(Thursday, August 2nd)
Final Score: Cleveland 5, Texas 0
Cleveland, OH - Jake Westbrook halted a lengthy personal winless streak and the Cleveland Indians ended a discouraging homestand on a positive note by avoiding a three-game sweep at the hands of the revamped Texas Rangers with a 5-0 shutout. Westbrook (2-6) scattered just five hits with a walk and five strikeouts over six innings for his first win since April 27. Victor Martinez homered for the Indians, who won just three of 10 games on the homestand and snapped a season-high four-game losing streak. Grady Sizemore went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI in the contest. Kason Gabbard (4-1), who was acquired from Boston on Tuesday as part of the deal that landed closer Eric Gagne in Beantown, allowed three runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and a walk over 5 2/3 innings in his first appearance in a Rangers uniform. Brad Wilkerson and Michael Young both finished 2-for-4 for the Rangers, who have dropped four of their last six.
Final Score: Chicago 13, New York 9
Bronx, NY - Jermaine Dye had a monster day, going 4-for-5 with two doubles, two homers, and four RBI, and the Chicago White Sox recovered from blowing an eight-run lead in the second inning to outslug the New York Yankees, 13-9, to salvage one win from a three-game set. Alex Rodriguez did break his 0-for-21 skid with two hits and an RBI, but did not hit his 500th career home run. Paul Konerko went 3-for-5, homered, and drove in two for the White Sox, who knocked Roger Clemens out in the second inning, and stopped a three-game losing skid. Boone Logan (2-0) got the win for two scoreless inning of relief. Clemens, in his shortest outing in seven years, was ripped for nine hits and eight runs — only three earned — in 1 2/3 innings. His counterpart, Jon Garland, wasn’t any better, blowing an eight-run lead with his 1 1/3 inning performance, allowing nine hits and eight runs of his own. Bobby Abreu went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs for Yankees, who answered Chicago’s eight-run second inning with an eight-run inning of their own. Newly acquired Wilson Betemit hit a three-run homer for the Yankees, who saw their three-game win streak come to an end. Jeff Karstens (0-2) gave up three runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings. Final Score: Boston 7, Baltimore 4
Boston, MA - Doug Mirabelli finished 3-for-3 with a homer, walk and two RBI and a pair of runs scored as Boston rallied for a 7-4 win over Baltimore in the rubber match of a three-game set at Fenway Park. Dustin Pedroia was 2-for-3 and drove in two for the Red Sox, winners in two straight and four of six. Manny Ramirez collected two hits and an RBI, Coco Crisp added a pair of hits and scored once, David Ortiz also crossed the plate and Eric Hinske homered. Tim Wakefield (13-9) earned the win on his 41st birthday, in his 22nd consecutive decision. He was charged with three runs and six hits, fanning five and walking just one over seven innings. Rob Bell (3-2) took the loss, tagged for four runs and four hits in two-thirds of an inning. Starter Jeremy Guthrie got a no-decision, allowing nine hits and three runs over 5 1/3 innings, with three strikeouts and four walks. Corey Patterson finished 2- for-4 with two RBI for the Orioles, who have dropped two in a row and three of four. Jay Payton also drove in two in defeat.
Final Score: LA Angels of Anaheim 6, Oakland 4
Oakland, CA - Vladimir Guerrero broke out of his homer-less streak in a big way, going deep twice to propel the LA Angels of Anaheim past the Oakland A’s, 6-4, in the first of four meetings at McAfee Coliseum. Guerrero finished with four RBI and Reggie Willits scored and knocked in a run for the Angels, who have won six of their last eight. Guerrero had not homered since June 23, a stretch of 30 games. Joe Saunders (5-0) tossed 6 2/3 quality innings, allowing two runs on six hits. Chad Gaudin (8-7) took the loss after surrendering five runs over six-plus frames for Oakland, which has dropped five of seven. Mark Ellis and Donnie Murphy both homered in a losing cause.
Kansas City at Minnesota, postponed
Minneapolis, MN - The Minnesota Twins postponed Thursday afternoon’s game against the Kansas City Royals due to the tragic bridge collapse along Interstate Highway 35W over the Mississippi River on Wednesday. The bridge collapsed during the evening rush hour, shortly after 6 p.m. local time, dumping an estimated 50 vehicles into the water and onto the land below, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The newspaper also reported several vehicles were on fire and pictures showed a car precariously hanging over the damaged side of the bridge. Dozens of vehicles plunged into the river. The bridge is approximately six blocks from the Metrodome, home of the Twins, who lost to the Royals, 5-3, in 10 innings Wednesday night. The stadium is also close to Hennepin County Medical Center, where many of the victims were taken.
Final Score: Pittsburgh 5, St. Louis 4 (11 innings)
Pittsburgh, PA - Pinch-hitter Jose Castillo singled home the game-winning run with two outs in the 11th inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates got consecutive wins for the first time in almost a month when they wrapped up a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park with a 5-4 win. With the score deadlocked at four, Pittsburgh got the game-winner in the 11th off Brad Thompson (6-5). Jason Bay reached on a fielding error by David Eckstein and Ryan Doumit singled. Ronny Paulino then bunted into a double play, but got Doumit to second. Castillo, who was the last available position player for the Pirates, then singled home the winning run on a line drive to center field. Paulino homered for the Pirates, who ended a four-game losing streak with Wednesday’s 15-1 pounding of the Cardinals in the second installment of this series, and now have back-to-back triumphs for the first time since a four- game win streak from July 3-6. Looking to snap a three- start losing streak, Pirates starter Shane Youman allowed three runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts over five frames. Salomon Torres (1-3) tossed two scoreless innings for the win. Albert Pujols homered for the Cardinals, who lost their second straight after a four-game winning streak. Yadier Molina ended 3-for-4 in the loss. Cardinals starter Anthony Reyes allowed three runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts over five frames. Final Score: New York 12, Milwaukee 4
Milwaukee, WI - Damion Easley went 3-for-5 with a two-run inside-the-park homer and scored twice as the New York Mets rocked Milwaukee, 12-4, in the finale of a three-game set at Miller Park. Brian Lawrence (1-0), called up from Triple-A New Orleans prior to the game, won his first major- league game since September 29, 2005 with San Diego. He allowed three runs and eight hits with three strikeouts in five innings. Lastings Milledge was 3- for-5 with an RBI and run scored for the Mets, who have won two in a row and three of four. David Wright added four hits and scored three times, while Moises Alou finished with a pair of hits, a run scored and one driven in, and Jose Reyes hit a two-run homer. Milwaukee starter Chris Capuano (5-8) was tagged for 10 hits and five runs despite fanning eight and walking one in six full innings. The lefty has not won a game since May 5, when he began the season 5-0. Corey Hart was 3-for-5, homered twice and drove in three runs for the Brewers, who have dropped five of six and 10 of their last 14. Johnny Estrada collected three hits and Tony Graffanino knocked in the other run.
Final Score: Philadelphia 10, Chicago 6
Chicago, IL - Jayson Werth went 3-for-6 with four RBI as the Philadelphia Phillies held off the Chicago Cubs, 10-6, to earn a split in a four-game set at Wrigley Field. Pat Burrell and Chris Coste each collected three hits for Philadelphia, and Burrell homered as the Phils won for the 10th time in 13 games. J.D. Durbin (4-2) gave up five hits and three runs in three innings of relief, but picked up the win. Durbin was the originally scheduled starter, but was moved to the bullpen in favor of Kyle Lohse, who the Phillies picked up in a trade earlier this week with the Reds. Lohse, however, had a shaky first inning that ended with a line drive to his arm, and he left with a right forearm contusion after allowing two hits and one run. Alfonso Soriano had three hits and scored twice for the Cubs, who have dropped four of six. Sean Marshall (5-5) was ripped for nine hits and seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. The Phils put the game away with three runs off of Will Ohman in the ninth. Final Score: San Diego 11, Arizona 0
San Diego, CA - Morgan Ensberg homered twice and drove in four runs in his first start for the Padres, and Jake Peavy passed 1,000 strikeouts for his career as San Diego trounced Arizona, 11-0, in the finale of a three-game series at Petco Park. Peavy (11-5), who fanned 10 in the game, also scattered just three hits and walked one. The right-hander, who leads the National League with 154 strikeouts, also lowered his earned run average to 2.30, which trails only injured teammate Chris Young’s 1.82 ERA. Peavy struck out the side in the first inning, reaching the 1,000 mark plateau when he got Jeff DaVanon looking at strike three leading off the fourth. Relievers Cla Meredith and Wilfredo Ledezma held Arizona hitless to finish San Diego’s 15th shutout, which leads the majors. Ensberg, who finished 3-for-4 and also scored two runs, was acquired from Houston on Tuesday, one of three deals the Padres made before the non-waiver deadline. Rob Mackowiak also made his San Diego debut, filling in for injured right fielder Brian Giles. Batting leadoff, Mackowiak went 2-for-5, stole a base and scored two runs. Adrian Gonzalez added a solo homer and Khalil Greene a three-run shot for the Padres, who had dropped three of four coming in. With the win, they pulled to 1 1/2 games of the Diamondbacks in the NL West. Yusmeiro Petit (2-3) allowed five runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings in the start for Arizona, which lost for just the second time in 12 games. Petit walked four and struck out four.
Final Score: Colorado 4, Florida 3
Miami, FL - Matt Holliday had two hits, two RBI and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning as the Colorado Rockies beat the Florida Marlins, 4-3, in the finale of a three-game series at Dolphin Stadium. Trailing 3-2, Colorado not only tied it, but took the lead in the eighth inning off Armando Benitez (2-7). Kaz Matsui reached on a bunt single and scored on Holliday’s double to right that made it a 3-3 game. Holliday went to third on the throw home, and after Todd Helton struck out looking, scored on a sacrifice fly by Garrett Atkins that put the Rockies on top. The Marlins wasted a leadoff single by Jason Wood in the bottom of the frame, and were shut down by Manny Corpas in the ninth as he recorded his eighth save in eight chances. LaTroy Hawkins (2-5) earned the win with an inning of scoreless relief for Colorado, after starter Jason Hirsh allowed three runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings in his first start since July 2. He also tied a career high for strikeouts with eight, matching his effort on April 6 at San Diego. Atkins finished the night 2-for-3 with two RBI and Matsui scored two runs for the Rockies, who took two of three in the series and have won four of five overall. Florida’s Rick VandenHurk received a no-decision after lasting just 4 1/3 innings, yielding two runs on four hits, with three walks and five strikeouts. Josh Willingham and Dan Uggla both homered for the Marlins, who have dropped four of six.
Final Score: Washington 7, Cincinnati 3
Washington, DC - Ryan Zimmerman drove in three runs, and Mike Bacsik hurled seven solid innings as Washington downed Cincinnati, 7-3, in the finale of a three-game set at RFK Stadium. Zimmerman was 3-for-5 with a run- scoring double for the Nationals, who swept the series. Meanwhile, Bacsik (5-6) won for the third straight time after allowing just three runs on three hits in seven innings of work. Dmitri Young finished 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs for Washington while Ronnie Belliard was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI. Adam Dunn and Alex Gonzalez both homered for the Reds, who lost their fifth straight game. Phil Dumatrait (0-1) was rocked in his major league debut. The former first- round pick of the Boston Red Sox allowed six runs on eight hits in just 3 1/3 innings of work.
Final Score: Houston 12, Atlanta 11 (14 innings)
Atlanta, GA - Pinch-hitting pitcher Jason Jennings came through with an RBI single in the 14th inning to lift the Houston Astros over the Atlanta Braves, 12-11, in a wild finale of this three-game series at Turner Field. Mike Lamb brought the Astros back from a four-run deficit with a grand slam in the eighth for Houston, which snapped a three-game slide. Jason Lane ended with four RBI in a winning effort. Newly-acquired first baseman Mark Teixeira homered once again for the Braves, who had won three in a row coming in.
Final Score: San Francisco 4, Los Angeles 2
Los Angeles, CA - Another night, another homerless game for Barry Bonds in pursuit of Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record, as the Giants downed the Dodgers, 4-2, behind a strong pitching performance from Barry Zito. Bonds singled, popped out to the catcher and walked twice, staying at 754 career homers and one behind Aaron as the pursuit heads down the coast to San Diego for a weekend set starting Friday. Zito (8-10) was the star on this night, yielding just one run on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts over 5 2/3 frames. The southpaw fared much better than he had in his previous two starts, surrendering 13 runs over only 9 1/3 frames. Pedro Feliz drove home a pair for the Giants, who took two games in the series at Chavez Ravine. San Francisco has won six of eight overall and five of six in Los Angeles. Brett Tomko (2-9) took the loss, giving up three runs on five hits with three walks and one strikeout over five frames. Luis Gonzalez and Russell Martin drove in runs for the Dodgers, losers in four of five.
