Orioles shut off Yankees
Rookie Adam Loewen and two relievers combined on a one-hitter, Miguel Tejada went 3 for 4 and scored twice, and the Baltimore Orioles beat Mike Mussina and the New York Yankees, 5-0, yesterday at Camden Yards.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Yankees, whose lone hit was a clean first-inning single to right by Bobby Abreu.
Loewen came in with one win in eight starts and a 6.44 ERA, but he couldn't have been much better over 6 1/3 innings against the American League East leaders. The lefthander struck out eight, walked five, and retired 11 straight during one stretch.
After Baltimore took a 5-0 lead in the sixth, however, Loewen (2-3) began to struggle. He opened the seventh by walking Alex Rodriguez on four pitches, then walked Jason Giambi.
After a visit to the mound by manager Sam Perlozzo, the former No. 1 draft pick struck out Jorge Posada before being lifted.
As the rookie walked off the mound, many in the crowd of 49,159 stood and applauded his finest performance -- and longest stint -- in the big leagues.
Todd Williams came in and got Craig Wilson to hit into a double play to end the inning. He then worked a perfect eighth before LaTroy Hawkins finished.
Tigers 4, Indians 3 -- Ivan Rodriguez hit the winning two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning off struggling reliever Fausto Carmona to give host Detroit a victory over Cleveland.
With Placido Polanco on first, Rodriguez connected on Carmona's first pitch for his ninth homer. Carmona (1-7) has blown all three of his save opportunities since the Indians traded closer Bob Wickman to Atlanta July 20. Carmona has allowed 11 runs and eight hits in 2 2/3 innings over his last four outings.
It was the second straight game Detroit won in its last at-bat.
Angels 10, Rangers 3 -- Juan Rivera homered and drove in four runs, Garret Anderson had three RBIs, and Los Angeles ended a three-game skid with a victory over visiting Texas.
Tim Salmon also homered for the two-time defending AL West champs, who climbed back over the Rangers into second place.
White Sox 7, Blue Jays 1 -- Javier Vazquez struck out a season-high 13 in eight innings, Paul Konerko drove in four runs, and visiting Chicago handed Toronto its seventh straight loss.
Vazquez (10-6) allowed two hits and one run as he finished a strikeout shy of his career high, set Aug. 3, 2003, against the Chicago Cubs.
Athletics 5, Mariners 2 -- Dan Haren (9-9) pitched seven strong innings, and Oakland won its 11th straight game over visiting Seattle, tied for the second-longest win streak against one team in A's history, matching an 11-game stretch against the White Sox in 1970.
The A's won 16 straight games against the Yankees from September 1989 to May 1991.
Twins 14, Royals 3 -- Justin Morneau hit a three-run homer, Carlos Silva (8-9) won his fourth straight decision, and visiting Minnesota beat Kansas City.
The Twins have won seven straight road games for the first time since Sept. 7-20, 2004. They are one short of the club record for consecutive road victories set in 1965.
Luis Castillo went 4 for 6 and drove in three runs, while Jason Bartlett had three hits, three runs, and two RBIs. Nick Punto also drove in three runs.
Reds 8, Braves 6 -- Brandon Phillips homered twice and drove in four runs to lead Cincinnati over host Atlanta.
Ken Griffey also hit two run-scoring doubles for the Reds, who have won two in a row after losing five straight games.
Phillips's second homer of the game, a one-out solo shot in the eighth off Tyler Yates (1-2), put the Reds in front, 7-6. Scott Hatteberg followed with a walk and Griffey doubled him in to give Cincinnati a two-run cushion.
Mets 4, Phillies 3 -- Endy Chavez hit a two-run double in a three-run sixth inning to lead host New York.
Jon Lieber (4-9) had retired 17 straight batters and led, 3-1, behind Ryan Howard's three-run homer in the first before throwing wildly for an error on Carlos Beltran's sixth-inning grounder.
Tom Glavine (12-4) got 16 ground outs, including two on Chris Coste's inning-ending double play in the sixth. He pitched seven innings, allowing his only runs on Howard's NL-leading 38th homer.
Rockies 2, Giants 1 -- Clint Barmes's RBI single in the 11th inning lifted visiting Colorado over San Francisco. Choo Freeman walked to open the inning and was sacrificed to second by pinch hitter Josh Fogg. After Brad Hennessey (4-2) struck out Jamey Carroll, Barmes hit a soft liner into right field, easily scoring Freeman.
Dodgers 10, Marlins 2 -- In Miami, Rafael Furcal hit a three-run double, Chad Billingsley (3-3) struck out seven in six strong innings, and Los Angeles won its eighth straight game.
Cardinals 4, Brewers 3 -- Albert Pujols hit his first home run in 10 games to help host St. Louis end its second eight-game losing streak of the season.
Cubs 7, Pirates 5 -- Mark Prior (1-5) won his first game of the season, allowing two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings as host Chicago defeated Pittsburgh.
