Major League Baseball roundup: September 4, 2007

September 5, 2007

Yankees blast the Mariners for 20 hits, 12 runs

 * Yankees 12, Mariners 3: The Yankees pounded Mariners pitching to increase their lead in the AL Wild Card.  Bobby Abreu had four hits, including a double and a solo homer (16), Jorge Posada went 4-4 with two solo homers (17, 18) and four runs, and Robinson Cano went 4-4 with 3 RBI.  Chien-Ming Wang pitched 7 1/3 innings, giving up one run and getting the win.  Horacio Ramirez pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up only three of the runs, but receiving the loss.  The Yankees now lead the Mariners in the AL Wild Card race by 2 games.

Other games

 * Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 3: Jacoby Ellsbury finished a double shy of the cycle, hitting a two-run homer (2) and a triple (1).  Matt Stairs hit a three-run homer in the fifth for the Blue Jays, their only scoring.  Josh Beckett (17-6) pitched eight innings, allowing five hits and three runs.  He becomes the first major leaguer this year to hit 17 wins.  Roy Halladay pitched eight innings as well, allowing nine hits and five runs for the loss.  Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 33rd save.  The Red Sox stay 7 games up on the Yankees in the AL East.


 * Angels 4, Athletics 3: Garret Anderson (14) and Howie Kendrick (5) each hit two run homers for the Angels, while Shannon Stewart drove in all three Athletics runs, with a 1st inning solo homer (12), a 2nd inning groundout, and a 9th inning double.  Jered Weaver (11-6) pitched 6 innings, giving up two runs for the win.  Lenny DiNardo (8-8) gave up four runs in 6 innings for the loss.  Francisco Rodriguez gave up a run, but held on for his 34th save of the season.  The Angels lead the AL West by 7.5 games.


 * Indians 7, Twins 5, 11 inn: Travis Hafner had 4 RBI and hit two home runs, including the two-run game-tying home run in the 9th inning, then drove in the game winning run on a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning.  Rafael Betancourt pitched two scoreless innings for the win, while Julio DePaula gave up two runs in one inning of work for the loss.  Joe Borowski pitched the bottom of the 11th for his 40th save of the year.  The Indians extend their lead in the AL Central to 7 games.


 * White Sox 3, Tigers 1: The Tigers brought the winning run to the plate in the 9th inning, but Curtis Granderson struck out to end the game.  For the White Sox, Josh Fields hit a solo homer, and Alex Cintron hit a two-run homer for the White Sox.  Carlos Guillen hit an RBI single for the Tigers in the 6th.  Jon Garland (9-10) pitched seven strong innings, giving up one run for the win.  Jeremy Bonderman (11-8) pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up three runs for a loss.  Bobby Jenks held off the Tigers threat for his 37th save.  Detroit now stands 7 games behind the Indians in the AL Central, and 3.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL Wild Card.


 * Diamondbacks 9, Padres 1: Eric Byrnes hit a three-run homer as the Diamondbacks climbed back into a virtual tie with the Padres in the NL West standings.  Doug Davis (13-11) pitched 7 innings, allowing one run for the win.  Chris Young gave up five runs in four innings for the loss.


 * Mets 11, Reds 7: Paul Lo Duca racked up 7 RBI, hitting two three-run homers (6, 7) and an RBI single for the Mets. Oliver Perez (13-9) pitched a wild five innings for the Mets, giving up five runs (three earned), but allowing five walks.  Bill Bray (3-2) got the loss, allowing three runs without retiring a single batter.  The Mets retain a five game lead in the NL East over the Phillies.


 * Phillies 5, Braves 2 For the Phillies, Ryan Howard hit a two-run homer (37) and Carlos Ruiz hit a solo homer (5) and a sacrifice fly. Braves' slugger Chipper Jones hit a solo homer (23), and had an RBI walk.  Kyle Lohse (8-12) pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up two runs, while Buddy Carlyle (8-6) pitched only 1 2/3 innings, giving up 3 runs for the loss.  Brett Myers pitched his 14th save of the season.  The Phillies stand 2.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race.


 * Dodgers 6, Cubs 2: Juan Pierre hit two RBI singles, the latter a bunt single.  Brad Penny (15-4) pitched seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) for the win, while Steve Trachsel (0-1) gave up seven hits and three runs in six innings for the loss.  The Cubs' lead in the NL Central is down to a half-game, while the Dodgers are 3 games out of first in the NL West.


 * Brewers 5, Astros 3: Corey Hart went 2-3, with two doubles and an RBI for the Brewers.  Carlos Villanueva (7-3) picked up the win, allowing five hits and one run in six innings, while Brandon Backe (0-1) allowed four runs, three earned, in 5 2/3 innings for the loss.  Francisco Cordero picked up his 40th save.  The Brewers narrowed the Cubs' NL Central lead to .5 game.


 * Cardinals 6, Pirates 2: Chris Duncan hit a three-run double for the Cardinals to break a 2-2 tie in the 3rd inning.  Joel Pineiro (4-2) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs for the victory.  Matt Morris (8-9) allowed five runs and five hits in 5 innings for the loss.  Ryan Franklin picked up his first save of the year, pitching 1 1/3 hitless innings.  The Cardinals are 1 game back of the Cubs in the NL Central race.


 * Nationals 4, Marlins 3: The Nationals won on a ninth-inning, two-run double by Jesus Flores.  The Marlins' three runs were scored on a double by Josh Willingham, and singles by Mike Jacobs and Miguel Cabrera.  Chris Schroder (2-1) picked up the win, while Kevin Gregg (0-5) picked up his fifth blown save.


 * Orioles 8, Devil Rays 4: Melvin Mora hit a game-winning RBI single in the 8th to retake the lead for the Orioles, and Ramon Hernandez hit a three-run double later that inning to add a few insurance runs.  Chad Bradford (3-6) pitched a hitless seventh inning for the win, while Dan Wheeler (0-3) gave up four runs in 1/3 inning for the loss.


 * Rockies 6, Giants 5: Down 5-4, the Rockies scored one run in the 8th inning and one run in the 9th inning.  Brad Hawpe had 2 RBI, including the RBI single that won the game.  Manny Corpas (4-2) pitched one perfect inning for the win, while Brad Hennessey (2-4) allowed one run and two hits for the loss.


 * Rangers 9, Royals 8: The Rangers scored five runs in the first inning, including a two-run homer by Brad Wilkerson (20) and a solo homer by Jarrod Saltalamacchia (10).  Jason Smith hit a three-run homer (5) for Kansas City in the 4th.