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St. Petersburg, FL - Carlos Pena knocked in three runs, Ty Wigginton belted a solo homer and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat up on the Angels, 7-2, in the second of three games at Tropicana Field.

Wigginton, who had tied a Tampa Bay record with eight consecutive hits coming into the game, grounded into a force out in the second inning to halt the streak. He then struck out in his next at-bat in the fourth before crushing a homer in the sixth.

The second baseman barely missed another homer with a deep fly ball to the warning track in the seventh. Wigginton is now 9-for-12 with four RBI, two runs scored, a pair of doubles and a home run over his last three games.

Delmon Young had a pair of hits and knocked in a run, while Akinori Iwamura went 3-for-4 with two runs scored for the Rays, who have won two straight after dropping 16 of 18 coming into the series.

Scott Kazmir (7-6) tossed seven solid innings, allowing one run on three hits, with a walk and six strikeouts. It was the second consecutive win for the lefty after a four-start dry spell during which he was 0-3.

“What a great pitching performance by our staff today,” Pena said. “When you combined good pitching, great hitting and play good defense, we win.”

Bartolo Colon (6-5), on the other hand, had another dismal start for the Angels, allowing three runs and five hits over five innings. He walked four and fanned seven, but threw 106 pitches, just 65 for strikes.

The former staff ace has just one win over his past nine starts, holding a 1-5 mark with a lofty 10.27 ERA in that span. He has lasted into the seventh inning in just one of those outings and has served up 12 home runs.

Gary Matthews Jr. and Orlando Cabrera each knocked in a run for the Angels, who have dropped three straight.

Los Angeles put up a first-inning run when Reggie Willits smoked a leadoff double, moved to third on a sac bunt by Chone Figgins and scored on a groundout by Cabrera.

Tampa tied it in the fourth. B.J. Upton and Pena both walked to start the inning, and Upton scored on a single by Young. Brendan Harris followed with a base hit, loading the bases with nobody out, but Jonny Gomes and Wigginton both struck out. Colon then got Dioner Navarro to pop out to end the threat.

The Rays, however, struck for two more runs in the fifth behind a lead-off single from Iwamura and a ground-rule double from Carl Crawford. Upton’s groundout plated Iwamura to make it 2-1, and after Pena went down swinging, Crawford stole third and then hustled home when catcher Jose Molina’s throw sailed into left field.

Wigginton then jumped on the first pitch he saw from Dustin Moseley in the sixth, crushing the ball to dead center to give the Rays a 4-1 lead. The inning continued with a one-out walk to Navarro, a single by Iwamura and an intentional walk to Upton before Pena’s double ricocheted off a catwalk, clearing the bases for a six-run cushion.

“I saw it go up, I thought it was too high, so I ran to the spot,” Matthews said. “I didn’t see it again until it hit the light and came down. I never lost one here before.”

Figgins singled and later scored in the ninth on a groundout by Matthews.

Game Notes

The Angels optioned struggling right-hander Ervin Santana to Triple-A Salt Lake prior to the game and activated catcher Mike Napoli from the 15- day disabled list…Pena has hit safely in a career-high 14 consecutive games, which is also season-high for a Tampa player…Pena’s double marked the fourth time he has hit a ball off the catwalk this season…Colon fell to 9-2 in 17 lifetime starts against the Devil Rays.

Bronx, NY - Alex Rodriguez stroked a two-run double, and Andy Phillips singled in two runs, with both hits coming in the seventh inning, as the Yankees earned a 6-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Hideki Matsui had a pair of hits and scored twice, as New York won for the fifth straight time and climbed within seven games of first-place Boston in the American League East. The Red Sox lost at home to Kansas City, 6-5, Wednesday night.

Roger Clemens, who made his 700th career appearance, allowed nine hits and a run over six innings, but the seven-time Cy Young Award winner was left without a decision.

Mike Myers (1-0) recorded the final out of the seventh inning to get the win as the Yankees were victorious for the 11th time in 14 contests to move a season-high four games (48-44) over .500.

The win also came on manager Joe Torre’s 67th birthday, and closer Mariano Rivera threw the final 1 2/3 innings for his 15th save.

Alex Rios had four hits and scored the lone run for the Blue Jays, who need a win Thursday to avoid a four-game sweep. The Blue Jays went a dismal 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position, leaving 13 men on base.

Shaun Marcum (5-4) was saddled with the defeat after surrendering five hits and three runs over six innings.

Toronto got on the board in the second frame as Rios drove his fourth triple of the season to left with one out and scored on Troy Glaus’ two-out single.

The Blue Jays failed to capitalize with the bases full in the seventh, as Myers got Lyle Overbay to ground out to end the threat.

The Yankees then sent nine men to the plate during their four-run seventh. Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu scored the tying and go-ahead runs, both singling and coming home when Rodriguez drove a double over the head of Reed Johnson in left. Scott Downs then replaced Marcum and gave up a single to Matsui. After striking out Jorge Posada, Downs walked Robinson Cano and was then lifted in favor of Brandon League. Phillips next grounded a single to left field to boost the Yankee lead to 4-1.

Toronto failed with runners at the corners in the eighth, as Rios fanned to cap the inning.

Posada and Cano had RBI singles in the bottom of the eighth before Rivera finished by retiring the side in order in the ninth.

Game Notes

The Yankees beat Toronto for the fourth straight time…Matsui has a 13-game hitting streak…Abreu’s seventh-inning hit ended an 0-for-15 slump.

Miami, FL - Kip Wells twirled eight stellar innings to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Florida Marlins, 6-0, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Dolphin Stadium.

Wells (4-12) yielded just two hits over his dominant outing while striking out four and walking a pair for the Cardinals, who have won three of four. Wells entered with a 1-8 mark on the road this season.

Juan Encarnacion knocked in three runs and So Taguchi finished with two RBI and two runs scored in a winning effort as the Cardinals beat the Marlins for the eighth time in the last 10 meetings.

The evening was not all filled with good news. Scott Rolen traveled back to St. Louis on Wednesday to have his left shoulder examined. The standout third baseman received an injection in the shoulder, but is expected to resume playing in a few days.

Dontrelle Willis (7-9) was roughed up for six runs on 11 hits over just three- plus frames for Florida, which has lost two of three. Willis has now gone nine consecutive starts without a win.

“I feel a lot better today, as far as (pitching) around the plate,” Willis said. “I had a good plan. They (Cardinals) hit the ball where it was pitched. You just have to tip your hat. When I was able to execute, they were getting some strikeouts. So I’ve just got to keep grinding.”

St. Louis put up a pair of runs in the first to assume immediate command. Taguchi got things going with a one-out single, then was driven in by Albert Pujols’ double to left. Encarnacion followed with a double of his own to make it 2-0.

The offensive assault continued in the second, as the Cards put up a four- spot. With the bases loaded and one down, Taguchi came through with a double to right that brought in two runs. Pujols was intentionally walked in the next sequence to set the table for Encarnacion, who singled to score David Eckstein and Taguchi and up the lead to 6-0.

That was plenty of support for Wells. He gave up a single to Josh Willingham in the second and a leadoff double to Miguel Cabrera in the fourth before retiring 14 in a row.

“I knew when I went out there in the eighth, I had (thrown) 90 pitches. I knew if I went out there and got a six or eight pitch inning that I could go back out there (in the ninth for a chance at a complete game). Of course, the first hitter saw enough (pitches) that I knew I was burning up my bullets here.”

Troy Percival allowed two runners to reach base in the ninth, but wiggled out of trouble to preserve the shutout.

Game Notes

Willis is 0-6 with three no decisions since his last victory, a May 29 decision over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He has had an even longer drought at home, as Willis’ last win at Dolphin Stadium came all the way back on April 23…The Cardinals are an impressive 9-3 in South Florida since the start of the 2004 campaign…St. Louis’ Scott Spiezio saw the Cardinals team physician and an infectious disease specialist Wednesday. The infection and inflammation in his left index finger has subsided considerably. He will be re-evaluated on Monday to determine his status.

Boston, MA - Billy Butler and Alex Gordon each drove in two runs as Kansas City edged Boston, 6-5, in the rubber match of a three-game set at Fenway Park.

Odalis Perez (5-8) allowed seven hits and five runs with two walks and two strikeouts over five innings, earning his first win since June 18.

Ross Gload and Mark Grudzielanek also knocked in runs for the Royals, who won two straight to end the series and have now won three of five. After taking two of three in Boston from September 8-10, 2006, Kansas City has won back-to- back series at Fenway for the first time since taking both three-game sets there in the 2000 season.

“You come into Fenway Park, which is one of the special places to play against a team that has the best record in the American League, it feels pretty good,” Royals manager Buddy Bell said of his team’s win.

Inconsistent fifth-starter Julian Tavarez (5-8) took the loss, charged with nine hits and six runs — four earned — with three strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

“It’s disappointing. I have been getting some run support from my team,” Tavarez noted. “Everybody can catch for me. They’ve been scoring runs for me and I haven’t been able to hold on to it. I can’t say that I’m too happy about it.”

Dustin Pedroia went 3-for-4 and Julio Lugo drove in a pair for the Red Sox, who have dropped two in a row and seven of 10 to see their lead shrink to seven games over the surging Yankees in the AL East. Manny Ramirez collected two hits including a solo homer, while Jason Varitek and J.D. Drew drove in a run each.

After seeing their two-run lead turned into a two-run deficit, the Royals took a 6-4 lead in the fifth on Grudzielanek’s RBI double, a two-run double off Butler’s bat and a run-scoring single by Gordon.

Ramirez brought the Sox within 6-5 in the bottom of the frame when he belted a 2-2 pitch from Perez into the seats in straightaway center for his 14th homer of the season.

The Royals dodged a bullet in the eighth, as Joakim Soria gave up a two-out triple off the bullpen wall in right to Coco Crisp that missed being a game- tying home run by inches, but induced an inning-ending fly out by Lugo.

Octavio Dotel entered in the ninth and gave up a two-out single to Ortiz before retiring Ramirez on a pop out to end the game, earning his 10th save of the year.

“I must say I don’t want to face those guys, Ortiz and Manny, in that situation but that’s also my job,” Dotel said. “I just have to be aggressive in that situation and that’s what I did and thankfully Manny flied out and we won the game.”

Kansas City scored the first runs of the game for the second straight night, putting up two runs in the fourth. Grudzielanek and Mark Teahen hit back-to- back singles to start the inning, and moved up a base on Butler’s ground out. A Gload sacrifice fly brought in the first run, then Gordon’s single made it 2-0.

Boston picked up four in the home half. Ramirez singled, Kevin Youkilis walked, then Mike Lowell singled to load the bases. Varitek hit into a fielder’s choice to score the first run, then Crisp walked. Lugo stepped in and dropped a ball into the left-field corner for a two-run double. Drew followed with a sac fly to make it a 4-2 game.

Game Notes

Tavarez has failed to last at least six innings in his last five starts…Pedroia picked up his 24th multi-hit game of the season…Soria has pitched a team-high 19 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings…Boston continues its 11-game homestand with a four-game series with the White Sox starting Thursday, and Kansas City travels to Detroit for a three-game set starting Friday.

Neteller PLC has agreed to forfeit $136 million and admit wrongdoing for violating U.S. laws against Web-based gambling in a deal to avoid prosecution on a criminal conspiracy charge.

The deal was approved in U.S. District Court in Manhattan by Judge Kevin P. Castel following a meeting earlier Wednesday by the board of directors of Neteller in the Isle of Man, where it is based.

The company also agreed to return $94 million it held in the accounts of U.S. customers. The government has said that nearly all of the $5.1 billion in transactions processed by the company in the first half of 2006 involved online gambling _ and most of the revenue was generated by U.S. customers.

The deal with prosecutors also requires the company to submit to a monitor for 18 months to ensure the company does not allow Internet-based gambling to occur with U.S. customers.

John Carroll, a lawyer who represented Neteller, said outside court: “The company hopes to put this behind us. We look forward to getting money back to our customers and growing the business.”

The deal was announced after two top executives of the company in the last month entered guilty pleas to charges that they violated U.S. laws against Web-based gambling through their work at Neteller.

John David Lefebvre, 55, a Neteller co-founder, had said during his July 10 guilty plea to a conspiracy charge that Neteller was originally created in 1999 to enable the transfer of money online, but eventually concentrated almost solely on Internet gambling transactions.

By March 1, 2004, the company had nearly 170 employees, 600,000 member accounts and 1,000 merchants registered.

Prior to Lefebvre’s plea, Neteller co-founder Stephen Lawrence pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy, saying he had learned that providing payment services to online gambling Web sites serving customers in the United States was wrong.

Days after their January arrests, the company, which was founded in 1999, stopped handling transactions for U.S. customers.

Florida ace Dontrelle Willis is mired in his worst slump of 2007. St. Louis’ Kip Wells has been struggling all season.

The two pitchers look for better performances Wednesday when the Marlins and Cardinals meet in the deciding contest of their three-game series at Dolphin Stadium.

Willis (7-8, 4.81 ERA) went 7-3 in his first 12 starts, but is 0-5 with a 4.75 ERA in his last eight, allowing opponents to hit .303. The left-hander struggled in his first game after the All-Star break on Friday, allowing eight runs - three earned - and eight hits over 3 2-3 innings in a 14-10 defeat to Washington.

He walked three and didn’t record a strikeout to fall below .500 for the first time this season.

Willis hasn’t gotten much support during his slump, though, as the Marlins (45-49) have scored three or fewer runs in all but one of his last eight outings. It may be difficult for Willis to bounce back at home as he is 2-6 with a 5.07 ERA in 11 starts there and hasn’t won since April 23.

Willis is 1-2 with a 4.01 ERA in four career starts versus the Cardinals (42-48). While Willis has struggled over the last six weeks, Wells (3-12, 6.25) has yet to get it going this season.

Wells is tied with Pittsburgh’s Paul Maholm for the most losses in the majors and the Cardinals are a dismal 2-14 in his 16 starts. He was demoted to the bullpen last month and struggled in his return to the rotation on Friday when he gave up six runs - four earned - and eight hits over one-plus inning in a 13-3 defeat to Philadelphia.

The right-hander has pitched even worse on the road, going 0-8 with a 9.82 ERA in his last eight starts, allowing opponents to hit .340. Wells is 3-3 with a 2.36 ERA in seven career starts versus the Marlins, losing his last two decisions against them.

He will try to slow Florida’s Hanley Ramirez, who is batting .425 (17-for-40) with three homers and eight RBIs during a nine-game hitting streak. The Marlins’ shortstop hit a double, a homer and finished with three RBIs in Tuesday’s 4-0 win.

Florida won for just the second time in the last nine meetings between these teams. The Marlins are winless in their last six series with the Cardinals and are trying to take a set from them for the first time since Aug. 5-7, 2003.

St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols extended his hitting streak to seven games on Tuesday, batting .393 (11-for-28) during that stretch, but the Cardinals were shut out for the ninth time this season.

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Pittsburgh, PA - Brad Hawpe and Todd Helton each clubbed two- run home runs and Jeff Francis tossed seven strong innings as Colorado topped Pittsburgh, 5-3, to complete a three-game sweep at PNC Park.

Francis (10-5) gave up just two runs on six hits while striking out six without walking a batter for the Rockies, who have won nine of 12 overall.

The southpaw, who won his fifth consecutive decision, also helped himself at the plate, knocking in a run in the third inning with an RBI single.

Adam LaRoche led off the ninth with a home run to bring Pittsburgh within two runs, but Manny Corpas retired the next three batters in order to record his third save of the season.

Colorado completed its first sweep in Pittsburgh since taking three games against the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium from August 25-27, 2000.

LaRoche finished with two RBI and Freddy Sanchez also homered for the struggling Pirates, who have lost six straight

Ian Snell (7-7) was tagged for five runs on five hits with six strikeouts and a walk in six innings.

After the Pirates scratched out a run in the first inning, the Rockies scored five straight to surge in front.

Troy Tulowitzki led off the third with a double, went to third on a groundout and scored on Francis’ single to center to tie the game. Matt Holliday then walked to start the fourth and two outs later, Hawpe sent the first pitch he saw over the wall in right-center field to give Colorado a 3-1 lead.

Kaz Matsui led off the sixth with a single and one out later Helton’s blast made it 5-1.

Sanchez’s two-out homer in the home half of the sixth brought Pittsburgh within 5-2.

Rajai Davis led off the first with a single, Sanchez followed with a double and LaRoche’s groundout gave the Pirates an early 1-0 lead.

Game Notes

The Rockies won their first ever series at PNC Park, which opened in 2001…Helton sat out Tuesday’s game with a severe headache and his return was questionable.

Washington, DC - Ryan Langerhans hit a three-run home run and Austin Kearns added a two-run double as Washington survived a late Houston rally to win, 7-6, in the rubber match of a three-game set.

Trailing 7-2 in the seventh, the Astros rallied for four runs and had the potential tying run thrown out at the plate.

Mike Lamb and Luke Scott led off the inning with back-to-back singles, chasing Washington starter Jason Bergmann from the game. Eric Munson greeted Ray King with a ground-rule double that brought home a run and put runners on second and third.

Saul Rivera then took over for King and pinch-hitter Craig Biggio’s sacrifice fly made it 7-4.

Chris Burke followed with a walk and a Rivera wild pitch put runners on the corners. After Hunter Pence struck out, Lance Berkman’s double off the glove of Ronnie Belliard made it a two-run game.

Carlos Lee reached base on an infield single, scoring Burke to make it 7-6. Berkman also tried to score on the play, but was easily thrown out at home by first baseman Dmitri Young.

Munson led off the ninth with a single, but Nats closer Chad Cordero got Orlando Palmeiro to ground into a double play. Burke then reached on third baseman Ryan Zimmerman’s errant throw, making it to second. A wild pitch sent him to third, but Cordero got Pence to groundout to preserve the victory and nail down his 17th save of the season.

Ryan Church went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for the Nationals, who had won two of three.

Bergmann (2-5) pitched six-plus innings, yielding four runs on six hits with three strikeouts and a walk to pick up the win.

Lamb and Scott both went 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored for the Astros, who have lost five of six.

Jason Jennings (1-6) was tagged for seven runs on eight hits through five innings of work.

With two outs and nobody on base in the first inning, Jennings issued two straight walks, and Church and Kearns followed with back-to-back doubles that made it 3-0 Washington.

Lamb homered in the top of the second, but Belliard’s two-out RBI double in the bottom of the inning made it 4-1.

Scott then led off the fifth with a blast over the wall in right-center to bring Houston within two runs, but Langerhans’ three-run blast in the home half of the fifth made it 7-2 Nats.

Jennings walked Young and Kearns, and Langerhans made him pay with his fifth home run of the season.

Game Notes

Jennings lost his five-straight start, while Bergmann had gone 0-2 over his previous four starts…Washington owns a 5-4 edge over Houston this season…Attendance was 27,119.

Cleveland, OH - Mark Buehrle pitched into the seventh inning and Paul Konerko hit a two-run home run to lift the Chicago White Sox over the Cleveland Indians, 5-1, in the rubber match of a three-game set at Jacobs Field.

Rob Mackowiak added three hits, drove in a run and scored once for the White Sox, who improved to 3-4 on their season-high 11-game road trip. Jerry Owens and Tadahito Iguchi each added two hits and scored a run for Chicago, which responded with the win after losing 6-5 in 11 innings Tuesday night when the bullpen blew a two-run ninth-inning lead.

Buehrle (7-5) allowed one run on 10 hits, striking out three and walking one, over 6 1/3 innings. The left-hander improved to 5-2 over his last eight starts, allowing just 11 earned runs over that span while lowering his season ERA from 3.99 to 2.91.

Grady Sizemore went 2-for-4 and drove in a run for the Indians, who ended a six-game homestand 4-2. Franklin Gutierrez added two hits and scored a run for the Indians, who lost for only the fifth time in their last 18 games at home.

Ryan Garko, who has owned Buehrle over his career, went 2-for-3 to extend his career-best hit streak to 12 games. The first baseman had two hits off Buehrle to improve to 6-for-6 lifetime against the lefty.

Garko was not in the original starting lineup, but after having a talk with manager Eric Wedge and explaining his success versus Buerhle he was inserted.

Cleveland starting pitcher Jake Westbrook (1-5) suffered the loss, his third in five starts since coming off the disabled list June 24. The right-hander was charged with four runs on seven hits, striking out three and walking two, in six innings. He remains without a win since April 27.

Chicago started the scoring in the first inning. Owens and Iguchi both singled, and after Westbrook walked Jim Thome to load the bases, Konerko hit into a double play that scored Owens for the early lead.

Konerko then hit a two-run homer to highlight a three-run fourth inning. Jermaine Dye also doubled home a run in the frame for a 4-0 lead.

Cleveland forced Buerhle from the game in the seventh. With one out, Sizemore singled home Gutierrez, who led off the frame with a double. Casey Blake followed with a base hit, ending Buehrle’s afternoon. However, Matt Thornton came on and got Victor Martinez to hit into an inning-ending double play.

The White Sox got the run back in the eighth when Mackowiak singled home Iguchi for a 5-1 cushion.

Charlie Haeger tossed the last two innings to secure the win.

Game Notes

Chicago third base coach Razor Shines celebrated his 50th birthday on Wednesday…The White Sox have hit 24 home runs in their last 16 games…Chicago finishes its road trip with four games in Boston starting on Thursday…Cleveland travels to Texas for a four-game weekend set…Despite the setback, the Indians lead the season series against Chicago 5-4…Blake and Josh Barfield had two hits each for Cleveland…This was the first time this season that the Indians lost game three of a home series.

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The new issue of Us Weekly details the plight of Tinseltown’s “beautiful, rich, and alone,” who can hope for an emotional connection no more profound than a quick fuck in the still-smoldering wreckage of SUVs that have been crashed into Robertson Blvd. storefronts following high-speed chases with their Nikon-wielding pursuers, sweet moments of carnal release that help them momentarily forget that they are destined to spend their solitary, declining years instructing their domestics to fill their empty homes with cats and periodically refresh their bowls of hard candy. Stars: They die old and alone, just like Us!