Yankees cap sweep with stunner
Hits keep on coming for NY in wild ninth
Alex Rodriguez kind of chuckled, and declared the best thing about his game-winning homer yesterday was trying to hit Yankees coach Larry Bowa in the head as he rounded third.
Yes, Rodriguez is one happy superstar right now, and the Yankees are winning because of it.
Rodriguez hit a three-run homer that capped a comeback from a four-run deficit with two outs in the ninth inning, giving the New York Yankees an unlikely 8-6 victory over the Cleveland Indians that completed a three-game sweep in the Bronx.
By homering for the third straight game, Rodriguez increased his major league-leading totals to 10 homers and 26 RBIs. His latest drive came after he went hitless in four at-bats and committed a throwing error that allowed the Indians' final run to score.
"It's just fun," Rodriguez said. "It's going out and not trying to do too much, and help the team win."
Rodriguez connected on a belt-high pitch from Joe Borowski (0-1) and sent the ball soaring to center. Rodriguez knew immediately it was gone, flipping his bat toward the Yankees' dugout and raising both hands.
He slapped the hands of Bowa after rounding third, then slammed his helmet to the ground.
"It's what Alex is capable of," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He's got such incredible ability and now he's letting it speak for itself."
Sean Henn (1-0) pitched one inning, following Chase Wright and Kei Igawa, to become the third Yankees rookie in three games to get his first major league win. That hadn't happened since Norm Branch, Charlie Stanceu, and Steve Peek did it from May 20-22, 1941, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Rodriguez matched Albert Pujols (last year) and Luis Gonzalez (2001) for the second fastest to 10 homers behind Mike Schmidt (12 games in 1976), according to Elias.
With the Yankees down, 6-2, Borowski relieved to start the ninth and got the first two batters. Three times, he came within one strike of sealing a win, but couldn't get the job done.
Josh Phelps started the comeback with his first homer since May 27, 2005. Jorge Posada singled on a 2-and-2 pitch, Johnny Damon walked with a full count, and Derek Jeter slapped an RBI single to left. Bobby Abreu, down 1 and 2 in the count, poked a run-scoring single to left for his fourth hit.
That brought up Rodriguez, who hit a game-ending grand slam against Baltimore with two outs in the ninth for a 10-7 victory April 7. Borowski started him with a wild pitch in the dirt, and Rodriguez deposited his next offering into the Yankees' bullpen, extending his hitting streak to 19 games dating to last season.
Victor Martinez hit a three-run homer for the Indians, who were swept in a three-game series in New York for the first time since July 2002.
Twins 6, Mariners 5 -- Johan Santana gave up two early runs, then dominated as usual before Joe Nathan stopped a late Mariners rally to finish off Minnesota's first three-game sweep in Seattle since 1996.
Michael Cuddyer hit a two-run double, and Mike Redmond had a two-run single for the Twins, who have won six of eight. Santana (3-1) allowed just four hits in seven innings while fanning seven.
White Sox 6, Rangers 4 -- A.J. Pierzynski hit a three-run homer and Rob Mackowiak had a two-run shot in the decisive eighth inning for host Chicago.
Giants 6, Cardinals 2 -- For the second time in 15 1/2 hours, Rich Aurilia provided the key hit for host San Francisco, his two-run double in the sixth breaking a tie with St. Louis.
Aurilia, who singled home the winning run in the 12th Wednesday night, ruined a strong start by the Cardinals' Kip Wells (1-3), who faced the minimum through four but ended up allowing five runs over six innings. Wells did homer off Noah Lowry (1-2), who otherwise was solid, giving up just four hits over seven innings.
Padres 11, Diamondbacks 6 -- Host San Diego had its best offensive showing of the season with help from ace Jake Peavy (3-0), who doubled, tripled, and drove in two runs to offset his poor outing.
Cubs 3, Braves 0 -- In Atlanta, Chicago's Michael Barrett and Aramis Ramirez hit solo homers to support Rich Hill (3-0), who worked eight scoreless innings to lower his ERA to a major league-best 0.41.
Mets 11, Marlins 3 -- At Miami, Orlando Hernandez (2-1) struck out 10 in seven innings and Carlos Beltran (4 for 6) homered to pace New York.
Phillies 4, Nationals 2 -- At Washington, Jamie Moyer (2-1) took a two-hit shutout into the ninth and Aaron Rowand hit his first homer of the season to boost slumping Philadelphia.
Dodgers 8, Rockies 1 -- Mark Hendrickson allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings filling in for the injured Jason Schmidt, and Jeff Kent had three hits and two RBIs for visiting Los Angeles.
Brewers 7, Pirates 5 -- J.J. Hardy had a two-run homer and four RBIs, falling a triple shy of the cycle, as Milwaukee completed a two-game home sweep of Pittsburgh.
Astros 8, Reds 6 -- Luke Scott hit a bases-loaded double to highlight an eighth-inning rally by Houston, which swept the two-game set in Cincinnati. 