Yankees pummel Indians
That record-setting defeat appears to have stirred up the Yankees.
Gary Sheffield had three RBIs to reach 100 for the seventh time, Alex Rodriguez hit a three-run homer, and Jon Lieber pitched seven shutout innings to lead the Yankees to their second straight win, 9-1 over the Cleveland Indians last night in New York.
With their East lead over the second-place Red Sox cut to 3 1/2 games from 10 1/2 on Aug. 16, the Yankees have faced a torrent of questions this week, especially following Tuesday night's 22-0 loss to the Indians. The Yankees rebounded with a 5-3 victory Wednesday, then quickly broke on top yesterday when Jorge Posada hit an RBI single in the first and Rodriguez hit his 33d homer to cap a five-run second against Cliff Lee (10-7).
Sheffield hit an RBI single off third baseman Casey Blake in the second, had a run-scoring double in the fourth against Kazuhito Tadano, doubled again in the sixth, and added a sacrifice fly in the eighth to raise his RBI total to 101.
Athletics 4, White Sox 2 -- Mark Redman pitched seven strong innings for his 10th win and Billy McMillon homered to lead Oakland in Chicago. Redman (10-10) became the fourth Oakland pitcher to reach double digits in wins, allowing four hits and two runs. He retired his final 13 batters, and the West-leading A's won for the 14th time in 16 games.
The lefthander's solid outing came on the heels of his shortest of the season -- he was roughed up for nine hits and six runs in just two innings last Friday against Tampa Bay.
Orioles 13, Devil Rays 2 -- Miguel Tejada drove in three more runs and Erik Bedard pitched seven impressive innings, leading Baltimore over Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla. Tejada increased his AL-leading total to 121 RBIs for the Orioles, who have won four straight following a 12-game losing streak. Jay Gibbons, Rafael Palmeiro, Melvin Mora, Geronimo Gil, and B.J. Surhoff all drove in two runs apiece, sending the Devil Rays to their sixth consecutive loss.
Surhoff went 8 for 15 and knocked in five runs during the Orioles' first three-game sweep at Tampa Bay. He entered with just three hits in 34 at-bats.
Twins 2, Rangers 0 -- Brad Radke had a season-high nine strikeouts in eight shutout innings to give host Minnesota a three-game sweep of Texas. Radke (10-7) had the Rangers off balance all night, striking out the side in the fourth and retiring eight straight during one stretch. He allowed five hits and walked one in Minnesota's seventh shutout.
Joe Nathan threw a perfect ninth for his 37th save, completing the combined five-hitter as the Twins extended their lead in the Central to a season-high nine games.
Blue Jays 8, Mariners 6 -- Ichiro Suzuki got three more hits, but Orlando Hudson and Vernon Wells homered to lead Toronto over visiting Seattle. Suzuki, chasing George Sisler's major league record for hits in a season, went 3 for 5 and has 217 hits. He has 29 games left to break Sisler's mark of 257 hits set in 1920 with the St. Louis Browns.
Suzuki, the AL player of the month for August, leads the majors with a .374 average.
