Sosa Blanks Bengals; Drew Bombs D-Backs; Soriano, 3 Solos

Note: During interleague play, home teams are reported under their respective leagues. American League NY Mets 3 Detroit 0 - The Mets kept a tight hold on 1st place in the NL East as Jorge Sosa (right) blanked the Tigers on 4 hits and 2 walks over 8 innings, fanning 5. Sosa improved to 6-1, with a 2.64 ERA. The Mets are 4 1/2 clear of Atlanta - losers of 4 straight - in the division, 19-7 on the road (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.

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The Marlins are tied for the NL team RBI lead with Philly at 294, having added 14 on Friday. Jeremy Hermida totaled 4 with a grand slam home run, Josh Willingham added 3 with a pair of singles and a triple in 5 at-bats. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez drove in just 1 run, but stroked 4 singles in 5 at-bats, stole a base and scored 3 times. Other NL Scores Cincinnati 4 Cleveland 3 - K. Griffey Jr. HR (14) LA Angels 10 St. Louis 6 - Angels, 17 hits; 8-2 last 10 Seattle 6 San Diego 5, 11 innings - R. Ibanez, 4-6, GW HR (2) Oakland 5 San Francisco 3, 10 innings - Giants, last place LA Dodgers 4 Toronto 3 - O. Saenz, GW HR (3)