(Thursday, July 12th)
Final Score: Chicago 9, Baltimore 7
Baltimore, MD - Jon Garland pitched seven strong innings, and the Chicago White Sox survived a ninth-inning scare to open the second half of the season with a 9-7 win over the Baltimore Orioles in the opener of a four-game set. Garland (7-6) scattered eight hits and two runs, fanning three and walking two for the White Sox, who won their third in a row and their 11th out of 16. Jermaine Dye went 3-for-5 with two RBI, two runs, and a homer, and Jim Thome also homered for the White Sox. Rob Mackowiak went 3- for-3 with a double, a run scored and two RBI in the win. Dewon Day and Boone Logan combined to let up six hits and five runs while recording only two outs in the ninth before Bobby Jenks came on and got the last out for his 24th save. Jeremy Guthrie (4-3) was ripped for nine hits and six runs — five earned — in 3 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking three. Kevin Millar was 3-for-5 with a three-run homer in the ninth and four total RBI for Baltimore, which has dropped four of five.
Final Score: Boston 7, Toronto 4
Boston, MA - David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were at the center of an offensive attack against Toronto ace Roy Halladay, as Boston started its second half with a 7-4 victory at Fenway Park. Boston’s 53-34 first half sat atop all of baseball, and it began the second half with the same formula for success. Plenty of Ortiz, Ramirez and solid starting pitching. Ortiz finished 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and two RBI and Ramirez drove in three and scored once. The top four hitters in Boston’s order scored all seven runs. Tim Wakefield (10-8) was the beneficiary, reaching double-digit victories with six innings of four-run, nine-hit ball. The veteran struck out two and didn’t walk a batter as the Red Sox shook off a three-game sweep at the hands of Detroit before the All-Star break. The same couldn’t be said for Halladay (10-4), who walked four and surrendered five runs and eight hits over just five innings. The right-hander has now allowed 18 runs over his last four outings. Alex Rios carried over his power surge from San Francisco, clubbing his 18th homer of the season as part of a three-hit night. Rios reached the finals of Monday’s Home Run Derby, hitting 12 second-round homers before falling to Vladimir Guerrero in the finals. Matt Stairs also went deep and Lyle Overbay finished 1-for-4 in his return from a broken right hand. The first baseman hadn’t seen action since hitting the disabled list on June 5. The Blue Jays have lost two of three.
Final Score: New York 7, Tampa Bay 3
St. Petersburg, FL - Bobby Abreu homered and finished with three runs batted in to lead the New York Yankees to a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the opener of a four-game series at Tropicana Field. Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter also homered for the Yankees, who commenced the second half of the season with their fourth win in the last five games and in the process crept back up to the .500 mark (43-43). New York sits 10 games behind Boston, which also won on Thursday, in the AL East. Andy Pettitte started on the hill and earned the victory after he allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings. Pettitte (5-6) bounced back and delivered a decent outing after struggling mightily over his last four starts (0-2, 10.18 ERA). Brandon Harris scored twice for the Devil Rays, who have the worst record in the majors and, after this setback, have now dropped 14 of their last 15 games overall. James Shields (7-5) surrendered six runs — five earned — and nine hits through six innings of work with one walk and two strikeouts.
Final Score: Minnesota 6, Oakland 2
Minneapolis, MN - Michael Cuddyer was a perfect 4-for-4, and while not perfect, Scott Baker was solid on the mound, as Minnesota started its second half with a 6-2 victory over Oakland at the Metrodome. Baker (5-3) tossed six frames of two-run, five-hit ball with three strikeouts and one walk. The Minnesota bullpen held down the fort with three frames of scoreless relief. Torii Hunter drove in two and four others, including the rightfielder Cuddyer, knocked home a runner for Minnesota, which snapped a two-game skid. Shannon Stewart finished 2-for-4, scored once and drove home a run, while Nick Swisher and Bobby Crosby each doubled in Oakland’s fourth consecutive loss. Chad Gaudin (8-4) was saddled with the loss, yielding five runs on six hits with five walks and two strikeouts. The right-hander labored through four frames, throwing 97 pitches with just 52 for strikes. Final Score: Seattle 3, Detroit 2
Seattle, WA - Adrian Beltre stroked a two-run single and avoided being tagged out to allow the go-ahead run to score in a wacky sequence in the fifth inning, giving the Mariners the lead, as they held on for a controversial 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. Felix Hernandez pitched 6 1/3 solid innings for the Mariners, who opened the second half of their season with their fourth consecutive win and moved within two games of first place in the AL West behind the Angels. Hernandez (6-4) allowed two runs on 10 hits with six strikeouts. Jose Vidro finished with three hits and a run scored in the win. Curtis Granderson scored both runs and Magglio Ordonez was credited with two RBI for Detroit, which entered the All-Star break as winners of five straight games. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez was ejected from the game. During a steal attempt by Beltre, Yuniesky Betancourt appeared to interfere with the throw to second by Rodriguez, who was very angry and complained to home plate umpire Mike Winters. Rodriguez accidently bumped Winters as he was arguing the call, and Winters ejected him. With the bases loaded in the fifth inning, Beltre singled to right field to drive in two runs. Richie Sexson came home courtesy of what was ruled an error by Detroit’s Carlos Guillen. As Beltre tried to stretch the hit into a double, new Tigers catcher Mike Rabelo fired to second base to Carlos Guillen, who thought he tagged Beltre during his slide. Beltre was called safe by second base umpire Bruce Froemming, but he slid past the bag. Beltre quickly stood up to run toward third base, and Guillen chased after him but somehow missed three separate tag attempts despite being just inches from the runner. Guillen stopped chasing Beltre because he thought he tagged him, and as he looked back at Froemming to confirm that the tag was made, Guillen dropped the ball and Beltre slid into third safely as Froemming correctly deemed that no tag was actually made. While all of this was happening, Sexson sneaked home and crossed the plate with the game-winning run. The odd events were then capped when the Tigers appealed the original call at second base and Beltre was called out for never touching the bag, despite the fact that Froemming called him safe originally and replays showed he touched the bag. Froemming, for all intents and purposes, reversed his own call.
Final Score: New York 3, Cincinnati 2
Flushing, NY - Lastings Milledge raced from first base to score on a single from Ruben Gotay in the fifth inning, giving the New York Mets the lead for good in a 3-2 victory over Cincinnati in the opener of a four-game series. Jose Reyes and Gotay homered to start the bottom of the first inning to set a Mets record, as they won only for the third time in nine games, but started the post All-Star break on the right foot after some changes. Earlier in the day, the Mets dismissed Rick Down as hitting coach and filled the vacancy with a big name in Rickey Henderson. It is expected, though, that Howard Johnson will assume most or all of Down’s responsibilities. The Mets also designated 48-year-old infielder Julio Franco for assignment and signed infielder Marlon Anderson to a minor- league contract. They also recalled Milledge from Triple-A New Orleans. Met pitchers retired 18 straight Reds from the third through the eighth inning until Brandon Phillips singled to left field off Billy Wagner leading off the ninth. Wagner, though, escaped trouble thanks to a poor base running decision by Phillips and picked up his 18th save of the season. Orlando Hernandez (5-4) struck out seven over six innings to get the win. The right-hander allowed three hits and two runs while walking three to boost the NL East- leading Mets, who hold a 2 1/2 lead over Atlanta in the division. Bronson Arroyo (3-10) scattered eight hits and gave up three runs in seven innings, as the Reds began an 11-game road trip by having their four-game winning streak broken. Scott Hatteberg singled in both runs for Cincinnati, which continues to occupy last place in the NL Central.
