Yankees fend off Devil Rays
Kevin Brown beat the Devil Rays once again, getting some help when Alex Rodriguez started a game-ending double play.
Brown pitched seven sharp innings for his 199th victory and Jason Giambi snapped a sixth-inning tie with an RBI single, helping the New York Yankees beat Tampa, 3-2, yesterday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
A day after hitting his first homer for the Yankees, Rodriguez also drove in a run as the Yankees strung together four consecutive hits in the sixth off Paul Abbott (0-1), who held the defending AL champions hitless for five innings.
Brown (2-0) allowed one run on five hits and struck out five to beat Tampa Bay for the second time in eight days. Tom Gordon pitched the eighth, and Mariano Rivera survived a shaky ninth for his first save.
Rivera allowed Eduardo Perez's RBI double, but escaped a bases-loaded jam when Brook Fordyce grounded sharply to the new third baseman. Rodriguez, a former Gold Glove shortstop, fielded the ball and stepped on the bag before throwing to first.
Perez drove in both of Tampa Bay's runs.
Tigers 6, Blue Jays 3 -- Eric Munson hit a three-run homer, and visiting Detroit beat Toronto to open the season with a three-game winning streak for the first time in 19 years. Rondell White also homered for the Tigers, who are off to their best start since 1985, when they won their first six games. Detroit started last season 0-9 en route to an AL-record 119 losses.
The Tigers, who play their first home game today against Minnesota, swept the Blue Jays in a three-game series for the first time since 1987. Starter Jeremy Bonderman got the win, tying a career high with eight strikeouts before leaving with one out in the sixth after being hit on the left leg by a comebacker.
Angels 10, Mariners 7 -- Vladimir Guerrero hit a three-run homer and Garret Anderson connected twice, leading visiting Anaheim past Seattle. Guerrero hit a 428-foot shot to center in his second at-bat, his first homer with the Angels after leaving Montreal to sign a $70 million, five-year contract in the offseason.
He went 3 for 4 and scored three times, finishing a triple short of the cycle. He drew a two-out walk in the fourth before Anderson's first homer.
Rangers 2, Athletics 1 -- Colby Lewis and his bullpen outpitched Barry Zito, and Texas snapped a nine-game losing streak against host Oakland. Zito lost to Texas for the first time in 18 career starts, allowing seven hits and four walks over eight innings. Texas hadn't beaten Oakland since last June 25.
White Sox 4, Royals 3 -- Miguel Olivo, Magglio Ordonez, and Carlos Lee homered, and Chicago made sure there was no late-inning meltdown in Kansas City. In their opener Monday, the Royals scored six runs in the ninth to win, 9-7, the major leagues' largest ninth-inning comeback in an opener in 103 years.
Indians 11, Twins 4 -- Matt Lawton and Victor Martinez homered, and Cleveland avoided a season-opening sweep by drubbing Minnesota in Minneapolis. Seven players drove in at least one run for Cleveland, and the Indians held onto a lead that was too big for their exhausted bullpen to blow. The Indians blew a 4-0 eighth-inning lead in a 7-4 loss in 11 innings Monday. On Tuesday, they gave up a 6-4 lead in the ninth and lost, 7-6, in 15 innings.
