Yankees, Sheffield pound KC
Royals' skid in NY at 13 games
Gary Sheffield homered and drove in four runs, and Shawn Chacon overcame a shaky start to earn his first win of the season in the New York Yankees' 12-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals yesterday at Yankee Stadium.
Jason Giambi had two run-scoring doubles, Derek Jeter scored three times, and Sheffield finished with three hits as New York tagged Royals starter Jeremy Affeldt.
The Yankees have scored in double digits three times in eight games this season, plus a 9-7 win over Kansas City in their home opener Tuesday.
Reggie Sanders homered for the second consecutive day for the Royals, who dropped their 13th straight game at Yankee Stadium -- a skid that dates to August 2002.
White Sox 4, Tigers 3 -- Jim Thome homered for the second straight game and Jose Contreras tossed eight strong innings to lift visiting Chicago.
Thome has five homers after getting just seven in an injury-shortened final season in Philadelphia, which traded him to Chicago in November.
Mariners 11, Indians 9 -- Richie Sexson's grand slam put Seattle comfortably ahead and the Mariners beat host Cleveland to snap a four-game slide and end the Indians' winning streak at six.
Rangers 11, Angels 3 -- Mark Teixeira and Gerald Laird hit their first home runs of the season, and Gary Matthews Jr. had a bases-loaded triple in his first game off the disabled list to spark visiting Texas.
Devil Rays 7, Orioles 4 -- Jonny Gomes hit a tiebreaking grand slam in the eighth inning, leading host Tampa Bay. Kevin Millar homered twice and drove in three runs to lead the Orioles.
Twins 6, Athletics 5 -- Justin Morneau hit his second homer in as many nights and Torii Hunter had two hits to lead host Minnesota.
Phillies 7, Braves 5 -- Aaron Rowand hit a two-run homer, Pat Burrell also homered, and visiting Philadelphia won for only the second time this year.
Cardinals 8, Brewers 3 -- Jim Edmonds hit a three-run double and scored on a pair of errors during a pivotal at-bat in the fifth inning, helping St. Louis improve to 2-0 at new Busch Stadium.
Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 4 -- Luis Gonzalez drove in the go-ahead run with his 499th career double and Arizona rallied to snap Colorado's four-game winning streak in front of 18,664 -- the smallest home crowd in the Diamondbacks' nine-year history.
Pirates 9, Dodgers 5 -- Craig Wilson hit two two-run homers, including a go-ahead drive in the seventh inning, and host Pittsburgh rallied to beat the Dodgers for the second night in a row.
Padres 7, Marlins 2 -- Adrian Gonzalez went 4 for 5 with two RBIs and Chris Young gave up one hit in six innings to help visiting San Diego beat Florida, which is off to a 1-6 start.
Cubs 4, Reds 1 -- A classic performance by Greg Maddux two days before his 40th birthday carried host Chicago over Cincinnati, which made five errors. Using an assortment of pitches, Maddux (2-0) gave up three hits and a run in six innings to get his 320th career win.
The series opener between the Giants and Astros was rained out once again, the first time in 45 years there have been back-to-back rainouts in San Francisco. The game was called more than three hours before the scheduled start after yet another day of heavy rain in the Bay Area. The teams are scheduled to play a day-night doubleheader today.
