A whirlwind 24 hours came to an end for the New York Mets and new manager Jerry Manuel with another loss.
The struggling Mets, who have dropped eight of their past 12 games, managed just six singles, made three errors and generally looked ragged as the Los Angeles Angels beat them 6-1 Tuesday night.
“We’ve got a good team. It’s just a matter of all of us getting on the same page and doing the things we need to do to win. I don’t think we had the opportunity to dot all our I’s and cross all our T’s. I think that’s a process that’s going to be ongoing for a period of time. But once we get beyond that, we’ll be OK.”
Manuel’s tenure got off to a rough start as All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes left in the first inning with stiffness in his left hamstring. Reyes, who came in hitting .289 with eight homers and 29 RBIs, was taken out as a precautionary measure, the Mets said. Manuel said after the game that he expects Reyes back in the lineup for the next game.
“We looked very tired. I know I was tired. Maybe they were going through what I was going through,” said Manuel, promoted from bench coach to interim manager when Willie Randolph was fired late the previous night. “Hopefully now that the cloud has lifted, we can get back to playing baseball.”
In other interleague games Tuesday, it was: New York Yankees 8, San Diego 0; Boston 3, Philadelphia 0; Baltimore 6, Houston 5; Tampa Bay 3, Chicago Cubs 2; Milwaukee 7, Toronto 0; Texas 7, Atlanta 5; Minnesota 2, Washington 1; Chicago White Sox 16, Pittsburgh 5; Kansas City 2, St. Louis 1; Colorado 10, Cleveland 2; Oakland 15, Arizona 1; Seattle 5, Florida 4; and Detroit 5, San Francisco 1.
In the only NL game, Los Angeles beat Cincinnati 3-1.
In a matchup of staff aces, John Lackey (4-1) outpitched Johan Santana (7-5). The Angels’ right-hander, whose 2008 debut was delayed by a strained biceps, shut out the Mets after giving up a run in the first inning. He struck out seven in 7 2-3 innings and walked one – the last batter he faced.
Scot Shields pitched 1 1-3 hitless innings to earn his second save.
Santana gave up five runs, four earned, and eight hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked two.
“There were a lot of positives for us,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “Getting six runs off Santana, we had some good situational hitting. And to get a performance from John Lackey like we did.”
Yankees 8, Padres 0
At New York, Jason Giambi homered twice and Andy Pettitte looked particularly sharp in an easy outing as Yankees won their fifth straight, beating the Padres.
Alex Rodriguez also connected off an ineffective Randy Wolf (5-5) for the surging Yankees (38-33), who have won 10 of 13 to move a season-best five games above .500. New York has outscored its opponents 35-6 during the five-game winning streak.
Pettitte (7-5) tied a season high with nine strikeouts in seven innings, improving to 4-0 in his past six starts.
Red Sox 3, Phillies 0
At Philadelphia, Jon Lester struck out five over seven shutout innings and Coco Crisp homered to lead the Red Sox.
Lester (6-3) never got into any serious trouble and won his third straight start.
Crisp gave him all the offense he needed with a two-run homer in the second inning off Jamie Moyer (7-4).
Jonathan Papelbon worked the ninth for his 20th save.
Twins 2, Nationals 1
At Minneapolis, Livan Hernandez finally found a way to keep opposing hitters off base, earning his first victory in over a month in Minnesota’s win over the Nationals.
Hernandez (7-4), who is on pace to become the first pitcher since Atlanta’s Phil Niekro in 1979 to allow more than 300 hits in a season, allowed one run and just five hits in seven innings. He needed just 77 pitches for his first win since May 12.
John Lannan (4-8) posted his fourth straight quality start for Washington.
Dodgers 3, Reds 1
At Cincinnati, right-hander Chad Billingsley took a shutout into the seventh inning and the Dodgers held on for a victory over the Reds that ended a five-game losing streak.
Billingsley (5-7) provided a huge boost on an otherwise ominous day for the Dodgers’ rotation. Brad Penny went on the 15-day disabled list with a sore shoulder, and Hiroki Kuroda was sent back to Los Angeles for tests on his sore shoulder.
Takashi Saito struck out a pair in the ninth while getting his ninth save in 12 chances.
Juan Pierre and Russell Martin had run-scoring doubles off Johnny Cueto (5-7), who couldn’t get the Reds out of their rut.
Orioles 6, Astros 5
At Baltimore, Melvin Mora hit a two-run double in the eighth inning to cap yet another improbable rally by the Orioles and doom the sinking Astros to their sixth straight defeat.
The Orioles trailed 5-3 before rebounding to earn their third comeback victory in four games. It was the major league-leading 16th time this season that Baltimore rallied from a two-run deficit to win.
Jim Johnson (2-2) worked a scoreless eighth and George Sherrill got three straight outs for his 23rd save.
Brewers 7, Blue Jays 0
At Milwaukee, Manny Parra allowed four hits in seven scoreless innings and Ryan Braun hit two of Milwaukee’s five homers, lifting the Brewers.
Prince Fielder, Russell Branyan and Craig Counsell homered for Milwaukee.
Parra (6-2) struck out five and worked around four walks for his fifth straight win.
Dustin McGowan (5-5) took the loss for Toronto.
Royals 2, Cardinals 1
At St. Louis, Mike Aviles homered to snap an eighth-inning tie and Kyle Davies worked seven sharp innings in the Royals’ victory over the Cardinals.
Davies (3-0) allowed one run and five hits with four strikeouts and three walks, allowing only three runners to advance to scoring position. Joakim Soria worked the ninth for his 16th save.
Ron Villone (1-2) took the loss.
Rays 3, Cubs 2
At St. Petersburg, Fla., Cliff Floyd and Evan Longoria hit solo home runs, helping the Rays spoil Lou Piniella’s return to Tropicana Field with a victory over the Cubs.
Longoria led off the sixth with his 11th of the season, snapping a 1-all tie against Neal Cotts (0-1).
Grant Balfour (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 innings in relief of Scott Kazmir to get the win. Troy Percival worked an eventful ninth for his 16th save in 18 opportunities.
Rangers 7, Braves 5
At Arlington, Texas, Josh Hamilton put Texas ahead to stay with his American League-best 19th homer and Milton Bradley added a two-run single on which he got hurt in the Rangers’ victory over the Braves.
Hamilton’s towering 412-foot solo shot into the second deck of right-field seats came in the first off Tim Hudson (7-5), who is winless in his past five starts.
Vicente Padilla (9-3) allowed two hits over six innings with four strikeouts. C.J. Wilson worked the ninth for his 14th save in 16 chances.
White Sox 16, Pirates 5
At Chicago, Jermaine Dye, Joe Crede, Orlando Cabrera and Jim Thome homered as the White Sox registered season highs in runs and hits to rout the Pirates.
Thome’s homer, a three-run shot to cap a five-run seventh, was the 521st of his career, tying him with Willie McCovey and Ted Williams for 16th on the career list.
Javier Vazquez (7-5) allowed five hits and five runs in six innings to get the victory.
The White Sox broke a 5-5 tie with a two-run fifth and finished Pirates starter Ian Snell (3-7).
Rockies 10, Indians 2
At Denver, Greg Reynolds pitched six strong innings and led Colorado’s season-high 17-hit attack by going 2-for-3 with a run scored as the Rockies routed the Indians.
Jeff Baker hit an inside-the-park home run, Brad Hawpe also homered and Matt Holliday went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for Colorado, which has won three of its past four.
Reynolds (2-4) allowed one run and five hits.
Paul Byrd (3-7) took the loss after giving up five runs in four-plus innings.
Athletics 15, Diamondbacks 1
At Phoenix, Mark Ellis hit two home runs to lead a six-homer barrage as the Athletics routed Brandon Webb and the Diamondbacks.
Eric Chavez, Kurt Suzuki, Bobby Crosby and Rajai Davis also homered for Oakland, which won its fourth straight.
Justin Duchscherer (7-4) went eight sharp innings, allowing one run and five hits.
Webb (11-3) lasted 3 1-3 innings, his shortest outing since Sept. 17, 2004, and allowed a season-high seven earned runs and nine hits.
Mariners 5, Marlins 4
At Seattle, Felix Hernandez was overpowering for the first five innings, then scrambled to hold his lead, and the Mariners snapped an eight-game home losing streak.
Marlins starter Scott Olsen (4-3) didn’t make it out of the fifth, giving up a season-high 11 hits in just 4 1-3 innings.
Tigers 5, Giants 1
At San Francisco, Marcus Thames homered in his fifth straight game to help the Tigers beat the Giants.
Thames matched the franchise record for consecutive games with a homer and Edgar Renteria recorded his 2,000th career hit as Detroit ended a four-game road losing streak.
Kenny Rogers (5-4) pitched seven strong innings.
Jonathan Sanchez (6-4) lost his first start since May 16 despite carrying a no-hitter into the sixth.
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