Last Updated on June 1, 2007 10:36 pm by admin
BOSTON (AP) -One game after Alex Rodriguez offended some baseball purists by distracting a fielder during a popup, the New York Yankees built on that victory by beating the Boston Red Sox 9-5 on Friday and climbing out of the AL East cellar.
No longer tied for last with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, New York still trails Boston by 12 1/2 games.
Jorge Posada had a pair of doubles, including a three-run shot to cap a six-run rally that broke a fourth-inning tie. Rodriguez reached base three times and scored twice despite the mockery of a Fenway crowd that – with the division race apparently in hand – had no place else to direct its longstanding anger.
The emotionless game boiled over with two outs to go, when Yankees mop-up man Scott Proctor dusted Kevin Youkilis – the fifth hit batter of the game – and he made a move toward the mound. The benches cleared, Proctor was ejected, and the fans who remained began their traditional anti-Yankees chant.
Chien-Ming Wang (4-4) scattered 10 hits and two walks over 5 2-3 innings, allowing three runs while striking out one to win for the third time in four starts.
Tim Wakefield (5-6) lasted 3 2-3 innings, giving up eight runs on five hits with six walks, a wild pitch and a hit batsman. He struck out two and saw his ERA balloon from 3.36 to 4.24.
Yankees manager Joe Torre was ejected for arguing the call at third base when Bobby Abreu was caught stealing in the fifth.
Manny Ramirez had four hits and Dustin Pedroia three for Boston, which lost both third baseman Mike Lowell and right-fielder J.D. Drew to apparently minor injuries during the game.
Indians 12, Tigers 11
CLEVELAND (AP) – David Dellucci singled home the winning run with two outs to cap a five-run ninth as the Cleveland Indians rallied past the Detroit Tigers.
Tigers closer Todd Jones (1-3) blew his second straight save opportunity as the reeling Tigers lost for the seventh time in eight games and fell 4 1/2 games behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central.
The Indians improved baseball’s best home record to 19-4, and are off to their best start at home in Cleveland’s 107 years in the American League.
Roberto Hernandez (3-1) pitched 1-3 of an inning for the win.
The Tigers led 11-7 in the ninth before Victor Martinez hit a three-run homer off Jones – his second home run of the game – to make it 11-10. Jhonny Peralta followed with a double, then gave way to pinch-runner Mike Rouse.
After striking out Ryan Garko, Jones intentionally walked Trot Nixon, putting the winning run aboard. Josh Barfield poked a single to right that fell just in front of Magglio Ordonez, scoring Rouse to tie it.
Dellucci then lined a 2-1 pitch to center, scoring Nixon.
Royals 4, Devil Rays 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Brian Bannister allowed two hits in eight innings as the Kansas City Royals snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Bannister (1-3) won for the first time since the Royals obtained him in an offseason trade. He allowed a fourth-inning single to Akinori Iwamura and Greg Norton’s leadoff homer in the fifth before retiring the last 12 batters he faced to get his third career win.
The Royals, outscored 54-13 during their losing streak, converted a leadoff triple, a wild pitch and three singles into three runs in the second.
Scott Kazmir (3-3) allowed eight hits in seven innings, and has not won at home since pitching a two-hit, complete-game shutout against Boston last July 3.
Octavio Dotel worked the ninth for his first save in two years.
White Sox 3, Blue Jays 0
TORONTO (AP) – Javier Vazquez pitched eight shutout innings to win for the first time since April 13, and the Chicago White Sox snapped a five-game losing streak against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Vazquez (3-3) gave up six hits and struck out five to give Chicago its first victory by a starter in the past eight games. The starters were 0-5 with a 7.17 ERA in the past seven games.
Bobby Jenks pitched the ninth for his 15th save in 16 opportunities, capping Chicago’s fourth shutout of the season. It was the second time the Blue Jays were shut out this season.
A.J. Burnett (5-5) struck out a season-high 12 but still lost his second straight start. He gave up three runs and six hits. He retired 11 straight batters between the fourth and the seventh and struck out every batter in the White Sox lineup at least once.
Vazquez didn’t allow an extra-base hit until pinch-hitter Howie Clark’s two-out double in the eighth. Alex Rios followed with an infield single but Lyle Overbay ended the inning by flying out.
MORE