Guerrero blasts off on Marlins
Two clutch homers by Vladimir Guerrero were all that kept Dontrelle Willis from winning again.
Guerrero hit his second home run of the game in the 10th inning, giving the Los Angeles Angels a 2-1 victory over the Florida Marlins yesterday in Anaheim, Calif.
The reigning AL MVP tied the score with a shot in the eighth off Jim Mecir, spoiling Willis's bid to become the first 12-game winner in the major leagues.
Willis was pulled by Marlins manager Jack McKeon with a 1-0 lead after scattering 10 hits through seven scoreless innings and stranding five runners in scoring position.
But Guerrero greeted Mecir with a homer to start the eighth. Two innings later, he greeted Todd Jones (1-2) with a leadoff drive into the left-field bullpen.
Francisco Rodríguez (2-1) pitched two perfect innings for the win.
In a matchup of former World Series rookie pitchers, Angels righthander John Lackey matched zeros with Willis through five innings before the Marlins broke through on Carlos Delgado's RBI single.
Mariners 4, Mets 1 -- Seattle beat Pedro Martinez for the first time in 14 starts, with Randy Winn's two-run single highlighting a four-run bottom of the fourth.
Martinez (7-2) allowed four runs and nine hits in six innings, falling to 13-1 all time against the Mariners. Ryan Franklin (3-8) allowed a run and five hits in eight innings to win for the first time since May 8.
Orioles 7, Rockies 2 -- Sammy Sosa hit his 583d home run to tie Mark McGwire for sixth place on the career list, highlighting a six-run fourth that carried Baltimore at home.
Sidney Ponson (7-4) gave up two runs and nine hits in seven innings for the Orioles, who have won four of five. He struck out six and walked none.
Cardinals 5, Devil Rays 2 -- At St. Petersburg, Fla., Albert Pujols homered in support of Matt Morris, helping the St. Louis righthander improve to 8-0.
Indians 3, Diamondbacks 1 -- Scott Elarton (4-2) pitched well in his first start in 10 days and Travis Hafner homered as host Cleveland stretched its winning streak to eight games.
Brewers 5, Blue Jays 2 -- Ben Sheets (3-6) outpitched Roy Halladay in a matchup of two-time All-Stars, and Milwaukee used a three-run first, including a two-run homer by Carlos Lee, to prevail in Toronto.
White Sox 5, Dodgers 3 -- Host Chicago won its third straight -- and dealt Los Angeles its fifth consecutive loss -- as A.J. Pierzynski's two-run homer capped a four-run rally in the ninth.
Rangers 7, Nationals 4 -- Mark Teixeira hit two of Texas's four home runs -- all in the first two innings -- and the Rangers dumped visiting Washington for their fifth win in six games.
Athletics 2, Phillies 1 -- Scott Hatteberg and Dan Johnson each drove in a run for Oakland, and Kirk Saarloos (3-4) recovered from Jimmy Rollins's leadoff homer to shut down visiting Philadelphia.
Tigers 8, Giants 2 -- Brandon Inge hit a leadoff homer and a two-run double, and Jason Johnson (5-5) recovered from a rough start to pitch eight strong innings for host Detroit.
Astros 6, Royals 2 -- Roy Oswalt (8-7) pitched eight innings for his first road win since April 15, and Willy Taveras reached base five times and scored three runs to lead Houston.
Padres 7, Twins 2 -- At Minneapolis, Ryan Klesko had four hits, including a solo homer, and three RBIs in support of Brian Lawrence (4-6), and San Diego broke a five-game skid.
Braves 6, Reds 1 -- Julio Franco had his first two-homer game since 1996, and Andruw Jones slugged his league-leading 19th homer for visiting Atlanta in the day's lone NL game.
