Burnett ends Blue Jays' skid
A.J. Burnett helped end Toronto's longest losing streak in four years by outpitching one of the best starters in the American League.
Burnett worked six innings and Aaron Hill hit a two-run single off Jose Contreras to help the Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-3, yesterday at Rogers Centre, snapping a seven-game skid.
Burnett (3-5) allowed three runs and eight hits, striking out five and walking two in stopping his two-game losing streak. The righthander, who signed a $55 million, five-year contract in the offseason, missed two months with elbow problems.
Scott Schoeneweis, Justin Speier, and B.J. Ryan each pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the Blue Jays.
Contreras (10-4) lost for the fourth time in his last five starts. The Cuban righthander allowed six runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Fans booed after Toronto fell behind, 3-0, but the Blue Jays rallied with a four-run fourth inning. Vernon Wells doubled in a run and scored on Alex Rios's double. Hill added a two-run single to give Toronto a 4-3 lead.
Catalanotto doubled in a run in the seventh and Wells singled him in to make it 6-3. Bengie Molina's homer off David Riske made it 7-3 in the eighth.
Angels 9, Rangers 1 -- Garret Anderson and Vladimir Guerrero each hit three-run homers as host Los Angeles built an early eight-run lead for Joe Saunders (3-0), who allowed just three hits over seven innings.
Rangers starter Adam Eaton (1-2) was ejected by plate umpire Rob Drake with two outs in the first after throwing a fastball behind Juan Rivera, one pitch after Anderson's 10th homer. Rivera made a move toward the mound but was grabbed by Drake.
Josh Rupe relieved and retired Rivera on a ground out. But the rookie gave up four consecutive one-out singles in the second, including run-scoring hits by Jose Molina and Maicer Izturis. Guerrero capped the five-run inning with his 23d homer.
Athletics 7, Mariners 6 -- Frank Thomas hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs for Oakland, which beat the Mariners for the 12th straight time and earned its first sweep in Seattle since 1993.
Tigers 1, Indians 0 -- Spot starter Wilfredo Ledezma (2-1) shut down Cleveland over 5 2/3 innings and Detroit used an unearned run off C.C. Sabathia (8-8) to finish a three-game sweep at home.
Twins 11, Royals 5 -- Jason Bartlett had five of the Twins' season-best 22 hits and Minnesota completed its first-ever four-game sweep at Kansas City, Mo.
Dodgers 7, Marlins 3 -- Wilson Betemit had a two-run single and Toby Hall had a two-run double in a six-run seventh that enabled visiting Los Angeles to stretch its winning streak to nine games and send Florida rookie Scott Olsen (9-5) to his first loss since June 28.
The Dodgers' big inning included three consecutive walks, two with the bases loaded. Ramon Martinez led off with an infield single and advanced on a passed ball. Rafael Furcal then bunted for a hit and stole second. Jason Repko walked to load the bases, ending Olsen's outing.
Taylor Tankersley walked Julio Lugo and force in a run, then walked Olmedo Saenz to tie the score, 3-3. Betemit made it 5-3 with a two-out single, and Hall's double followed.
Braves 6, Reds 4 -- Jeff Francoeur hit the tying two-run triple in the eighth and scored the go-ahead run on Adam LaRoche's sacrifice fly for Atlanta, which avoided a three-game sweep in Cincinnati.
Cardinals 7, Brewers 1 -- Jeff Suppan (9-6) allowed four hits in 7 1/3 innings and Juan Encarnacion smacked a three-run homer, helping host St. Louis to its second straight win since breaking an eight-game skid.
Mets 8, Phillies 1 -- Jose Reyes hit a grand slam to cap a seven-run fourth for host New York, and John Maine (2-3) pitched six shutout frames to extend his scoreless streak to 23 innings.
Giants 6, Rockies 2 -- Rookie Matt Cain (8-8) fanned 12 over seven innings and Pedro Feliz drove in two runs as host San Francisco hung on for just its second victory in 13 games.
Cubs 6, Pirates 1 -- Milton's Rich Hill (2-4) had a career-high nine strikeouts in seven innings and Ronny Cedeno powered host Chicago with a three-run homer.
Diamondbacks 4, Astros 3 -- At Phoenix, Carlos Quentin broke a sixth-inning tie with a broken-bat single and Eric Byrnes added the decisive solo homer in the seventh to boost Arizona.
Padres 3, Nationals 2 -- Brian Giles drove in all of San Diego's runs, clubbing a two-run homer in the seventh and providing an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th.
