American League
Ken Griffey Jr., possibly the best outfielder of his era, tied and then passed Mark McGwire on the career home run list with a pair of homers - numbers 583 and 584 - for sole possession of 7th place all-time. Griffey bombed Seattle starter Miguel Batista in the 1st and 5th innings, though his effort was all the Reds could muster, losing 3-2 to the Mariners.
Cincinnati 2 Seattle 3
Griffey's next target isn't far off. He's only two homers behind Frank Robinson at 586, and then it's on to 600. At 37, "The Kid" still has plenty of pop in his bat, with 21 homers already this season.
With 600 in sight, Griffey (right) will be chasing Texas slugger Sammy Sosa, who has 601.
Ahead of both Sosa and Griffey is Willie Mays with 660. It's conceivable that both players could reach Mays' mark, which is 4th all time. After that, time, and avoidance of injuries, will tell.
Houston 12 Texas 9, 10 innings - The countdown to 3000 got into high gear for
Craig Biggio as he stroked a pair of singles and a tie-breaking double to get the Astros over the Rangers on Sunday. The three hits gave Biggio 2996, and with a full slate of games this week, he'll likely reach the mark either on the road at Milwaukee (June 25, 26, 27) or at home against the Rockies (June 28, 29, 30).
Batting in the #2 spot, right behind Biggio,
rookie Hunter Pence went 4-6, scored 4 times and drove in a run with his 8th home run. Pence, a 2004 2nd round draft pick of the Astros, is near league leader Matt Holliday (.355) with a .353 batting average. Pence is just shy of being a qualified leader. His 207 at bats through 50 games, left him 23 short of the needed 230. Now that he's a regular in center field Pence should soon show up in the mix.
Toronto 5 Colorado 0 - Nobody, not even the Toronto coaches, saw this coming.
Dustin McGowan (4-3) tossed a no-hitter through eight innings, finally surrendering a single to lead off the ninth to Colorado's Jeff Baker. Undaunted, McGowan finished off the Rockies with a 1-hitter, issuing just 1 walk while striking out 7. The strong pitching performance helped the Blue Jays sweep the previously red-hot Rockies in the 3-game series and move into 2nd place in the AL East, 11 games back of Boston.
Other AL Scores
Tampa Bay 9 LA Dodgers 4 - Dodgers drop 2 of 3 at TB
Chi Cubs 3 Chi White Sox 0 - Sox swept by Cubs, score 2 runs in 3 games
LA Angels 4 Pittsburgh 3, 10 innings - Angels sweep, have won 7 of 8
National League
Detroit 5 Atlanta 0 - The Tigers, already boasting the top batting average in the majors at .293, showed the Braves that they have a bit of pitching as well. as Andrew Miller and Chad Durbin combined for a 6-hit shutout on Sunday. Miller (3-1) worked the first 6 innings, with Durbin going the final 3 for his first save.
Sweeping the series, the Tigers allowed just one run - Chipper Jones' solo homer on Saturday - over the three game span. The Braves have now been shut out in four of their last five games. Their hitters might as well be using fly swatters. Detroit opened up a 2-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central.
NY Mets 10 Oakland 2 - As the Braves struggled, the Mets pounded out another win and maintained their 3-game edge on surging Philadelphia.
John Maine improved to 8-4 and
Jose Valentin led the 14-hit assault with a 3-4 effort and 3 RBI, including his 3rd home run of the season.
Boston 4 San Diego 2 -
Josh Beckett (right) outgunned the Padres'
Jake Peavy and became the first 11-game winner in the majors, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits over 8 innings. Beckett (11-1) struck out 8.
Arizona 8 Baltimore 3 - With both the Padres and Dodgers losing, the Arizona Diamondbacks took their turn at first place in the NL West, taking 2 of 3 from the rapidly-disintegrating Orioles. With just a 1-game edge on San Diego and 1 1/2 on the Dodgers, the D-Backs open a 4-game home series against LA on Monday.
Other NL Scores
Minnesota 7 Florida 4 - J. Mauer, 2 HR (3), 3 RBI
Washington 3 Cleveland 1 - J. Simontacchi (W, 5-5) 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Kansas City 4 Milwaukee 3, 11 innings
Philadelphia 5 St. Louis 1 - S. Victorino, 3-run double in 8th
San Francisco 7 NY Yankees 2 - Yankees, 36-37, 3rd in AL East
Interleague Scoreboard:
Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6
Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4
Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5
Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2
Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6
Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8
Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5
Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8
Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9
Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5
Monday (6/18): AL: 7 NL: 3
Tuesday (6/19): AL: 3, NL: 11
Wednesday (6/20): AL: 10, NL: 4
Thursday (6/21): AL: 3, NL: 2
Friday (6/22): AL: 7, NL: 7
Saturday (6/23): AL: 8, NL: 6
Sunday (6/24): AL: 8, NL: 6
Total: AL: 107 NL: 90
Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.
LA Angels 9 Baltimore 7 - Aubrey Huff (right) hit for the cycle, scored 3 times and drove in 3 runs, but it wasn't enough to keep the Angels from beating up on Baltimore's inefficient bullpen. Trailing 7-5, the Angels scored one in the 7th, one in the 8th and two in the 9th inning on Howie Kendrick's 2-run blast.
Toronto 3 Seattle 5 - Jarrod Washburn improved to 7-6 and J.J. Putz picked up his 23rd save as the Mariners won their 6th straight and trail LA by 5 games in the NL West. With their current run, the Mariners also closed to within contention for the wild card, trailing Detroit by just 2 games.
Chi White Sox 1 Kansas City 8 - Brian Bannister shut down the Sox on 4 hits over 6 1/3, allowing just one earned as the Royals won their 5th straight, ensuring them of their first winning record in any month since 2003. Chicago is only one game ahead of the last place Royals.
Tampa Bay 1 Cleveland 2 - Ben Francisco walloped his first major league home run - in just his 6th at-bat - in the bottom of the 9th, moving the Indians back into first place in the AL Central.
Other AL Scores
Minnesota 11 Detroit 1 - J. Santana, (W, 9-6) 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Oakland 1 NY Yankees 2
Texas 1 Boston 2 - Boston, 10 1/2 ahead of Toronto in AL East
National League
NY Mets 6 Philadelphia 5
NY Mets 5 Philadelphia 2 - The Mets sent their message loud and clear in Philly, taking both ends of a double-header to send the Phillies back to 3rd place in the NL East, 5 games back. The Mets lead Atlanta by 4.
Milwaukee 5 Chi Cubs 6 - The streaking Cubs - winners of 7 straight - got a walk-off 2-run homer from Aramis Ramirez (right) to pull to within 6 1/2 of the 1st place Brewers. The two teams play two more this weekend in Chicago.
Arizona 4 San Francisco 3, 10 innings - Barry Bonds tied the game in the 8th inning with his 750th career home run to pull to within 5 of Hank Aaron's all-time mark, but rookie catcher Miguel Montero stole the show with his 10th inning solo homer which won the game and kept Arizona in 2nd place, 1/2 back of San Diego.
San Diego 7 LA Dodgers 6 - The Padres took over 1st place with their 3rd straight win. San Diego leads Arizona by 1/2 and the Dodgers by a game in the wild, wild NL West.
Colorado 8 Houston 9 - Closer Brian Fuentes blew his 4th straight save opportunity and the Rockies lost their 8th straight when Mark Loretta ended a wild affair with a 2-run homer with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th.
Other NL Scores
Atlanta 12 Florida 3 - J. Francoeur, 4-5, 3 runs; C. Jones, 2-3, 4 RBI
Washington 2 Pittsburgh 3
St. Louis 4 Cincinnati 2 - Reds, 30-50, worst record in majors
Toronto 5 Minnesota 8 - Frank Thomas (right) became the 21st player in major league history to hit 500 home runs with a 3-run job in the 1st inning off Twins' starter, Carlos Silva, and also doubled in another run for 4 RBI. Despite the historic feat, the Twins rallied to win and Thomas was ejected in the 9th for arguing balls and strikes. Torii Hunter homered twice for Minny, a solo shot in the 4th and a 2-run dinger in the 5th, which broke a 5-5 tie and gave the Twins the lead for good. Hunter has 17 homers and 62 RBI on the season.
Texas 2 Detroit 5 - Kenny Rogers picked up his 2nd win in as many starts, keeping the Tigers 1/2-game ahead of Cleveland in the AL Central. Rogers allowed a single run on 4 hits over 7 innings, walking 1 and striking out 3.
Other AL Scores
Oakland 3 Cleveland 4 - P. Byrd, W (7-3)
Chi White Sox 5 Tampa Bay 1 - J. Vazquez, W (4-5) 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K
NY Yankees 8 Baltimore 6 - suspended, to be resumed on July 27 with NY batting in the top of the eighth, 2 out, D. Jeter on 2nd.
National League
Colorado 4 Houston 8, 11 innings - Craig Biggio (right) didn't waste any time getting his 3000th hit before the home crowd at Houston. After sitting out 2 of 3 games in Milwaukee (though he did pinch hit on the 27th) Biggio rapped out 3 singles in his first four trips to the plate, the 3rd one besides being #3000, also drove in a run to tie the game at 1. Biggio picked up another single in the 9th but was forced out at 2nd on Hunter Pence's grounder. In the 11th, after Troy Tulowitzki's solo homer put Colorado up 5-4 in the top of the inning, Biggio singled with 2 outs and moved to 3rd on Pence's double. After Lance Berkman was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Carlos Lee took Brian Fuentes out of the yard to finish a perfect night for Houston. Biggio finished the night 5-6 with 3002 hits, and Houston got the win.
It was Fuentes' third straight blown save and the Rockies' 7th straight loss.
Cincinnati 7 Philadelphia 8, 10 innings - Jimmy Rollins doubled, tripled and singled twice in 6 at-bats, his final single in the 11th driving in the winning run in a wild win for Philadelphia. Chase Utley belted a pair of 2-run homers in Philly's 14-hit attack. With the Mets and Braves idle, Philadelphia took over sole possession of second place in the NL East, 3 back of New York.
Pittsburgh 7 Florida 9 - The Marlins banged out 15 hits and Scott Olson fanned 10 in 6 innings while allowing 5 runs on 7 hits, avoiding the sweep in the finale of their 3-game series with the Pirates.
Other NL Scores
LA Dodgers 9 Arizona 5 - Dodgers tied w/San Diego for 1st in NL West, Arizona 1/2 back
NY Yankees 0 Baltimore 4 - Erik Bedard (right) outdueled Roger Clemens, blanking the pinstripers on 2 hits over 7 innings before turning the game over to the bullpen. Bedard, 6-4, struck out 8, increasing his MLB-leading total to 129. Aubrey Huff's 3-run homer off Clemens in the 6th was the big blow for the O's.
Kansas City 1 LA Angels 0 - Kansas City doesn't get many ace pitching performances, but some of the better ones come from Jorge De La Rosa (5-9), who scattered 10 hits over 6 innings to lead the Royals over the Angels and complete the unlikely 3-game sweep at LA.
St. Louis 0 NY Mets 2, 6 innings - Tom Glavine (right) got win #297 with a little help from the weather. Glavine allowed just an infield single by Scott Rolen before rain stopped play and eventually ended the game after the Mets batted in the bottom of the 6th. Glavine (7-5) walked 2 and struck out one.
Colorado 4 Chi Cubs 6 - The Cubs won their 6th straight and Carlos Zambrano improved to 9-6, allowing 2 runs over 6 innings while fanning 8. The Cubs' win streak coincides with a Rockies losing skein of the same length. Chicago has a firm grasp on 2nd place in the NL Central, trailing Milwaukee by 7 1/2. The Rockies dropped 6 1/2 back of co-leaders San Diego and Arizona in the West.
LA Dodgers 0 Arizona 2 - Brandon Webb gave up 7 hits and walked 5, but managed to keep the Dodgers off the scoreboard for 7 innings. Three Arizona relievers finished the job, with Jose Valverde throwing a perfect final 1 1/3 for his 25th save. Arizona remained tied with the Padres atop the NL West with the Dodgers 1/2-game back.
Other NL Scores
Houston 3 Milwaukee 6, 11 innings - D. Miller, GW 3-run HR (1)
San Diego 4 San Francisco 2 - G. Maddux, W (7-4)
Cincinnati 9 Philadelphia 6 - A. Dunn, HR (22); R. Howard, HR (18)
Pittsburgh 7 Florida 5, 10 innings
Washington 0 Atlanta 13 - Y. Escobar, 4-5, 4 R, 1 RBI
Cincinnati 4 Philadelphia 11 - Philadelphia catcher Carlos Ruiz (right) had a memorable night, cracking a pair of doubles as part of a 3-4, 4 RBI effort, and stealing home for an extra Phillies run. Rookie Ruiz is batting .277 on the season. With the win, Philly crept to within 2 1/2 games of the Mets in the AL East.
Houston 5 Milwaukee 11 - If he gets ample playing time, Ryan Braun could be this season's AL Rookie of the Year. In just 29 games, Braun is batting .342, with 6 homers and 23 RBI. On Tuesday, Braun was 3-4 with a 2-run homer, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Milwaukee also got a grand slam from catcher Johnny Estrada to remain 7 1/2 clear of the Cubs in the NL Central.
LA Dodgers 6 Arizona 5, 10 innings - The Dodgers weren't expecting it, but they're certainly happy with the result as rookie Tony Abreu hit his first major league home run to give the Dodgers the extra-innings win and a 1/2-game lead in the wild NL West. Arizona and San Diego are tied for 2nd.
San Diego 3 San Francisco 2, 10 innings - Another rookie delivered a game-winning homer, as Kevin Kouzmanoff ripped his 6th of the season over the center field wall. Barry Bonds walked 3 times and failed to homer for the 4th straight game.
Other NL Scores
Pittsburgh 3 Florida 2
St. Louis 5 NY Mets 3, 11 innings - B. Ryan - 1st MLB HR, 11th inning
Washington 2 Atlanta 6
Colorado 5 Chi Cubs 8 - Rockies have lost 5 straight
LA Dodgers 8 Arizona 1 - Dodger starter Brad Penny (right) became the National League's first 10-game winner with another superior effort Monday night. Facing the D-Backs, who only yesterday took sole possession of first place in the NL West, Penny (10-1) dominated, allowing just 4 hits and 2 walks over 8 innings. The only run for Arizona came in the 4th, when Chris B. Young doubled home Conor Jackson who had singled off Penny with two outs. Jackson had 2 of the 4 hits allowed by Penny and singled in the ninth off reliever Jonathan Broxton to finish 3-4.
With San Diego losing at San Fran, the Dodgers took over 2nd place, just 1/2 behind Arizona. The two teams continue their series with the 2nd of 2nd of 4, tonight.
Colorado 9 Chi Cubs 10 - Leading 8-3 entering the ninth, the fun was just beginning for the Cubs and Rockies. Colorado scored 6 times in the top of the inning off relievers Scott Eyre and Bob Howry to take a 9-8 lead, but the Cubbies struck back with a pair in the final at-bat, on Alfonso Soriano's clutch 2-out single off closer Brian Fuentes, plating both the tying and winning runs. It was Fuentes' 4th blown save and 2nd straight, even though Monday's two runs were unearned as 2nd baseman Kazuo Matsui committed his first error of the season on what should have been the game's final out.
Other NL Scores
Washington 1 Atlanta 4 - Atl., more runs in last 5 games combined
Houston 1 Milwaukee 6 - B. Sheets (W, 9-3); P. Fielder, HR (27, leads NL)
San Diego 3 San Francisco 4, 11 innings - P. Feliz singles home B. Bonds with game-winner
American League
Oakland 2 Cleveland 5 - C.C. Sabathia (right) joined Josh Beckett as the only pitchers in the majors with 11 wins, as he went the full 9 innings and got Cleveland back to within a game of the AL Central-leading Tigers. Sabathia scattered nine hits, 4 of them in the 2nd inning when the A's scored their only runs of the game. Between the 2nd and 6th inning, Sabathia (11-2) put down 13 straight Oakland batters, including striking out the side in the 3rd. He finished with 8 Ks, boosting his season total to 108. Sabathia didn't walk a batter. He has issued only 17 free passes all season.
Other AL Scores
Texas 8 Detroit 3 - M. Byrd, 2-5, 3 RBI (19), .379 ba (39-103)
Toronto 8 Minnesota 5 - Jays 10 games back of Boston in AL East
Kansas City 5 LA Angels 3 - Angels, 10-3 at home in June
Boston 4 Seattle 9 - Jeff Weaver (2-6), 2nd straight win
Chi White Sox 5 Tampa Bay 4 - Sox, 3-7 on road in June
Interleague Scoreboard (6/8 - 6/24 Final):
Total: AL: 107 NL: 90
Best records (AL): California Angels (11-4), Detroit Tigers (11-4), Boston Red Sox (10-5)
Worst records (AL): Chicago White Sox (3-12), Baltimore Orioles (4-11)
Best records (NL): Colorado Rockies (9-6), Chicago Cubs (6-3)
Worst records (NL): Atlanta Braves (3-9) San Diego Padres (4-8), San Francisco Giants (4-8), Pittsburgh Pirates (5-10)
LA Angels 10 Pittsburgh 1 - The LA Angles just continue to roll towards the NL West title, winning their 3rd straight and 8th of their last 10. LA improved to 28-10 at home, as Kelvim Escobar (9-3, right) gave up just one earned run off 5 hits while striking out 4 and Vladimir Guerrero boosted his All-Star credentials with a 3-5 effort, including 14th home run - a 2-run shot in the 8th. Vlad has 68 RBI, tied for 2nd in the AL with Magglio Ordonez. The Halos now lead both Oakland and Seattle by 8 games.
Toronto 11 Colorado 6 - The Colorado Rockies swept the Yankees, but can't seem to find a way to beat another AL East squad - the Blue Jays - who beat them for the second time in as many days on Saturday. Frank Thomas went 4-4, including a 2-run, 1st-inning home run, driving in four runs total on the day. It was Big Hurt's 11th dinger of the season and career #498. The Rockies and Jays complete their series this afternoon, with Toronto looking for the sweep.
Other AL Scores
Texas 7 Houston 2 - M. Young, 2-4 4 RBI
Tampa Bay 4 LA Dodgers 3 - Dodgers trail Az., SD, by 1/2-gm.
Seattle 9 Cincinnati 1 - R. Ibanez, GS HR (6); R. Sexson, 2 HR (14)
National League
Detroit 2 Atlanta 1 - The Braves finally pushed a run across on Chipper Jones' 4th inning solo homer, but it was all they could muster off Detroit starter Justin Verlander (9-2), who powered through 7 innings, striking out 11, while surrendering only 4 hits. It was the first run for Atlanta in 4 games, having been shut out twice by Boston (4-0 and 11-0) and Friday by the Tigers with Kenny Rogers on the mound for 6 innings (5-0). The Braves' 4th straight loss dropped them 3 1/2 back of the Mets in the NL East while the Tigers retained their 1-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central.
Milwaukee 7 Kansas City 1 - The Brewers won their 5th straight and 9th of their last 10, continuing to lead the Cubs and Cardinals by 8 1/2 in the NL Central. The efficient Brewers turned 8 hits and 3 walks into 7 runs for the win, their 7th in 11 recent tries against AL teams.
Minnesota 11 Florida 1 - Justin Morneau remained in the hospital after a collision with Florida catcher Miguel Olivo on Friday, but the Twins didn't miss a beat, trouncing the Marlins with the help of Jason Kubel's 3-3, 3 run, 2 RBI performance. Catcher Joe Mauer cracked a pair of doubles and drove in 3, in support of starter Carlos Silva (5-8), who allowed just one earned on 4 hits over 7 innings.
San Diego 6 Boston 1 - Chris Young struck out 11 and allowed just 1 hit in 7 scoreless innings of work as the Padres evened their series with Boston at 1-each with the rubber game this afternoon. Khalil Greene rapped a pair of solo home runs to lead the San Diego offense as the Padres picked up a share of 1st place in the NL West as the Dodgers lost and Arizona won.
Other NL Scores
Cleveland 4 Washington 3 - V. Martinez, 3-run 9th inning HR (14)
Arizona 7 Baltimore 4 - J. Valverde, S (24)
NY Mets 1 Oakland 0 - D. Wright, 9th inning RBI double
St. Louis 8 Philadelphia 3
NY Yankees 5 San Francisco 6, 13 innings - A. Rodriguez, 4-6, solo HR (28, leads majors)
Interleague Scoreboard:
Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6
Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4
Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5
Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2
Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6
Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8
Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5
Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8
Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9
Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5
Monday (6/18): AL: 7 NL: 3
Tuesday (6/19): AL: 3, NL: 11
Wednesday (6/20): AL: 10, NL: 4
Thursday (6/21): AL: 3, NL: 2
Friday (6/22): AL: 7, NL: 7
Saturday (6/23): AL: 8, NL: 6
Total: AL: 99 NL: 84
Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.
Cincinnati 16 Seattle 1 - Catcher David Ross (right) socked a pair of homers - #s 10, 11 - scored three times and drove in 5 runs as the Reds thumped slumping Seattle, only 3 or 4 games behind the Angels in the AL West not long ago, have recently dropped 7 of their last 9 and fallen 8 games back.
Other AL Scores
Toronto 9 Colorado 8, 10 innings - Rockies score 2 in top 10th, Blue Jays plate 3 in bottom frame.
Texas 11 Houston 3 - S. Sosa, 2-3, HR (13), 4 RBI (57)
LA Angels 5 Pittsburgh 4, 11 innings
National League
Milwaukee 11 Kansas City 6 - The Milwaukee Brewers are making the best of a bad division, winning their 4th straight and 8th of their last 10 to lead the feeble NL Central by 8 1/2 games over the Cubs and Cardinals. The Brewers (42-31) are the only team in the division over .500, and on Friday, showed why they are among the elite in the National League, getting game performances from 2 unheralded regulars, Corey Hart and Ryan Braun (left and right). Hart, batting in the leadoff spot, went 3-5 with a 3-run homer, 4 RBI and scored 3 times while Braun, batting 3rd, was 4-4, with a double, solo home run, stolen base, 2 runs and 3 RBI.
Detroit 5 Atlanta 0 - Kenny Rogers returned from the DL and shut out the Braves over 6 innings to get his first win of 2007 and boost the Tigers into first place in the AL Central as Cleveland lost at Washington. Rogers was dazzling, giving up just 2 hits, while striking out 5. Detroit scored all of their runs in a decisive 6th inning, capped by Carlos Guillen's 2-run double, just in time to give Rogers the lead and the W.
NY Mets 9 Oakland 1 - It took over a month, but Tom Glavine finally got win #296 and has the vaunted 300 plateau in sight. Glavine worked 8 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 earned, while striking out 5. The Mets stayed ahead of the Phillies, who continue in pursuit, just 2 games out and now in 2nd place, 1/2 ahead of the Braves in the NL East.
Philadelphia 6 St. Louis 0 - Jamie Moyer (7-5) scattered 7 hits over 6 innings and the Phillies scored 5 of their 6 runs in the 3rd innings to move to within 2 games of the Mets in the NL East. Anthony Reyes took the loss for the Cards. He is 0-9.
Other NL Scores
Washington 4 Cleveland 1
Florida 5 Minnesota 4 - Marlins, 4 1/2 back in NL East
Baltimore 7 Arizona 1
Boston 2 San Diego 1 - D. Matsuzaka (W, 9-5), 9 K; J. Papelbon, S (17)
NY Yankees 7 San Francisco 3 - B. Bonds, HR (749)
Interleague Scoreboard:
Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6
Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4
Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5
Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2
Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6
Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8
Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5
Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8
Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9
Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5
Monday (6/18): AL: 7 NL: 3
Tuesday (6/19): AL: 3, NL: 11
Wednesday (6/20): AL: 10, NL: 4
Thursday (6/21): AL: 3, NL: 2
Friday (6/22): AL: 7, NL: 7
Total: AL: 91 NL: 78
Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.
Texas 7 Chi Cubs 3 - It was just another home run for Sammy Sosa (right), but this one was especially sweet, coming against his former team and elevating him into an elite club with only Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays as the other members. Sosa's 600th career home run came in Texas' half of the 5th inning and the solo shot put the Rangers up 5-1, and they coasted from there. It was Sosa's only hit of the night in 4 at-bats.
Sosa spent all of 2006 out of baseball, some speculating that he was purging his body of steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs as baseball began cracking down on the use of banned substances by players.
With #600 under his belt, Sosa need only look behind him as Ken Griffey Jr. is quickly approaching the same plateau. Griffey, a year younger at 37, has 582 lifetime homers, already has 19 this season and is on pace to crack his own 600th sometime in August or September. Griffey has never been associated with steroids or any other foul play, and for good reason - he didn't need them.
Seattle 7 Pittsburgh 0 - Enigmatic Jeff Weaver got his first win of the season (1-6), shutting out the Pirates with a commanding complete game performance, in which he allowed just 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. Despite the blanking, the up-and-down Weaver still sports an 8.56 ERA. The Mariners snapped a 6-game losing streak and have fallen into 3rd place in the AL West, 7 1/2 behind the Angels and 1 1/2 behind Oakland.
Other AL Scores
Florida 5 Chi White Sox 4 - Sox, 5-19 last 24
Oakland 5 Cincinnati 3 - D. Haren (W, 9-2)
Cleveland 10 Philadelphia 6 - Indians remain tied for 1st in NL Cent.
LA Angels 8 Houston 4 - V. Guerrero, HR (13), 3 RBI (66)
Seattle 7 Pittsburgh 0
National League
Arizona 7 Tampa Bay 4 - The Diamondbacks climbed to within a 1/2 game of San Diego in the NL West as Eric Brynes went 4-5 with a homer, double, two singles, 2 runs scored and 3 RBI. The D-Backs get a day off Thursday, then host Baltimore for 3 games before a 4-game showdown with the LA Dodgers, June 25-28.
Detroit 8 Washington 4 - Who's hot? The Tigers are, winners of 4 straight and 10 of their last 14. The win at Washington kept them tied for 1st place in the AL Central with Cleveland. Magglio Ordonez (right) continued his stellar all-around play with a 3-4 effort last night, scoring twice and driving in a run - his 67th. Ordonez leads the majors with a .383 batting average. Maggs has an 8-game hitting streak, during which he's 16-29 (.552). Jeremy Bonderman pitched 5 innings for his 8th win without a loss.
Other NL Scores
Milwaukee 7 San Francisco 5 - B. Hall, GS HR (8), 5 RBI
Baltimore 7 San Diego 1 - O's snap 9-game losing streak
Colorado 6 NY Yankees 1 - M. Holliday HR (13), 3 RBI (57)
Minnesota 6 NY Mets 2 - 2nd straight for Twins over Mets
Boston 11 Atlanta 0 - J. Tavarez (W, 5-4) 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
St. Louis 7 Kansas City 6, 14 innings - R. Ludwick GW HR (4)
Interleague Scoreboard:
Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6
Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4
Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5
Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2
Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6
Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8
Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5
Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8
Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9
Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5
Monday (6/18): AL: 7 NL: 3
Tuesday (6/19): AL: 3, NL: 11
Wednesday (6/20): AL: 10, NL: 4
Total: AL: 88 NL: 76
Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.
The win left the Phillies just 2 games behind the Mets in the NL East, while Cleveland's loss allowed Detroit to claim a share of first place with the Indians in the AL Central. Howard, who started out slowly and spent some time on the DL, has 5 home runs and 10 RBI over his last 9 games.
Other AL Scores
Pittsburgh 5 Seattle 3 - Seattle loses 6th straight
Houston 9 LA Angels 5 - C. Lee, HR (12), 4 RBI (59, tied for NL lead)
Florida 7 Chi White Sox 5 - Chicago, 3-7 last 10
Chi Cubs 5 Texas 4 - Cubs trail Brewers by 7 in NL Central
National League
Minnesota 9 NY Mets 0 - Johan Santana (7-6) twirled a 4-hit shutout, silencing the Mets' bats. Santana pitched perhaps his best game of the season, not allowing a walk, though he struck out only 1 batter. Despite the unimpressive record, Santana is still among the elite pitchers in the majors with a 2.91 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 102 innings. The loss tightened the race in the NL East, as the Phillies trail by just 2 games, 1/2 behind Atlanta. Minnesota is 5 1/2 back in the AL Central.
Arizona 10 Tampa Bay 8, 10 innings - Down 8-2 after 5 frames, the Diamondbacks kept chipping away, scoring 2 runs in the 6th, 7th and 9th and ending it on a 2-run shot by rookie centerfielder Chris B. Young, who finished the night 3-6, with a pair of RBI and 2 runs scored. The D-Backs kept pace in the NL West, 1 1/2 behind San Diego
Other NL Scores
Milwaukee 6 San Francisco 2
St. Louis 5 Kansas City 1
Cincinnati 5 Oakland 2 - K. Griffey Jr., HR (19)
San Diego 12 Baltimore 6 - J. Peavy, W, 9-1; K. Greene, 4-5, 3 RBI
Interleague Scoreboard:
Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6
Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4
Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5
Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2
Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6
Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8
Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5
Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8
Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9
Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5
Monday (6/18): AL: 7 NL: 3
Monday (6/19): AL: 3, NL: 11
Total: AL: 78 NL: 72
Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.
Figgins, who also stole a base, scored once and drove in 3. He is 36-for-79 (.456) over his last 17 games and the perfect night raised his batting average from .258 to .284. Not a bad night. Houston's Mark Loretta was 4-5 with 3 RBI and teammate Craig Biggio went 1-6 to get within 10 of 3000.
The Angels simply won't slow down. So far in June they are 12-4 and Monday's win was their 3rd straight. They began the season 6-9, ending a 6-game losing streak on April 18. Since then, they've gone 39-17 (.696) and lead the AL West by 6 games over the A's, and have the best home record in baseball at 25-9.
Cleveland 10 Philadelphia 1 - The Indians rocked Philly starter Cole Hamels (8-3) for 6 runs on 8 hits over 5 innings and retained their slim one game lead over Detroit in the AL Central. Kelly Shoppach, batting 9th, clubbed a 3-run homer off Hamels and added a run-scoring double in the 6th inning, finishing his night 2-4 with 2 runs scored and 4 RBI. The Phillies dropped to 3 back of the NL East-leading Mets.
Other AL Scores
Chi White Sox 10 Florida 6 - J. Thome, HR (9), 3 RBI (27)
Oakland 6 Cincinnati 1 - J. Blanton (W, 7-4) 8 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
National League
NY Mets 8 Minnesota 1 - The Mets banged out 15 hits and John Maine (7-4) shut down the Twins on 5 hits over 7 1/3 innings, giving up just one earned run. The Mets stayed 1 1/2 clear of the Braves in the NL East.
Detroit 9 Washington 8 - The Tigers nearly blew an 8-run lead as closer Todd Jones allowed 5 hits and 3 runs before finally getting the last out with runners on the corners. Carlos Guillen singled, doubled and hit a solo homer in 4 at-bats, scoring twice and driving in 3 runs for the Tigers. Detroit remained a game behind Cleveland in the AL Central race.
Atlanta 9 Boston 4 - It was another Schilling shelling in Atlanta as the Braves roughed up starter Curt Schilling for 10 hits and 6 runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Minnesota 10 Milwaukee 9 - Justin Morneau (right) homered with no outs in the bottom of the 9th to seal a key win for the Twins, keeping them within striking distance of the Tigers and Indians, 5 1/2 off Cleveland's pace. Morneau doubled earlier, scored 3 times and drove in 3 in 3 at-bats. Lou Ford singled and doubled, driving in 4 runs to lead the attack. The home run by Morneau was his 20th of the season.
Arizona 6 Baltimore 4 - Arizona completed the 3-game sweep at Baltimore and moved past the Dodgers into 2nd place in the NL West, a game back of San Diego. Eric Byrnes and Chris Snyder hit solo home runs for the Diamondbacks, and starter Brandon Webb picked up his 7th win against 3 losses.
With interleague play continuing this week, the Diamondbacks return home for a lengthy home stand, hosting Tampa Bay and Baltimore before 4 games with the Dodgers next week.
Boston 9 San Francisco 5 - The Red Sox completed the sweep of the Giants at Fenway Park and remain 8 1/2 better than the Yankees in the AL East. Barry Bonds hit home run 748 to move within 7 of tying Hank Aaron's career mark.
NY Yankees 8 NY Mets 2 - Alex Rodriguez socked his MLB-best 27th home run and added 3 RBI to give him 73, as the Yankees took 2 of 3 from the visiting Mets and won for the 11th time in their last 12 days. Rodriguez is on a breathtaking pace that would give him 63 homers and 174 RBI, that would rank as one of the greatest single seasons ever.
St. Louis 10 Oakland 6 - Ryan Ludwick hit a go-ahead 3-run homer in the 7th, added a 2-run single in the 8th, scored 3 times and drove in 5 as the Cardinals scored in double-digits for the second straight game. The Cards hammered Oakland 15-6 on Saturday and took 2 of 3 with Sunday's win. Once again, St. Louis is tied for 2nd in the NL Central with the Cubs. Both teams trail Milwaukee by 6 1/2 games. The A's fell further behind the Angles in the AL West. They are now 6 games back.
Other AL Scores
Washington 4 Toronto 2
Kansas City 5 Florida 4
National League
San Diego 11 Chi Cubs 3 - Adrian Gonzalez (right) doubled 3 times and hit a solo home run in 5 at-bats, scoring 4 runs and driving in 3, Mike Cameron blasted a pair of homers, scored 3 times and drove in 3, and Khalil Greene knocked a 3-run home and drove in another run with a single as the middle of the Padres' lineup accounted for 10 of San Diego's runs. Greg Maddux improved to 6-3 with 6 innings of work and the Padres remained a game better than Arizona and 1 1/2 to the good on the Dodgers in the NL West
Detroit 7 Philadelphia 4 - Magglio Ordonez went 2-3 and drove in 3 runs and Justin Verlander improved to 8-2 as the Tigers kept pace, 1 game behind Cleveland, in the AL Central. Ordonez is batting .371, tops in the majors, with 64 RBI, 2nd behind the Yankees Alex Rodriguez.
Houston 10 Seattle 3 - Mike Lamb smacked a 1st inning grand slam and doubled in another run in the 3rd inning to lead the Astros to a sweep of the visiting Mariners, who dropped to 7 games behind the LA Angels in the AL West. The Astros are 8 back of Milwaukee in the NL Central.
Other NL Scores
Pittsburgh 8 Chi White Sox 7
Tampa Bay 7 Colorado 4
Texas 11 Cincinnati 4 - A. Dunn, 3-4, 2 HR (19), 3 RBI (46)
LA Angels 10 LA Dodgers 4 - Angels take 2 of 3, lead AL West by 6 games
Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues.
Interleague Scoreboard:
Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6
Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4
Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5
Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2
Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6
Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8
Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5
Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8
Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9
Sunday (6/17): AL: 9, NL: 5
Smoltz struck out seven and didn't walk a batter as the Braves closed to within 1 1/2 of the stumbling Mets. Philadelphia and Florida were also winners and trail New York by 2 and 5 1/2 respectively. Suddenly the NL East has turned into a pennant race.
Cleveland maintained a slim 1-game lead over the Tigers, who also lost, at Philly.
NY Yankees 11 NY Mets 8 - While the everyone else in the NL East except Washington was beating up on AL opponents, Tom Glavine and the Mets were being pounded up in the Bronx. Glavine, stuck on 295 wins for nearly a month, lost his 4th straight, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks over 4 innings. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez both blasted 2-run homers off Glavine, for A-Rod, his MLB-best 26th. Rodriguez went 2-4 and scored 3 times while Jeter finished the game 4-5, with a pair of RBI and 2 scores. Both players also stole a base, as did Miguel Cairo. Jose Reyes swiped a pair, giving him 37, tops in the majors. The Yankees kept pace with Boston, 8 1/2 ahead.
Boston 1 San Francisco 0 - Daisuke Matusaka pitched his best game of the season against the impotent San Francisco Giants, allowing just 3 hits and 3 walks over 7 innings, fanning 8. Manny Ramirez provided the only score with his 9th home run of the season in the 4th.
Bonds watch is back on again. Barry Bonds went 0-3 and failed to homer for the 4th straight game. He has hit just 2 over his last 31 games, stretching back to May 8. Bonds needs 9 to break Hank Aaron's career mark of 755 and should average one per 10 games if he plans on breaking the mark this season. In 2006, Bonds hit 4 in June, 3 in July, 5 in August and 7 in September, so he has history on his side, though the time between Barry Bombs has lengthened as 2006 turned into 2007. He'll be 43 in July and time is gnawing away at his steroid-riddle body every day.
St. Louis 15 Oakland 6 - The Cardinals put up 10 runs in the 5th inning, capped off by Chris Duncan's grand slam as St. Louis swamped the A's in Oakland. So Taguchi went 4-6, drove in 3 runs and scored a pair. The A's dropped another game further behind the Angels in the AL West, now 5 back as the Angels beat the Dodgers.
Other AL Scores
Toronto 7 Washington 3
Arizona 8 Baltimore 4 - O's 7 straight losses
Florida 9 Kansas City 8 - M. Cabrera, 2 HR (16), 4 RBI (51); M. Olivo, 5-5
Milwaukee 5 Minnesota 2 - Brewers win 4th straight, lead NL Central by 6 1/2
National League
San Diego 1 Chi Cubs 0 - Carlos Zambrano took a no-hitter into the 8th inning, but ended up on the losing side of the ledger, giving up a 9th inning homer to the Padres' Russell Branyan. The game was interrupted by a bench-clearing brawl which started when Padres' starter Chris Young plunked Derrek Lee and began throwing punches in the 4th inning. Lee and Young were ejected along with Jake Peavy and San Diego hitting coach Gerald Perry. The fight was a no-decision, but the Padres won the war and took over 1st place in the NL West by 1/2-game over the Dodgers and 1 ahead of Arizona.
Colorado 10 Tampa Bay 5 - The Rockies won their 4th straight and 8th of their last 10, creeping to within 4 1/2 of the NL West lead. Right fielder Brad Hawpe set the tone in the first inning with his 11th home run - a grand slam. Hawpe later singled and scored an additional run for the Rockies.
Philadelphia 6 Detroit 3 - Jamie Moyer improved to 6-5 and the Phillies gained on the Mets winning for the 4th time in their last five games. The Phillies trail NY by 2 games.
LA Angels 3 LA Dodgers 0 - Jered Weaver blanked the Dodgers over 5 1/3 innings and the Angels' bullpen finished the job. Francisco Rodriguez (right) picked up his 22nd save, fanning all three batters faced in the 9th inning. The Angels lead the AL West by 5 games with a 43-26 record, second best in the majors (Boston, 43-24). Weaver improved to 6-3. The best in the West series' rubber game is this afternoon.
Other NL Scores
Chi White Sox 6 Pittsburgh 1
Houston 9 Seattle 4
Cincinnati 8 Texas 4 - K. Griffey Jr., 2 HR (16), 3 RBI (43)
Interleague Scoreboard:
Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6
Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4
Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5
Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2
Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6
Wednesday (6/13): AL: 6, NL: 8
Thursday (6/14): AL: 7, NL: 5
Friday (6/15): AL: 6, NL: 8
Saturday (6/16): AL: 5, NL: 9
Boston 10 San Francisco 2 - Usually, it's David Ortiz or Manny Ramirez getting the headlines in a big Boston win, but on Friday, it was rookie 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia (right) who stole the spotlight. Pedroia went 5-5, with a double and his 3rd home run of the season, amassing 5 RBI and scoring twice. The Giants, mired in the NL West cellar, again were let down by their ace, Barry Zito (6-7), who allowed 6 earned runs on 5 hits and 4 walks over 5 1/3 innings.
Boston's win, coupled with the Yankees' loss put the Red Sox' lead back at 8 1/2 games.
Milwaukee 11 Minnesota 3 - The Brewers won their 3rd straight to remain 5 1/2 clear of the Cubs in the NL Central. Prince Fielder clubbed his 24th home run, drove in 2 and scored 3 times. Fielder leads the NL in homers and his 53 RBI are just one behind Houston's Carlos Lee.
Oakland 14 St. Louis 3 - Danny Haren (8-2) won his 8th straight after starting the season with a pair of losses. Haren worked 7 innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, striking out 8. The dependable righty has not lost a decision since April 7. All 9 starters for the A's had at least one hit in overwhelming the Cardinals, who dropped to 28-36, 7 1/2 games behind Milwaukee. Oakland trails the Angels by 4 games in the AL West.
Other AL Scores
Arizona 7 Baltimore 3 - O. Hudson, PH HR (7), 3 RBI
Atlanta 5 Cleveland 4
Toronto 7 Washington 2 - R. Halladay (W, 7-2)
Kansas City 6 Florida 2
National League
Detroit 12 Philadelphia 8 - Jimmy Rollins (left) hit two home runs and Ryan Howard added his 14th for the Phillies, but it was the Tigers' Ivan Rodriguez (right) who broke the game open with a three-run shot in the 5th inning. Pudge's 7th of the season made the score 7-1, and the Tigers added 4 more in the 6th - two on a Rodriguez RBI single - and another run in the 7th to overwhelm their hosts. With Cleveland losing to Atlanta, the Tigers closed to within a game of the first-place Indians, while the Phillies fell 1/2 back of Atlanta and 3 behind the NL East-leading Mets.
The two teams go at it again on Saturday and conclude the short series on Sunday in Philadelphia.
Texas 7 Cincinnati 6 - Sammy Sosa changed the game with a 5th inning grand slam - his 11th of the season and 599th of his career - that quickly turned a 4-3 Reds lead into a 7-4 Rangers' advantage. In the bottom half of the inning, Adam Dunn launched a 2-run shot - his 16th - to complete the scoring as two of the weakest bullpens kept both teams off the scoreboard for the remaining 4 innings.
Colorado 12 Tampa Bay 2 - Matt Holliday doubled twice, singled, scored a run and drove in 4 in 5 at-bats to lead Colorado to their 3rd straight win and keep pace in the ultra-competitive NL West. Holliday's .358 batting average leads the National League and his 52 RBI are the 4th best in the league. 
Kansas City 17 St. Louis 8 - Mark Teahen (right) singled and tripled twice in 5 at-bats, drove in 5 runs and scored a run in another Kansas City outburst. The Royals collected 15 hits and 7 walks off 7 different Cardinals' pitchers. Starter Kip Wells (2-11) lasted only 1 1/3 inning, allowing 6 earned runs on 3 hits and 4 walks. The Royals matched their high run total from just three games ago, when they blew out the Phillies, 17-5. It's the 6th time this season Kansas City has put up double digits.
San Diego 7 Tampa Bay 1 - Rookie Justin Germano improved to 5-0, blanking the Devil Rays on 3 hits over 6 innings. Germano walked just one batter and struck out 4, lowering his WHIP to 0.93 and his ERA to 2.36. The rookie complements an already robust pitching staff. The Padres lead the majors with a 2.94 staff ERA and the NL West by 1/2 game over Los Angeles.
Other AL Scores
Minnesota 3 Atlanta 2 - Braves fall to 3rd in NL East, 1/2 behind Philly
Milwaukee 6 Detroit 5 - Brewers take 2 of 3 at Detroit, Tigers fall 2 behind Cleveland
Washington 3 Baltimore 1
National League
Oakland 6 Houston 5, 11 innings - Jason Kendall singled home Bubba Crosby with the winning run to cap a 3-5 night at the plate for the A's 8th win in their last 10 games. 
NY Yankees 7 Arizona 2 - The Yankees won their 8th straight and swept their 3-game series with Arizona. Alex Rodriguez whacked a 2-run homer - his MLB-best 25th - and added an RBI single to give him 66, also the best in the majors. Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui also homered as the Yanks cut the Red Sox lead to 8 1/2 in the AL East.
Colorado 12 Boston 2 - It was a Shilling shelling in Beantown, as the Rockies lit up Boston's pitching. Starter Curt Schilling lasted just 5 innings, giving up 9 hits and 5 earned runs. Matt Holliday went 3-4 and scored 3 times and Todd Helton drove in 4 runs. The Rockies have gone 14-6 since May 21, but haven't made up much ground on the trokia of San Diego, Arizona and LA atop the NL West. 
Philadelphia 7 Chicago White Sox 3 - Chase Utley (right) walked and scored in the 1st inning, knocked a 2-run homer in the 2nd, singled in another pair of runs in the 4th and added a single to lead the Phillies to their 2nd straight win over the flagging White Sox and 6th in their last 8 games. With the Mets and Braves both losing, Philly has crept to within a game of Atlanta and 3 games of the division-leading Mets.
Other NL Scores
LA Dodgers 4 NY Mets 1 - Dodgers, Padres, D-Backs tied for 1st in NL West
Pittsburgh 7 Texas 5 - J. Bautista, 3-5, 2 RBI, SB
San Francisco 3 Toronto 2
Houston 5 Oakland 4, 11 innings
Cincinnati 5 LA Angels 3 - Reds won 5 of last 6
Seattle 5 Chicago Cubs 3, 13 innings - Mariners win 5th straight
Interleague Scoreboard:
Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6
Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4
Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5
Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2
Tuesday (6/12): AL: 8, NL: 6
Chicago Cubs 2 Houston 1 - Carlos Zambrano threw 3-hit ball over 8 innings and didn't allow an earned run as the Cubs moved into a tie for 2nd place in the NL Central with St. Louis, 5 1/2 behind division-leading Milwaukee. Zambrano (7-5) got his work in, tossing 128 pitches and striking out 9. He also hit a solo home run in the 3rd inning. Houston has lost 16 of their last 21.
LA Dodgers 5 NY Mets 3 - Dodger starter Randy Wolf (8-4), who spent his entire career with the Phillies before heading to LA this season, knows how to beat the Mets. Wolf was 8-4 lifetime against the NL East leaders and got through 6 innings by scattering 9 hits for 3 earned runs. After that, the Dodger bullpen did their job, setting down the Mets in order over the final three innings. Closer Takashi Saito picked up his 17th save. The Mets' lead is down to just 2 games, while LA moved to within 1 of San Diego and Arizona in the West.
Philadelphia 3 Chicago White Sox 0 - Adam Eaton improved to 7-4 with 7 innings of shutout ball over the struggling Sox. Eaton dispersed 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 5 to get the Phillies to within 4 games of the Mets in the NL East. The visiting White Sox are 3-13 since May 26, and have fallen out of contention in the AL Central. At 27-33, they are 9 games off the pace set by the Cleveland Indians.
American League
Seattle 8 Cleveland 7 - All Raul Ibanez needed to hit for the cycle was a single, but he'll probably settle for his 4-5, 2 home run, double and triple performance of Monday night. Ibanez drove in 5 runs, including the game winner with a double in the 9th, to get the surprising Mariners to within 4 games of the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels. It was an all-around exciting night for Ibanez in the field and on the basepaths. He was charged with an error on a bobble, but recovered later to throw out David Dellucci at the plate with the potential go-ahead run in the 8th, then was himself thrown out at home in the 9th by Trot Nixon.
Interleague Scoreboard:
Friday (6/8): AL 8, NL 6
Saturday (6/9): AL 10, NL 4
Sunday (6/10): AL 9, NL 5
Monday (6/11): AL 0, NL 2
St. Louis 9 LA Angels 6 - After his Cardinals lost two straight to the Angels, Albert Pujols (right) broke out the whuppin' stick on Sunday, mashing a 2-run and a 3-run homer to lead the Cardinals over LA and avoid the series sweep. Pujols, off to a relatively slow start this season, is creeping up on the leaders with a .299 batting average, 15 homers and 40 RBI. Don't look now, but the Cardinals are just 5 1/2 behind Central leader Milwaukee.
Oakland 2 San Francisco 0 - Lenny DiNardo, Santiago Casilla and Alan Embree combined for a 5-hit shutout of the punchless Giants. DiNardo started and surrendered 4 hits over the first 6, innings, then Santiago hurled a perfect 7th and 8th for the W, with Embree getting the save in the 9th. Marco Scutaro got the A's first run in the 8th with his 3rd home run, and Shannon Stewart singled home Mark Kotsay in the 9th with an insurance run.
The fast-fading Giants haven't scored in two games, have lost 3 straight, 7 of their last 9 and rank 11th of 16 NL teams in batting average (.254), RBI (251) and home runs (51). 
but has pitched well enough to win a number of times this season. Note to fantasy players, Lieber is 129-119 with a 3-1 strikeout-walk ratio lifetime. The Phillies are 5 behind New York and trail Atlanta by just 1 1/2.
Washington 3 Minnesota 1 - Washington probably isn't going anywhere this season, but Minnesota has definitely gone south in June. The Twins lost for the 6th time in their last 7 games, scoring just 11 runs in the losses. Starter Johan Santana took another tough loss, surrendering just 2 earned runs over 7 innings.
Other AL Scores
Houston 3 Chicago White Sox 2 - Sox' 5th straight loss
Colorado 3 Baltimore 2, 10 innings
Detroit 8 NY Mets 7 - J. Bonderman (W, 6-0); C. Guillen, HR (8), 3 RBI
Texas 4 Milwaukee 3 - Rangers score 4 in bottom of 9th
National League
Oakland 6 San Francisco 0 - Oakland hammered former teammate Barry Zito for the second time this season and Dan Haren (right) won his 7th straight decision with a masterful performance, shutting out the Giants on 5 hits over 7 innings. Zito (6-6) lasted only 4 innings, allowing 3 earned runs on 9 hits. In a previous meeting between the two Bay Area teams (May 18), Zito gave up 7 earned runs on 6 hits and 7 walks and was also lifted after 4 innings.
Haren (7-2) struck out 6 without walking a batter, lowering his ERA to a major league-best 1.58 and his WHIP to 0.86. The A's kept pace with Seattle and the first place LA Angels in the AL West. The Mariners trail LA by 5 1/2 games. Oakland is 6 back.
Cleveland 8 Cincinnati 6, Final 11 innings - Grady Sizemore singled, doubled, homered and scored 3 times, including the final run of the game, as the Indians rallied past the Reds. The Indians are being dogged by the Detroit Tigers, who also won on Saturday and remain 2 1/2 back. 
(easily the best in the majors) and 3-1 against the American League.
Washington 8 Minnesota 5 - Christian Guzman doubled, singled three times, scored 3 runs and had an RBI in 5 at-bats to lead the Nationals to a win at Minnesota to even their interleague record at 2-2. Guzman is batting .339, but, with only 121 at-bats, does not yet qualify as a league leader. He would be 2nd behind the Rockies' Matt Holliday.
Houston 5 Chi White Sox 2 - Craig Biggio cracked a solo homer - his 4th of the season and 285th of his career - for hit #2980. Biggio, batting only .227 should reach the 3000-hit mark just prior to the All-Star break (July 9-12).
Other AL Scores
NY Yankees 5 Pittsburgh 4, 10 innings - D. Jeter, GW RBI
Baltimore 4 Colorado 2
Kansas City 8 Philadelphia 4 - F. Garcia (L, 1-5) 1 2/3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER
Texas 9 Milwaukee 6 - 4th loss in last 6, 1-3 vs. AL, P. Fielder HR (22)
National League
Chicago Cubs 9 Atlanta 1 - Maybe it's time to put Alfonso Soriano (right) in the #3 or 4 spot in the Cubs' batting order. The leadoff hitter smacked three home runs (10) and a single in 5 at-bats to lead the Cubs to their 3rd straight game and close to within 5 games of the struggling Milwaukee Brewers. With Milwaukee and St. Louis both losing on Friday, Chicago took over sole possession of 2nd place in the NL Central. The Cubs have two more at Atlanta before playing a single game at Houston, then moving on to interleague play, hosting the Seattle Mariners beginning Tuesday.
Boston 10 Arizona 3 - Josh Beckett got his 9th win without a loss, allowing just 2 earned runs on 5 hits over 8 innings with 8 Ks, and J.D. Drew (right) went off the charts with a pair of 3 run homers and a run-scoring double for a 7 RBI night. An equal-opportunity masher, Drew victimized starter Doug Davis (4-7) with one blast, while reserving the other for reliever Edgar Gonzalez. Both Arizona pitchers allowed 5 earned in 4 innings. The Sox stayed 10 1/2 clear of the Yankees and O's in the AL East. With the Padres losing, the Diamondbacks remained a game out of first with the Dodgers 1 1/2 back.
Florida 14 Tampa Bay 8 - The Florida Marlins may not make the playoffs, but they have some real juice in their bats. 
Schilling opened the game by retiring the first 14 batters and ended by putting down 12 straight before Stewart's spoiler.
Staked to an early lead on David Ortiz' solo homer in the first inning, Schilling made the game's only run stand up, throwing 100 pitches to improve to 6-2.
Cleveland 8 Kansas City 3 - The Indians remained 2 1/2 in front of Detroit in the AL Central as Fausto Carmona won his 7th straight, working 7 innings against the Royals. Carmona (7-1) allowed 7 hits, 1 walk and a single earned run, striking out 5.
NY Yankees 10 Chicago White Sox 3 - Alex Rodriguez smoked a grand slam home run - his major league-leading 22nd - regaining the RBI lead at 56, helping the Yankees to their third straight over the White Sox. The Yankees opened the 4-game series in Chicago with a loss on Monday, but stormed back in their desperate chase of 1st-place Boston. They still trail the Red Sox by 10 1/2.
Other AL Scores
Detroit 11 Texas 4 - G. Sheffield, HR (16), Tigers take 2 of 3 at Texas
Tampa Bay 5 Toronto 3
National League
San Diego 6 LA Dodgers 5 - The Padres finally took sole possession of 1st place in the NL West, but it didn't come easy, scoring 5 times in the bottom of the ninth to steal a win from the Dodgers, completing a three-game sweep. With their 8th win in the last 10, the Padres shook loose from equally hot Arizona, who lost in extra innings to the Giants.
Reliever Jonathan Broxton could not close out the Padres, as he retired only one batter in the 9th, giving up 4 hits and two walks, the second one forcing in the winning run.
The Padres sent their ace, Jake Peavy, to the mound on Thursday, but LA touched him for 6 hits and 4 earned runs over 6 2/3. It was Peavy's second straight start without a decision. He remains at 7-1.
San Francisco 5 Arizona 4, 11 innings - Omar Vizquel singled home Pedro Feliz with the winning run in the 11th as the Giants avoided the sweep at Arizona and knocked the Diamondbacks out of first place. The Giants had Barry Bonds back in the lineup on Thursday but he failed to homer for his 9th straight game and remains 9 homers short of Hank Aaron's lifetime mark of 755. Bonds has hit just one home run since May 8. The Giants are in last place in the NL West, 8 back.
Colorado 7 Houston 6 - Rookie Troy Tulowitzki (right) knocked a two run homer, doubled and singled in the game winner in the bottom of the 9th as the Rockies took 2 of 3 from the visiting Astros. In 4 at-bats, Tulowitzki scored twice and drove in 3 runs. Matt Holliday went 4-5 and leads the NL with a .361 batting average.
Philadelphia 6 NY Mets 3, 10 innings - The Phillies completed their 3-game sweep of the Mets, pulling to within 5 games of first place in the NL East. Philly also closed the gap on 2nd-place Atlanta to 1 1/2 games as the Braves lost to the Cubs, 2-1.
Other NL Scores
Pittsburgh 3 Washington 2
Chicago Cubs 2 Atlanta 1 - R. Hill (W, 5-4), 8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 11 K
Cincinnati 5 St. Louis 1 - A. Dunn, HR (15); K. Griffey Jr., HR (13)
Detroit 10 Texas 0 - Justin Verlander turned in his best performance of the year, blanking the Rangers on 5 hits over 7 innings. Verlander (6-2) walked 2 and struck out 6, lowering his ERA to a very respectable 3.12 while moving the Tigers to 2 within 2 1/2 of the Indians (Kansas City 4 Cleveland 3) in the AL Central. Gary Sheffield (right) provided more than adequate offense with a pair of home runs - his 14th and 15th - and 5 RBI as part of a 3-4 night. Carlos Guillen and Ivan Rodriguez added back-to-back solo smacks in the 5th. Magglio Ordonez upped his major league-leading RBI total to 54 with a run-scoring single in the 6th. Texas starter Kevin Millwood was rocked once again, giving up 9 hits and 7 runs in just 3 2/3rds innings. Millwood is 2-5 with a 7.57 ERA.
Minnesota 8 LA Angels 5 - After losing the first two games of their series in Anaheim, the Twins salvaged a win in the finale, preventing Angels' starter John Lackey (9-3) from becoming the first in the majors to record 10 wins. Minnesota scored a pair in the 4th on Michael Cuddyer's 8th home run and added 4 more in the 5th on Nick Punto's 3 run shot - his 1st - and a run-scoring single by Justin Morneau. Lackey allowed 7 hits in 7 innings. Only 4 of the 6 runs were earned.
The Angles remained 5 1/2 ahead of Seattle, losers to Baltimore - Baltimore 9 Seattle 5 - and Oakland, who beat the visiting Red Sox for the 3rd straight day - Oakland 3 Boston 2. Boston has one more shot at the A's this afternoon.
Other AL Scores
Tampa Bay 6 Toronto 2
NY Yankees 5 Chicago White Sox 1 - A. Rodriguez, 2-4, 2 RBI (52)
National League
San Diego 5 LA Dodgers 2 - The San Diego Padres beat the Dodgers for the second straight day and celebrated Trevor Hoffman's 500th career save afterward. Hoffman,(right) already the career leader in saves (he passed Lee Smith's 478 last September) now has his own exclusive club as the only major leaguer with 500 saves. Saving a win at home against division rival Los Angeles in a tight early-season race was especially rewarding for Hoffman, who notched his 18th of the year. The Padres remain tied with Arizona for the NL West lead. The Dodgers are 1 1/2 back.
Arizona 1 San Francisco 0... Meanwhile, in Phoenix, Brandon Webb won his 3rd straight, improving to 6-3 with a 7-inning blanking of the visiting Giants. Webb allowed 6 hits and 4 walks, striking out 7, and closer Jose Valverde worked the 9th inning for his 21st save. Arizona scored the only run of the game on Chris Young's 7th inning home run (8). The Giants were without Barry Bonds for the second straight game as he sat out with painful shin splints. Bonds is expected to be back in the lineup on Thursday.
Philadelphia 4 NY Mets 2 - In the Spring, Jimmy Rollins said the Phillies were the "team to beat" in the NL East and last night he made sure the Mets are taking him seriously.