Everett, Wash.
Published: Thursday, June 19, 2008

Baseball roundup: Mets beat Angels in 10

Associated Press

 ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jerry Manuel got his first win managing the Mets when New York rallied to tie it in the ninth inning and Damion Easley homered in the 10th to beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-4 on Wednesday night.

Manuel, who replaced the fired Willie Randolph, lost his debut with the Mets on Tuesday night.

Down to their last out, the Mets made it 4-all in the ninth on David Wright's RBI single off All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez.

Easley connected with two outs off Justin Speier (0-4) for his second homer of the season.

The blown save was the second in 30 opportunities this season for Rodriguez, and snapped his franchise-record streak of 25 consecutive conversions.

Mets relievers allowed one hit over the final four innings. Billy Wagner, whose recent slump of three straight blown saves hastened Randolph's departure, pitched a perfect 10th for his 16th save.

Duaner Sanchez (3-0) pitched a perfect ninth inning for the victory.

Dodgers 6, Reds 1

CINCINNATI -- Derek Lowe earned his first road win since last August by pitching into the sixth inning, and Los Angeles extended its season-long domination of Cincinnati.

James Loney had a solo homer and a run-scoring double off Bronson Arroyo (4-6), sending the Dodgers to their sixth victory in seven games against the Reds. Juan Pierre broke the game open with a two-run triple in the seventh.

Lowe (5-6) hadn't won on the road since Aug. 22 at Philadelphia, going 0-6 in his next 11 starts away from Dodger Stadium.

Lowe gave up three hits, including Edwin Encarnacion's solo homer, in 5 1/3 innings. His six strikeouts matched his season high.

The Reds lost for the 11th time in 16 games.

Red Sox 7, Phillies 4

PHILADELPHIA -- J.D. Drew tied a career-high with four hits and fell a triple short of the cycle for Boston.

Drew hit a three-run homer in the first inning, doubled in the third, had an RBI single in the fourth and singled in the sixth before tapping out in the eighth. He finished 4-for-5 with four RBIs.

Justin Masterson (4-1) allowed two runs and four hits in five innings, the shortest of his six career starts. Jonathan Papelbon, the fourth Boston reliever, pitched a perfect ninth for his 21st save in 24 chances.

Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick (6-3) gave up six runs and six hits in three innings.

Mike Lowell had a solo homer for Boston, which took two of three in the interleague series between division leaders.

Tigers 7, Giants 2

SAN FRANCISCO -- Placido Polanco had four hits, drove in two runs and scored three as Detroit knocked struggling San Francisco starter Barry Zito out after two innings.

Armando Galarraga (7-2) didn't allow an earned run in six innings and struck out five to win his third straight start and fourth consecutive decision.

Marcus Thames had his stretch of consecutive games with a home run end at five, which tied a team record. Still, his last eight hits have been homers.

Zito (2-11) has one win in his last five starts and this was the second-shortest start of his career. He allowed five runs and five hits, struck out two and walked four.

In the first inning he allowed a one-out single to Polanco then walked Carlos Guillen before consecutive RBI singles by Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera.

Guillen followed Polanco's RBI double in the second with a two-run double to make it 5-0.

Orioles 2, Astros 1 (10)

BALTIMORE -- Kevin Millar singled in the game-winning run in the 10th inning, and Baltimore handed Houston its seventh straight loss.

It was the fourth straight one-run game for the Orioles, three of them victories. Baltimore is 17-10 in one-run games compared to 13-31 last year.

With one out in the 10th, Melvin Mora singled off Jose Valverde (4-2). Aubrey Huff hit an opposite-field single to left to put runners on the corners for Millar, who bounced a single up the middle.

Chad Bradford (3-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the Orioles.

Lance Berkman hit his 20th home run and had two of Houston's five hits.

Rays 5, Cubs 4

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Andy Sonnanstine allowed three runs in five-plus innings for Tampa Bay.

B.J. Upton, Eric Hinske, Evan Longoria and Willy Aybar drove in runs off Carlos Zambrano during Tampa Bay's four-run third inning, helping the Rays clinch their ninth consecutive series at home.

Zambrano (8-3) lost for the second time in his last nine decisions. He allowed five runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. The Cubs later said he was lifted because of right shoulder discomfort.

The Cubs scored twice in the third and once in the fifth off Sonnanstine (8-3), who allowed six hits.

Troy Percival went one inning to earn his 17th save in 19 opportunities and tie Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers for ninth place on the career list with 341.

White Sox 8, Pirates 2

CHICAGO -- Toby Hall hit his first home run in two years and Carlos Quentin slugged his 17th this season for Chicago.

Mark Buehrle (4-6) gave up two runs and four hits with two walks in eight innings. He struck out three and threw only 96 pitches. He lost a no-hit bid in the sixth when Jose Bautista homered on the first pitch.

Brian Anderson added his third homer and Nick Swisher hit a two-run double the day after the White Sox's 16-5 win over the Pirates.

The Pirates lost for the seventh time in eight games this season in Chicago, and have dropped four of their last five overall.

Hall, a backup catcher starting against left-hander Tom Gorzelanny, hit a shot into the bullpen in left to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead in the second. It was his first homer since June 4, 2006, when he was with Tampa Bay.

Quentin homered in the fifth to end a 1-for-18 slump and Anderson hit one to left in the sixth.

Gorzelanny (5-6) gave up four runs and five hits in six innings. He is 0-3 in Chicago this season.

Royals 3, Cardinals 2

ST. LOUIS -- David DeJesus and Alex Gordon hit solo home runs in the eighth inning to rally Brian Bannister and Kansas City.

Last in the AL Central, the Royals improved to 6-2 in interleague play and will try for a three-game sweep of their cross-state rivals Thursday. Kansas City had been 0-37 this season when trailing after seven innings.

Braden Looper held the Royals scoreless on two hits until John Buck had an RBI single in the seventh. Reliever Kyle McClellan (0-2) had allowed only two home runs in 35 2/3 innings when he took over in the eighth with a 2-1 lead. DeJesus hit his eighth homer with one out. Gordon connected off the rookie right-hander with two outs for his eighth home run.

DeJesus is 8-for-18 with eight RBI with three homers in the last four games, while Gordon has three homers in eight games after going without a long ball for 107 at-bats.

Joakim Soria worked a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 18 opportunities.

Bannister (6-6) allowed two runs and nine hits in seven innings.

Twins 11, Nationals 2

MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin Slowey won his second straight start since his worst outing of the year and Justin Morneau had three RBI for Minnesota.

Carlos Gomez of the Twins bunted for two of his three singles, scored two runs and drove in an insurance run in the seventh.

Jason Bergmann (1-5) allowed one earned run and five hits in six innings but lost his third straight for Washington. Minnesota scored eight runs in its last two innings against Saul Rivera, Jesus Colome and Brian Sanches.

Slowey (4-6) allowed one earned run and seven hits over six-plus innings.

Braves 5, Rangers 2

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Omar Infante hit a tiebreaking single and Atlanta scored three times in the ninth inning.

Jeff Francoeur led off the inning with a grounder that Rangers closer C.J. Wilson threw wildly to first for a two-base error. One out later, Infante singled to right to drive in Francoeur, and Gregor Blanco followed with a run-scoring triple to right-center. Kelly Johnson added his second RBI of the game with a run-scoring groundout to make it 5-2.

Jeff Bennett (1-4) pitched a scoreless eighth for Atlanta, and Mike Gonzalez had a perfect ninth for his first save of the season and 31st straight.

Gonzalez was removed from the disabled list before the game, 13 months after ligament replacement surgery in his left elbow. He made his first appearance since May 15, 2007.

Wilson (0-2) allowed three runs -- one earned -- and two hits in the ninth inning.

Chipper Jones hit his 16th homer and went 2-for-5 to keep his major league-leading average at .400.

Brewers 5, Blue Jays 4

MILWAUKEE -- Mike Cameron and Russell Branyan homered for Milwaukee, which won its third straight.

Relievers Carlos Villanueva, Brian Shouse, Guillermo Mota and Salomon Torres, who picked up his ninth save by getting four outs, combined to give up two runs and six hits after starter Ben Sheets (8-1) left with a 4-2 lead after giving up four hits in six innings.

Joe Inglett's RBI groundout off Villanueva in the seventh made it 4-3, but Corey Hart answered with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning to push the lead back to two.

Toronto pulled to 5-4 on Gregg Zaun's solo homer with two outs in the eighth off Mota.

Shaun Marcum (5-4) struck out six in six innings, allowing four runs and six hits.

Yankees 8, Padres 5

NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez homered for the fourth straight game and New York set a season high with its sixth consecutive victory.

Darrell Rasner (4-4) walked five in five innings, but yielded only two runs and three hits to snap his four-start losing streak.

New York beat NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy (5-4), who gave up four runs -- three earned -- and six hits in four innings in his second start since coming off the disabled list.

Johnny Damon had three hits and two RBIs for the Yankees, who have won 11 of 14 to move a season-best six games above .500 (39-33). Wilson Betemit also had three hits, and Mariano Rivera worked a scoreless ninth for his 19th save in 19 chances.

Brian Giles, Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Headley hit solo homers for the Padres.

Rodriguez had three hits, two RBIs and a stolen base.

Rockies 4, Indians 2

DENVER -- Jeff Baker homered and scored three runs and Jeff Francis allowed one run over six innings for Colorado.

Omar Quintanilla went 2-for-3 and had two RBIs for the Rockies, who have won four of five. Brian Fuentes pitched the ninth for his 12th save.

Francis (3-6) earned his second win in his last four starts. Aaron Laffey (4-4) lost for the first time since May 22 and for just the second time since April 28.

Baker led off the fourth with his third home run to make it 2-0.

Jamey Carroll had an RBI double in the sixth for Cleveland and the Rockies got the run right back in their half when Baker reached on a fielder's choice, stole second and scored on Quintanilla's single.

Shin-Soo Choo's sacrifice fly in the seventh inning trimmed the lead to one, but the Rockies answered again on Ryan Spilborghs' sacrifice fly.

Diamondbacks 11, Athletics 1

PHOENIX -- Dan Haren allowed one run and drove in three for Arizona against his old team.

Haren (7-4) limited the A's to four hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out eight. He hit a three-run double as the Diamondbacks paid back the A's for a 15-1 drubbing in the series opener.

Chris Young and Stephen Drew homered for the Diamondbacks, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

The Diamondbacks scored five runs in the first against Joe Blanton (3-10). Young made it 5-0 with his 13th homer, and his first since May 31.

Drew, Hudson and Tracy each had three hits for Arizona, which matched a season high with 15.
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