American League
LA Angels 3 Baltimore 2 -
John Lackey (right) became the majors' first 9-game winner as he and the Angels ended the O's 6-game winning streak Friday at Anaheim. Lackey (9-3) gave up 5 hits and 2 earned runs over 7 1/3 innings and the Angels' bullpen did the rest. Francisco Rodriguez picked up his league-leading 19th save. The Angels lead Seattle by 5 1/2 in the West.
Chicago White Sox 3 Toronto 0 -
Javier Vazquez allowed just 6 hits over 8 innings to even his record at 3-3 and Bobby Jenks worked the 9th to get his 15th save as the Sox ended their 5 game skid amid hopes that June would turn out better. Chicago ended May with a 12-14 record and are in danger of falling out of the AL Central and Wild Card races. Any ground they make up in June will be against non-divisional opponents. The Sox play only two games at the end of the month against any teams in the AL Central, and those are against last place Kansas City.
NY Yankees 9 Boston 5 - The Yankees took the first of a 3-game series at Boston, and now trail the Red Sox by
only 12 1/2 games. The Yanks beat up on knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (5-6), who couldn't locate his pitches, allowing 5 hits, 6 walks and 8 earned runs over just 3 2/3rds innings.
Jorge Posada led the effort with a pair of doubles and 3 RBI. His .358 batting average leads the league. Boston's
Kevin Youkilis went 1-3 to keep his 23-game hitting streak going.
Cleveland 12 Detroit 11 - In five tries, the Tigers haven't beaten the Indians this year, but they came close Friday night, carrying a 4-run lead into the bottom of the 9th with closer Todd Jones looking to finish off the Tribe. Things didn't quite go right from there, however, as Cleveland scored 5 runs in the frame and extended their AL Central lead to 4 1/2 days over Detroit. The Indians are 19-4 at home.
This game was an offensive showcase, with the two teams combining for 31 hits. Cleveland's
Victor Martinez had two of the bigger ones - a pair of 2-run homers - with one coming in the decisive 9th inning. Martinez' 4 RBI gave him 48, 2 behind the Tigers' Magglio Ordonez, who leads the AL.
Other AL Scores
Kansas City 4 Tampa Bay 1 - B. Bannister (W, 1-3) 8 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Minnesota 3 Oakland 2, 10 innings - Twins 4th straight W
Texas 9 Seattle 8 - I. Suzuki, 2-5, 3 R, 25-game hitting streak
National League
Atlanta 8 Chicago Cubs 5 - Unfortunately, the best action in this game occurred in the Chicago clubhouse. Carlos Zambrano, lifted after 5 innings, got into it with his catcher, Michael Barrett, sending Barrett to the hospital with a reported pair f black eyes and a split lip. Zambrano had complained to Barrett about his fielding, after a passed ball and throwing error added to the day's frustration. Of course, Zambrano (5-5) might just as well punched himself out after allowing 13 hits, 2 walks and 6 earned runs without a strikeout.
Manager Lou Piniella promised that both players would be reprimanded. MLB will certainly impose fines as well. Both of these players richly deserve some bench time. Zambrano is hoisting around a 5.62 ERA and Barrett isn't exactly scorching the record books with his .241 batting average.
San Francisco 13 Philadelphia 0 -
Matt Morris gave up just one hit over 6 innings to go to 6-2 as the Giants stormed into Philly for the first of a 4-game series.
Ray Durham and
Pedro Feliz each cracked 3-run homers, but rookie
Fred Lewis (right) outdid them both with a grand slam. Lewis also singled and scored 3 times in 5 at-bats. A leading early candidate for Rookie of the Year honors, Lewis hit for the cycle earlier this season. In 18 games, he's batting .268 with 2 homers, 12 RBI and 2 steals. The Phillies, after getting over the .500 mark for the first time all season, have promptly lost 4 straight to drop back to 26-28.
Arizona 5 NY Mets 1 -
Brandon Webb kept the Mets at bay on 4 hits - the lone run was unearned - over 8 innings as the Diamondbacks won their 8th straight and remain deadlocked with the Dodgers atop the NL West. Webb (5-3) walked just one batter and struck out 8. Shortstop
Stephen Drew put the game out of reach with a 3-run blast in the 8th. For the Mets,
Jose Reyes stole his league-leading 30th base and
Julio Franco stole his 2nd, leading all 48-year-olds in that - and every other - department.
Other NL Scores
Washington 4 San Diego 3, 10 innings - C. Guzman, 4-5, 3 R; D. Young, 4-4, 2 RBI
LA Dodgers 5 Pittsburgh 4 - Dodgers share 1st in West with D-Backs
St. Louis 8 Houston 1 - Cards plate 7 in top of 9th
Milwaukee 8 Florida 5 - F. Cordero, 20th Save leads majors
Cincinnati 4 Colorado 2 - Ken Griffey Jr., HR (12), career #575
LA Angels 16 Minnesota 3 - Gary Matthews (right) drove in 5 runs with a grand slam and 3 sinlges in 5 at-bats as the Angels swamped the visitng Twins. Shortstop Orlando Cabrera also rapped out 4 hits, drove in a pair and scored 4 runs in the rout. The Angels knocked out 23 hits against 4 Minnesota pitchers to remain 5 1/2 clear of 2nd place Seattle in the West.
Other AL Scores
Tampa Bay 4 Kansas City 2 - C. Pena, 3-3, 2B, HR (12), 2 RBI
Chicago White Sox 6 NY Yankees 4 - NY, 12-18 road record
Oakland 5 Boston 4, 11 innings - E. Chavez, GW HR (8)
Seattle 7 Baltimore 4 - I. Suzuki, 3-5, HR (5)
National League
Chicago Cubs 7 Milwaukee 2 - The Cubs had a rough go last week, losing 6 of 7, but with a chance to pick up some ground on the first place Brewers, they're not looking back.
Alfonso Soriano (right) opened up the Cubs' 3-game set in Milwaukee with a bang - a 3-run homer in the 7th inning - to cap a 5 for 5 night and get the Cubs a within 6 1/2 of the Central division lead. Soriano's been on somewhat of a tear lately, with multiple hits in 7 of his last 11 games, though batting in the leadoff spot may not be the best use of his ability. Soriano, a dependable hitter, drove in 199 runs over the last two seasons. So far this year he has just 17.
San Francisco 8 Philadelphia 1 - It's officially the dry season for Barry Bonds. Though the Giants won again on Monday to conclude their 4-game series in Philly with a split, Bonds failed to homer for the 7th straight game. In fact, Bonds has just 1 homer and 3 RBI in his last 22 games, well below his lifetime average of one every 3.9 games. Barry's lack of longball hasn't helped the Giants, who are 6 1/2 games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers.
Other NL Scores
Florida 6 Atlanta 4 - (R) Y. Escobar (ATL), 4-4, HR (1)
LA Dodgers 6 Pittsburgh 5 - Dodgers lead NL West by 1/2
Seattle 11 Texas 6 - Jose Lopez (right) rapped out 3 singles and a bases-loaded double, drove in 3 and scored twice in 5 at-bats as the Mariners took 3 of 4 from the fading Rangers. The Mariners remain in 2nd place in the AL West, 5 1/2 behind the Angels. Texas right fielder Victor Diaz had another big game with 2 homers (7) and 5 RBI after going 3-5 with 2 RBI on Saturday.
LA Angels 4 Baltimore 3 - Vladimir Guerrero smashed a 2-run homer (12) in the bottom of the ninth to send the Angels to their 3rd straight win over the stunned Orioles. Baltimore won the first of the 4-game set, but the Angels - now 22-8 at home - came back strong with Vlad leading the charge. Guerrero's .347 batting average is good for 4th in the AL and his 48 RBI ranks 3rd behind Magglio Ordonez (52) and Victor Martinez (50)
Other AL Scores
Toronto 4 Chicago White Sox 3 - Jays take 3 of 4 from slumping Sox
Oakland 4 Minnesota 2 - C. Gaudin (W, 6-1), 2.41 ERA
Tampa Bay 5 Kansas City 1 - J.P. Howell (W, 1-0) 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
National League
Chicago Cubs 10 Atlanta 1 - Mark DeRosa (right) hammered a 1st-inning grand slam and later drove in another run with a sac fly as the Cubs ended their 6-game losing streak and avoided being swept at home by the Braves. The Cubs have really slipped of late; at 23-31 they are 7 1/2 off the pace in the NL Central.
Philadelphia 9 San Francisco 8 - S. Victorino hit a game-winning home run (4) with one out in the bottom of the 9th to get the Phillies back to .500 and take their 2nd straight over the visiting Giants. Philly leads the 4 game set, 2-1, with the finale this afternoon. Three other Phillies went yard on Sunday. Chase Utley (10) had a solo shot, Aaron Rowand (8) a two-run job and Ryan Howard a 3-run knock, his 10th.
St. Louis 8 Houston 6, 10 innings - For those writing off the St. Louis Cardinals, this reminder that it's early June and there are still more than 100 games left. So Taguchi and Albert Pujols homered in the 10th to give the Cardinals a 2-1 edge in their series at Houston. The Cardinals have quietly snuck into sole possession of 2nd place in the troubled NL Central, 6 1/2 behind the Milwaukee Brewers.
Speaking of which... Milwaukee 3 Florida 0 - Ben Sheets shut out the Marlins over 6 innings, allowing 7 hits and a walk while fanning 7. Sheets improved to 6-3. J.J. Hardy knocked his 16th home run.
LA Dodgers 5 Pittsburgh 4 - The Dodgers erased a 4-0 Pittsburgh advantage with 3 runs in the 7th and 2 in the 8th - those via Andre Ethier's 5th home run - to take a 2-1 edge in the series at Pittsburgh which concludes tonight. Nothing was settled in the NL West as Arizona and San Diego both won, keeping all three tied for first place. The Dodgers can get a temporary edge with a win on Monday, as both the Diamondbacks and Padres are idle.
Other NL Scores
Arizona 4 NY Mets 1 - Arizona, won 9 of last 10, take 2 of 3 in NY
San Diego 7 Washington 3 - Padres take 2 of 3 at Wash.
Colorado 10 Cincinnati 9, 10 innings - K. Matsui, 3-6, 3 RBI
Detroit 9 Cleveland 5 - The Detroit Tigers finally figured out how to beat the 2007 version of the Cleveland Indians and got their first win in six tries against the Tribe on Saturday at Cleveland. The working formula: Get 4 hits apiece from Ivan Rodriguez (left) and Magglio Ordonez (right). Pudge got a pair of singles and a couple of two-baggers, scored a run and drove in four in 5 at-bats, while Ordonez went to the plate 6 times, knocked a 2-run homer, doubled, singled twice and scored 3. Ordonez is tied with Jorge Posada for the AL batting lead at .362 and leads the RBI chase with 52.
Detroit had 16 hits overall, while Cleveland totaled 13. The two teams have combined for 53 runs in the first three of their 4-game series. Detroit can earn a split with a win this afternoon. Cleveland has a 3 1/2 game lead on Detroit in the AL Central.
Philadelphia 5 San Francisco 2 - Cole Hamels (right) became the first National Leaguer to reach 8 wins with a 5-hit, complete game victory that snapped the Phillies out of a 4-game slump. Hamels (8-2), in his second year in the majors, struck out five without walking a batter. Both Giants' runs were earned. Hamels has a 3.55 ERA and his 91 strikeouts are second only to Jake Peavy's 92, tops in the majors.
San Diego 11 Washington 3 - The Padres are determined to stay in the NL West race and pulled even with Arizona and LA with a thumping of the patsy Nationals in D.C. Khalil Greene scattered 4 singles in 5 at-bats, scored 3 times and drove in a run. Fill-in catcherRob Bowen knocked a bases loaded double and a sac fly for 4 RBI as rookie Justin Germano notched his 4th straight win without a loss, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits over 6 innings. A pleasant surprise for a staff loaded with good pitching, control freak Germano boasts an ERA of 1.74 and a ridiculous 0.81 WHIP.
Other NL Scores
Atlanta 5 Chicago Cubs 3 - Cubs have lost 6 straight
Houston 8 St. Louis 3 - C. Lee, 1-1, 2-run HR (11), 3 RBI (52, leads NL)
Florida 5 Milwaukee 2 - Brewers, 7-15 since 5/10, lead NL Cent. by 6 1/2
NY Mets 7 Arizona 1 - R. Gotay, 3-4, 3-run HR (2), Mets lead NL East by 3 1/2
Colorado 4 Cincinnati 1 - WP: J. Francis (5-4); S: B. Fuentes (16)
Pittsburgh 3 LA Dodgers 1 - I. Snell (W, 5-4), 8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K