Garcia gives White Sox a lift
Freddy Garcia allowed one hit in eight shutout innings for the second straight start and A.J. Pierzynski hit a grand slam to help the slumping White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-0, last night at Chicago.
The Tigers' lead in the AL Central dropped to a half-game over Minnesota. The White Sox snapped a four-game losing streak and stayed within 4 1/2 games of the Twins in the wild-card standings.
Garcia (15-9) retired 23 consecutive batters after walking Curtis Granderson to start the game and allowing a single to center by the next batter, Ivan Rodriguez. He kept the Tigers off the bases until Brandon Inge walked with two out in the eighth.
Pierzynski gave the White Sox a 4-0 lead in the fourth with the fifth grand slam of his career. Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome went deep with two out in the fifth and chased Detroit's Justin Verlander (16-9), who allowed six runs, six hits, and three walks in 4 2/3 innings.
Yankees 6, Blue Jays 3 -- At Toronto, Bobby Abreu hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, Johnny Damon made a great catch that saved three runs, and New York lowered its magic number to clinch the AL East to one.
Derek Jeter forced Jason Frasor (2-2) out of the game by lining a single off his right shin in the seventh, and Abreu followed with a two-run homer off Justin Speier for a 5-3 lead.
With the bases loaded and the score tied, 3-3, in the fifth, Damon, running toward the fence, stretched his arm as he fell at the warning track in left-center to rob Russ Adams.
Padres 5, Diamondbacks 2 -- Trevor Hoffman earned his 476th career save, Mike Cameron hit a three-run homer, and host San Diego moved back into first place in the NL West.
Clay Hensley (10-11) won his second straight start, holding the Diamondbacks to two runs and seven hits in six innings, and was staked to a 4-0 lead in the first.
Pirates 10, Dodgers 6 -- Jose Bautista hit a grand slam, Ian Snell pitched six strong innings, and Pittsburgh knocked host Los Angeles behind the Padres.
Bautista drove a 2-0 pitch from Elmer Dessens down the left-field line in the sixth inning for his second grand slam and 14th homer of the year.
Phillies 4, Cubs 1 -- Jamie Moyer pitched seven solid innings and Abraham Nunez had a two-run single to lead host Philadelphia over Chicago.
Jimmy Rollins hit a solo homer and David Dellucci added an RBI double for the Phillies, who remained in the thick of the NL wild-card standings, trailing the Dodgers by 1 game.
Mets 3, Marlins 2 -- Tom Glavine pitched eight sharp innings for his 289th career win and the newly crowned NL East champs, fielding a makeshift lineup in a game that mattered little to them, rallied to beat Florida at New York.
The Marlins, who began the day 4 1/2 games behind San Diego in the wild-card race, lost their fourth straight.
Cardinals 12, Brewers 2 -- Jeff Weaver threw six strong innings and St. Louis scored six runs in the seventh at Milwaukee, reducing its magic number for clinching the NL Central for a third straight season to six.
Reds 5, Astros 4 -- Wheaton College product Chris Denorfia hit a two-run homer, his first of the season and second of his career, to back a strong start from Aaron Harang at Houston.
Rockies 12, Giants 4 -- Matt Cain allowed consecutive third-inning homers to Garrett Atkins and Matt Holliday at Denver, as fading San Francisco lost its sixth in eight games.
Athletics 7, Indians 3 -- Bobby Kielty hit his first career grand slam, Kirk Saarloos struck out a career-high 11, and Eric Chavez and Nick Swisher also homered to lead host Oakland.
Angels 5, Royals 2 -- Robb Quinlan and Vladimir Guerrero homered to back rookie Joe Saunders at Kansas City, as Los Angeles clinged to its slim hopes in the AL West.
In other games, rookie Beltran Perez allowed one hit over six innings to win his first major league start, as host Washington beat Atlanta, 9-2 . . . Ramon Hernandez's RBI double highlighted a four-run fifth inning and Baltimore handed the Devil Rays their ninth straight loss, 5-4, at St. Petersburg, Fla. . . . Adam Jones had a pinch-hit, two-run single with two outs in the 10th inning to help the Mariners beat the Rangers, 9-7, at Arlington, Texas.
