DETROIT (AP) -The World Series rematch was a mismatch. This time, the Tigers came out on top.
Andrew Miller (1-0) pitched six scoreless innings in his first major league start and Detroit scored nine runs in the fifth inning of a 14-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.
Gary Sheffield and Magglio Ordonez homered early for the Tigers, who lost to St. Louis in five games last October. They went ahead 2-0 on Sheffield’s liner over the left-field wall in the first and had the game well in hand when – you guessed it – a Detroit pitcher made yet another error against the Cardinals.
Jason Grilli threw away a pickoff attempt in the eighth, but by then Detroit held a huge lead. Tigers pitchers made a record five errors in the World Series last year.
Braden Looper (5-3) gave up a career-high seven runs and nine hits over four-plus innings. Detroit set a season high for runs and hits (18). In one game, the Tigers also surpassed the 11 total runs they scored in the 2006 World Series.
Albert Pujols hit his seventh homer in the ninth for St. Louis.
Cubs 6, White Sox 3
CHICAGO (AP) – Angel Pagan hit a tying triple in the seventh inning and scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball to help the Chicago Cubs beat the White Sox.
Backup catcher Toby Hall, playing his first game behind the plate this season after coming back from a shoulder injury, had two errors and the passed ball that cost the White Sox. Hall’s second error helped the Cubs score two more runs in the eighth at Wrigley Field.
Jermaine Dye homered off Ted Lilly (4-2) to put the White Sox ahead 2-1 in the third. Lilly gave up six hits and three runs in seven innings.
Ryan Dempster earned his ninth save in 10 chances, bouncing back from a deflating loss Thursday against the New York Mets, who rallied for five runs in the ninth inning.
Mike MacDougal (1-1) took the loss for the White Sox.
It was the first taste of the White Sox-Cubs rivalry for Cubs manager Lou Piniella.
Mets 3, Yankees 2
NEW YORK (AP) – Endy Chavez’s first home run of the year, a go-ahead, two-run shot off Andy Pettitte in the fifth inning, led the New York Mets to a victory that dropped their crosstown rival 10 games back in the AL East for the first time in the Joe Torre era.
Chavez also threw out Johnny Damon trying to stretch a game-opening hit to left into a double, and the Yankees’ sputtering offense rarely threatened after that.
Oliver Perez (5-3) limited the Yankees to only Hideki Matsui’s two-run homer in the fourth, another stellar start in a remarkable turnaround for a pitcher who went 3-13 in the regular season last year. After Matsui’s homer, the Yankees didn’t get a runner past first base.
While the Mets (27-14), coming off their first NL East title since 1988, opened a two-game lead over second-place Atlanta, the nine-time defending AL East champion Yankees (18-22) fell 10 games behind division-leading Boston. The Yankees had not been double digits back in the AL East since they trailed the Red Sox by 10 games after play on Sept. 22, 1995, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Yankees fell to 2-5 on their nine-game road trip and have lost six of eight overall.
Pettitte (2-3) allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings.
Marlins 8, Devil Rays 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Byung-Hyun Kim won his Marlins debut and Aaron Boone hit a grand slam, leading Florida past Tampa Bay.
Ty Wigginton, who had two solo homers, and Carlos Pena hit consecutive shots off Kim in the sixth for the Devil Rays, who had won four in a row. Tampa Bay hasn’t had a five-game winning streak since August 2005.
Boone put the Marlins up 4-0 in the second when he hit his second career slam on an 0-1 pitch from Edwin Jackson (0-6). It was the Marlins’ first grand slam since pitcher Dontrelle Willis hit one last July 7 at the New York Mets.
Kim (2-2), acquired from Colorado on May 13 for pitcher Jorge Julio, allowed three runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings. He was activated from the 15-day disabled list Thursday after being out since April 16 with a bruised right thumb.
Indians 9, Reds 4
CLEVELAND (AP) – Ryan Garko and Grady Sizemore homered to help Cliff Lee remain undefeated in interleague play as Cleveland defeated Cincinnati.
Garko hit a three-run homer and Sizemore had four hits, including a two-run shot, as Cleveland improved baseball’s best home record to 15-3. The Indians have won eight in a row at Jacobs Field, outscoring opponents 64-28 during the streak.
Cincinnati’s Brandon Phillips extended his career-best hitting streak to 20 games with a fourth-inning double, but the Reds lost for the eighth time in their past nine road games.
Lee (2-0) allowed two earned runs and six hits over six innings to improve to 8-0 in 11 career starts against NL opponents. The left-hander is 3-0 against the Reds, and the Indians hold a 27-19 advantage over their state rivals in 10 years of interleague play.
Garko hit his sixth homer in a six-run second inning against Kyle Lohse (1-5) and reliever Victor Santos.
Phillies 5, Blue Jays 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Jon Lieber pitched seven-plus strong innings, Brett Myers escaped a bases-loaded jam and Philadelphia beat Toronto.
Aaron Rowand and Shane Victorino each hit an RBI single, helping the Phillies (21-21) even their record with their seventh victory in nine games. Philadelphia won with just three hits – all singles in the fifth inning.
Aaron Hill and pinch-hitter Matt Stairs homered for the Blue Jays, who had won five of six.
Lieber (2-2) allowed three runs and six hits, striking out seven. Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan (0-1) retired the first nine batters and didn’t allow a hit through four innings, but fell apart in the fifth.
Myers worked the ninth, retiring Alex Rios on a grounder with the bases loaded for his fifth save.
Orioles 5, Nationals 4
WASHINGTON (AP) – Brian Roberts tied a career high with four hits, Steve Trachsel won for the first time in five starts, and Baltimore snapped a five-game losing streak by holding off Washington.
The Orioles built leads of 3-0 and 5-2 in support of Trachsel (2-3), who allowed two runs and four hits over 5 2-3 innings.
Nine of the Orioles’ 11 hits were singles. They scored one run in the fourth on Jay Payton’s sacrifice fly and two in the fifth off starter Jason Simontacchi (1-2) on Nick Markakis’ RBI double and Kevin Millar’s RBI single.
Baltimore tacked on two more in the eighth, charged to Saul Rivera, on Corey Patterson’s sacrifice fly and Roberts’ RBI single.
Washington, meanwhile, did all its scoring with two-run homers: Dmitri Young hit his off Trachsel in the sixth inning, and Ryan Zimmerman connected off Danys Baez in the eighth, making it a one-run game.
Chris Ray pitched the ninth inning for his ninth save, retiring Zimmerman on a lineout with runners at the corners to end the game. It was Ray’s first appearance since blowing a save chance Sunday at Boston.
Twins 8, Brewers 1
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Boof Bonser struck out a career-high 11 in seven innings and Torii Hunter hit his second grand slam this season, leading Minnesota over Milwaukee.
The Brewers lost for the sixth time in eight games. Before this skid, they held the best record in the majors at 24-10.
Jeff Cirillo, who played for the Brewers the past two seasons, hit a two-run homer and his first triple since 2001. The Twins won for just the third time in the last 11 games.
After giving up a run and two hits in the first inning, Bonser (2-1) shut out the Brewers on a single over the next six innings. Bonser matched the longest outing of his two-year career – he also pitched seven innings at Boston last Sept. 20.
Chris Capuano (5-2) gave up six runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. It was his second straight rough start – Capuano began the season 5-0 before the Mets tagged him last Sunday.
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