perez, still waiting for his first win over Chicago, allowed one run on three hits with four walks and three strikeouts over seven innings.
Final Score: Seattle 8, Toronto 3
Seattle, WA - Ben Broussard went 4-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored as the Seattle Mariners downed the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-3, in the second of a three-game set at Safeco Field. Yuniesky Betancourt had two hits, two RBI and a run scored while Miguel Batista (8-6) gave up just one run on five hits in 6 1/3 innings for the Mariners, who are on a season-high seven-game winning streak. Frank Thomas drove in two runs while Roy Halladay (9-3) was tagged with the loss as he gave up three runs on 10 hits in six innings for the Blue Jays, who have lost three straight and four of their last five.
Final Score: New York 8, Philadelphia 3
Philadelphia, PA - Carlos Beltran hit a pair of homers for the second straight game and drove in three runs to lead the New York Mets over the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-3, at Citizens Bank Park. David Wright and Paul Lo Duca also homered for New York, which scored all but two of its runs courtesy of the long ball and is now on the verge of a four- game sweep of the Phillies for the first time since September, 2002. Beltran, who ended 4- for-5, had a pair of solo homers in Friday’s second game of a day/night doubleheader that the Mets swept. New York has now won four straight and eight of nine to regain some control atop the National League East standings. New York was getting a solid effort from starting pitcher Jorge Sosa until the right-hander left the game with a strained left hamstring in the sixth inning. When running out a sacrifice bunt attempt, Sosa pulled up lame after touching the bag. He stayed on the ground for a few minutes before walking off the field under his own power. Sosa (7-3) did get the win for his efforts, allowing three runs on four hits in five innings to pick up his first win in three decisions. He struck out four and walked three, earning his first victory since June 8. Ryan Howard homered and scored a pair of runs, ending 2-for-4, for Philadelphia, which fell six games behind the Mets in the division. The Phillies began the series in second place, just three games back of the Mets, but after dropping the doubleheader on Friday the club fell to third place behind the Atlanta Braves. Carlos Ruiz added two hits and drove in a run for the Phillies, who are now just five losses shy of becoming the first franchise to reach 10,000.
Final Score: Milwaukee 13, Chicago 4
Chicago, IL - Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer and went 4- for-5 with four RBI as the Milwaukee Brewers pounded the Chicago Cubs, 13-4, in the second of a three-game set at Wrigley Field. Milwaukee starter Ben Sheets (10-3) won his sixth straight decision, going eight innings, allowing four runs on six hits with one walk and a season-high 11 strikeouts. Craig Counsell homered and Prince Fielder had three RBI for the Brewers, who have won 13 of 16. Mark DeRosa drove in two runs for the Cubs, who had a seven-game winning streak snapped. Cubs starter Sean Marshall (4-3) was tagged for seven runs - six earned — on seven hits in just two innings.
Final Score: Colorado 5, Houston 0
Houston, TX - Jeff Francis tossed seven shutout innings, as the Colorado Rockies blanked the Houston Astros, 5-0, in the third of a four- game set at Minute Maid Park. Francis (8-5) scattered just three hits with four walks and four strikeouts before LaTroy Hawkins and Jeremy Affeldt completed the shutout. Kaz Matsui finished 3-for-5 and scored twice for the Rockies, who had an eight-game losing streak snapped. Matt Holliday ended 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored in the win. Craig Biggio had two of the four hits for the Astros, who, after winning the opener by an 8-5 score in 11 innings on Thursday, recorded a 9-8 triumph in dramatic fashion in Friday’s second test of this series. Former Rockie Jason Jennings (1-3), who was traded to the Astros in December in a multi-player deal, allowed three runs on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks over seven innings.
Final Score: Atlanta 6, Florida 5
Miami, FL - Edgar Renteria doubled home the go-ahead run during a five-run eighth inning as the Atlanta Braves held on to defeat the Florida Marlins, 6-5, at Dolphin Stadium. Jeff Francoeur went 2-for-5 and drove in two runs during the decisive eighth inning for the Braves, who have won five straight, including the first two games of this three-game set. Chipper Jones and Kelly Johnson also drove in a run each for Atlanta, which has scored 41 runs during its current winning streak — 31 in the last three games. Tim Hudson (8-5) started on the mound for the Braves and got the win. The right-hander allowed one run on seven hits, striking out six and walking one, over seven innings. Hudson has now won two straight starts after going 0-2 over his previous four starts. Dan Uggla and Miguel Olivo homered and Miguel Cabrera went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Marlins, who have lost six of seven. Final Score: Pittsburgh 7, Washington 2
Pittsburgh, PA - Adam LaRoche homered and drove in three runs while Tom Gorzelanny threw 7 1/3 solid innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Washington Nationals, 7-2, in the second of a three game set at PNC Park. Gorzelanny (8-4) allowed just five hits and two runs, while walking three and striking out six in the win. Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson had two RBI apiece for the Pirates, who scored six times in the second inning to win for the fourth time in five games. Ronnie Belliard homered and Dmitri young drove in a run for the Nationals, who have dropped five in a row and 11 of 14. In a much-publicized effort to display fan discontent during the Pirates’ 15th consecutive losing season, a few thousand fans in the crowd of 26,959 left their seats in a planned protest following the third inning. Only about 100 fans were seen leaving the ballpark immediately following the third, and it appeared that many of the fans who left their seats returned soon after leaving. The protest included a pregame rally ridiculing the ownership for refusing to spend money on free agents and not upgrading the team’s talent. Washington starter Jason Bergmann (1-5) was tagged for six runs on eight hits in just four innings.
Final Score: Cincinnati 5, St. Louis 1
Cincinnati, OH - Kyle Lohse bounced back from three consecutive bad starts and gave up just one run as the Cincinnati Reds downed the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-1, in the second test of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park. Lohse (4-10) pitched seven-plus innings and gave up just one run on five hits with three walks and eight strikeouts. He also drove in a run. He had been pounded in his previous three starts as he gave up 17 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings of work. David Ross hit a two-run home run and Josh Hamilton scored a run and drove one in for the Reds, who had lost five of six coming into the game. Yadier Molina drove in the lone run and Adam Wainwright (6-7) lasted five-plus innings and gave up five runs on five hits with four walks and five strikeouts for the Cardinals, who have dropped two of three. Final Score: San Francisco 4, Arizona 1
San Francisco, CA - Bengie Molina went 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat Arizona, 4-1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park. Noah Lowry (8-6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning eight and walking three. Kevin Frandsen added a run-scoring single for the Giants, who snapped a three- game slide. Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron’s record on Friday, went 1-for-1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double was his 376th in a Giants uniform, tying him with Willie Mays for most in San Francisco history. Bonds narrowly missed hitting a homer in the fifth, pounding a ball high off the bricks in right- center, but settled for the RBI double which made it 3-1, as the hit scored Ray Durham. Molina singled, then Frandsen’s base hit scored Bonds for a 4-1 game. Doug Davis (5-9) was tagged for four runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 frames, with four strikeouts and a season-high six walks for the D-Backs, who have dropped four of six. Orlando Hudson finished 2-for-4 and drove in the lone run.
Final Score: San Diego 3, Los Angeles 1 (12 innings)
Los Angeles, CA - Jose Cruz Jr. and Geoff Blum doubled in runs in the 12th inning, boosting the Padres to a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Josh Bard knocked in the other run for the NL West-leading Padres, who won their fourth straight game and will go for the three-game sweep Sunday. Nomar Garciaparra homered for the Dodgers, losers of four in a row at home and five straight to the Padres. Khalil Greene singled up the middle off Brett Tomko (1-6) to start the 12th inning. Kevin Kouzmanoff put down a sacrifice bunt before Cruz lined a ball to left-center field. Left fielder Andre Ethier tried to make a sliding grab, but the ball short-hopped into his glove, allowing Greene to score. Blum then slapped a pinch-hit double down the right-field line. Royce Ring (1-0) got the final out of the 11th inning to record his first major league win, and Trevor Hoffman retired the side in order on fly outs to gain his 23rd save.
