Garza flirts with no-hitter

Tampa Bay's Carlos Pena is congratulated by Willy Aybar after Pena's solo home run in the fifth inning off a pitch from Texas' Kevin Millwood. (TONY GUTIERREZ/Associated Press)

Matt Garza slammed the rosin bag to the ground and kicked the dirt on the mound.

The Tampa Bay righthander was angry at himself - not the scorekeeper - after Garza's bid for the first no-hitter in Rays history ended on a debatable call after his two-strike pitch with two outs in the sixth inning of a 7-0 victory over the slumping Texas Rangers last night in Arlington, Texas.

"I was upset I hung that slider," Garza said. "It's a hit."

Ian Kinsler knocked a looping flyball into short center that ricocheted off the glove of charging outfielder Justin Ruggiano. The play was almost immediately ruled a hit.

"I just thought it was an inappropriate call. I called upstairs and I never do," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

But any questions about that costing Garza (10-7) a no-hitter were erased when Josh Hamilton led off the seventh with a solid single up the middle.

Garza struck out nine and walked two while throwing 78 of 119 pitches for strikes in his third complete game.

Willy Aybar homered on the first pitch of the fourth inning, his ball into the right-field corner barely clearing the wall.

Carlos Peña made it 2-0 in the fifth when he hit his 24th homer, and starter Kevin Millwood was gone after Eric Hinske and Gabe Gross hit back-to-back shots.

Royals 4, Yankees 3 - Mariano Rivera's first wild pitch of the season allowed the tiebreaking run to score in the ninth inning, and Jason Giambi flied out with the bases loaded in the bottom half as visiting Kansas City beat fading New York.

Mark Teahen hit a two-run double and Kansas City got another solid outing from Gil Meche, who hasn't lost in eight starts since July 2 at Baltimore.

Pinch runner Justin Christian was inexplicably picked off at first base for the first out of the ninth inning, the latest abysmal play by an injury-depleted Yankees team.

Indians 3, Angels 2 - Cliff Lee became the AL's first 17-game winner by pitching his third complete game of the season as host Cleveland edged Los Angeles.

The lefthander struck out six, won for the sixth time in seven starts, and lowered his ERA for the season to 2.43.

Mets 2, Pirates 1 - Mike Pelfrey pitched seven shutout innings to lead visiting New York to its fourth straight victory.

Jose Reyes and Argenis Reyes had two hits each for the first-place Mets.

Jack Wilson homered off reliever Duaner Sanchez and Adam LaRoche had three hits for Pittsburgh.

Phillies 1, Padres 0 - Jamie Moyer outpitched fellow 40-something Greg Maddux for seven innings, Pat Burrell homered and visiting Philadelphia snapped a four-game skid. Moyer (11-7) gave up three hits, struck out two, and walked two. The lefthander allowed just one runner to reach third base. Maddux (6-9) allowed one run on five hits and struck out four.

Dodgers 5, Brewers 3 - Chad Billingsley settled down after a rocky start, Jeff Kent singled home the go-ahead run in the fifth, and host Los Angeles won its fifth straight.

Diamondbacks 12, Astros 2 - Brandon Webb struck out six in eight sharp innings and Chris Snyder drove in four runs for visiting Arizona, which snapped Houston's eight-game winning streak.

Cubs 6, Marlins 5 - Daryle Ward hit a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the ninth inning, and Chicago rallied to beat Florida for its ninth straight road victory.

Twins 9, Mariners 3 - Jason Kubel homered and had three RBIs in a seven-run fourth inning to power host Minnesota past struggling Seattle.

Cardinals 5, Reds 3 - Rick Ankiel hit his first home run in three weeks, a two-run shot off Bronson Arroyo, helping visiting St. Louis collect its third straight win.

Orioles 11, Tigers 2 - Melvin Mora finished a double shy of the cycle, driving in four runs to lift visiting Baltimore.

Giants 5, Braves 1 - Randy Winn had his 100th career homer among his four hits and drove in two runs to boost visiting San Francisco.

Rockies 4, Nationals 3 - Troy Tulowitzki and Brad Hawpe homered for visiting Colorado, as the Rockies won for just the third time in nine games.

Athletics 6, White Sox 4 - Pinch hitter Kurt Suzuki hit a game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth and Oakland rallied to beat Chicago.