NL East a Real Race; Rockies on the Rise

Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues. American League Atlanta 6 Cleveland 2 - Edgar Renteria (right) went 5 for 5 with a double, his 10th home run, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored, and John Smoltz won his 8th game against just 2 losses, limiting the Indians to 7 hits and 2 earned over 6 innings. 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