American League
Boston 6 Cleveland 2 -
Jon Lester (right) returned to the mound for the first time in nearly a year, picking up where he left off after being diagnosed and beating lymphoma - with a win.
Lester's rookie season was cut short by the disease last season, but last night he returned triumphant in life and in the game he loves.
Lester was solid, allowing just 5 hits and 2 earned runs over 6 innings - both of the runs coming via
Grady Sizemore's 3rd inning home run. His teammates stake him to a 5 run lead with 4 in the 1st and another run in the 2nd. Lester walked 3 and struck out 6, a performance that will surely keep him in the Boston rotation.
NY Yankees 9 Kansas City 2 - While the Sox were celebrating Lester's return, the Yankees were busy winning for the 9th time in 11 games since the All-Star break. Every hitter in the lineup had at least one hit, and
Alex Rodriguez reached 100 RBI with a run-scoring single in the 9th inning. And it's only July.
Roger Clemens earned career win #351, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits over 7 innings of work. The Yankees remain 7 1/2 behind the first-place Red Sox.
Detroit 9 Chi White Sox 6 - Four different Tigers -
Curtis Granderson, Ivan Rodriguez, Magglio Ordonez and Placido Polanco - each had 3 hits, but Granderson drove in four runs and scored twice with a single, double, and his 17th home run of the season - a solo shot which led off the game. The Tigers increased their AL Central lead over Cleveland to 2 games.
Minnesota 4 Toronto 6 - All of the runs in this contest came via the long ball.
Frank Thomas hit a pair of 2-run jobs off starter Johan Santana and
Justin Morneau drove in three with his 27th and 28th. Reed Johnson and Alex Rios knocked solo shots for the Blue Jays while Torii Hunter added his 21st - another solo job - in the 9th inning.
Other AL Scores
Seattle 7 Texas 8 - S. Sosa, 2-4, HR (15), 5 RBI (69)
Oakland 12 LA Angels 6 - M. Ellis, 3-5, 2 HR (11), 3 RBI (45)
National League
San Diego 5 Colorado 7 - Colorado scored five times in the 8th inning to overtake the Padres and remain 5 1/2 behind Los Angeles in the NL West.
Matt Holliday (right) stroked a 3-run homer - his 17th - to tie the game, followed by
Brad Hawpe delivering a two-run blow for the winning margin.
LA Dodgers 10 Houston 2 -
Jeff Kent went 4-4 with a pair of doubles, drove in 2 runs and scored another as the Dodgers pulled 2 games clear of the Padres. The Dodgers have the best road record in the National League, at 27-20, and have owned Central division foes, compiling a 16-7 record against them.
Milwaukee 1 Cincinnati 2, 12 innings - To the delight of Cubs' fans everywhere,
Javier Valentin stroked a pinch-hit run-scoring single in the bottom of the 12th, giving the Reds the win over first-place Milwaukee. The main beneficiary of the Reds' success, however, was the second place Cubs, which picked up 1/2 game on the Brewers and are now just 3 games back and only 2 behind in the loss column. Chicago begins a 3-game set at St. Louis Tuesday night.
Other NL Scores
Florida 3 Arizona 4
Atlanta 4 San Francisco 2
Roy Halladay continued his dominance over the Yankees, and, ostensibly, the rest of the league, with a 5-hit complete game win as the Blue Jays topped New York, 5-1. Halladay improved to a major league-high 7 wins against just one loss, fanning five while walking none. The only run he allowed came in the 7th inning, when Alex Rodriguez singled home Johnny Damon. Otherwise, he was in complete control, upping his career record against the Yankees is 16-5. Hallady's ERA is a rather pedestrian 2.65, but his WHIP is 1.03 and his strikeout to walk ratio is 7-1 (49-7). Plus, his Blue Jays lead the AL East by a game over the Red Sox. The Yankees are 6 1/2 back.
National League
The Colorado Rockies pounded Houston 12-1 Tuesday, as Brad Hawpe (left) and Ian Stewart (right) each drove in 5 runs. Hawpe went 4-for-4, singling twice, doubling and knocking a two-run homer while Stewart hit a solo homer and a grand slam. Both players scored twice in the rout, Colorado's second straight win. The Rockies host Houston for two more games at the mile-high launching pad.
Hawpe (right) was 9-for-15 with 3 homers and 11 RBI against Webb in 2007.
Once the Rockies had their lead, starter Jeff Francis bore down, allowing just 2 hits from the 3rd to the 6th inning. Francis, who worked into the 7th inning, allowed only a first-inning run on an Eric Byrnes double.
In the 7th, Francis ran into trouble after giving up a leadoff double by Chris Snyder and then plunking Justin Upton, but escaped when the Rockies' infield turned its third double-play of the night. After allowing a bunt single to pinch hitter Jeff Cirillo, Francis was lifted for reliever Matt Herges, who loaded the bases with a walk to Chris Young, but got Stephen Drew to fly out, ending the threat.
The controversial 7th inning double play prompted fans to hurl objects onto the field, resulting in a stoppage of play when Rockies' manager, Clint Hurdle, pulled his players from the field. Upton upended Kaz Matsui by sliding outside the basepath, and was called out for interference, resulting in the batter - Augie Ojeda - being retired as well.
Brian Fuentes and Manny Corpas worked scoreless 8th and 9th innings for Colorado.
Webb lasted 6 innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits. Colorado added a run in the 7th off reliever Juan Cruz on a walk to catcher Yorvit Torrealba, a wild pitch, a sacrifice and an error by Diamondbacks' first baseman Conor Jackson.
Game two of the series is Friday at 10:00 at Arizona. Ubaldo Jiminez takes the mound for the Rockies against Arizona's Doug Davis.
Boston 8 Tampa Bay 1 - Josh Beckett (right) became the first 20-game winner in the majors, helping Boston regain some breathing room over the hard-charging Yankees. Beckett (20-6) won his 4th straight decision, and 7th in his last 8, allowing one earned run on 4 hits over six innings. His effort put Boston 2 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees, who lost to Toronto. Boston had lost 4 straight before Beckett's win.
Toronto 5 NY Yankees 4, 14 innings - The Yankees couldn't get to Roy Halladay until the 9th inning, but tied the game with a 4-run (3 unearned) rally before finally losing in the 14th on Greg Zaun's home run. The loss dealt a blow to the Yankees' hopes of winning the AL East, as they now trail Boston by 2 1/2 games with just 9 games left.
New York is looking very good for the post-season, however, as they need just 5 more wins or Detroit losses to clinch the wild card spot. Manager Joe Torre may have to make a decision on whether to rest his starters the early part of next. If the Yankees have the wild card sewn up, but don't see much chance of catching Boston, Torre could opt to keep Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina and Roger Clemens on the bench as these are older pitchers who may not get much rest in the playoffs.
Oakland 3 Cleveland 4 - The Indians got one step closer to capturing the Central division crown, reducing their magic number to 2 with their 4th straight win. Cleveland also has the best record in baseball, at 91-62, 1/2-game better than both Boston and Los Angeles. If the Indians end the season with the league's best record, they will play the wild card team in the first playoff round. Right now, that team looks to be the Yankees.
Other AL Scores
Kansas City 4 Detroit 5
Baltimore 2 Texas 3
Chi White Sox 6 Minnesota 4
Seattle 6 LA Angels 0
National League
NY Mets 9 Florida 6 - Pedro Martinez improved to 3-0 as the Mets scored 8 runs in the 3rd through 5th innings to retain their perilous 1 1/2-game lead over the Phillies in the NL East.
Philadelphia 6 Washington 3 - Ryan Howard led the Phillies to another come-from-behind win with his 42nd homer and a run-scoring double. The Phils are 1 1/2 behind the Mets in the division and trail San Diego in the wild card race by the same margin.
Pittsburgh 8 Chi Cubs 13 - Aramis Ramirez (right) belted a pair of 3-run homers to lead the Cubs over Pittsburgh and keep their 1 1/2 game lead over Milwaukee in the tense NL Central. Both the Cubs and Brewers face a win-or-go-home situation as neither are close in the wild card standings.
LA Dodgers 3 Arizona 12 - Arizona broke out the bats as Mark Reynolds, Tony Clark and Chris Young all connected for 2-run homers off Dodger pitching, sending LA to their 6th straight loss and virtually eliminating them from post-season contention. The Diamondbacks padded their lead in the division to 1 1/2 games over San Diego.
Colorado 2 San Diego 1, 14 innings - Brad Hawpe homered in the top of the 14th inning, sending the Rockies to their 6th straight win and keeping Colorado's slender post-season hopes alive. The Rockies are 3 1/2 behind the Padres in the wild card race and 5 back of Arizona in the division. The Rockies have two more games at San Diego, then travel to Los Angeles for a 3-game series before ending the season at home against division-leader Arizona.
Other NL Scores
Milwaukee 4 Atlanta 1
Houston 6 St. Louis 3
Cincinnati 9 San Francisco 8, 11 innings