Nixon (5 for 5) is a big hit
Trot Nixon played in 982 games with the Red Sox without getting five hits in a game. In his 22d appearance with the Cleveland Indians, he went 5 for 5 and added a whopping 49 points to his batting average.
Nixon drove in four runs and scored twice, C.C. Sabathia improved to 5-0 despite allowing nine hits, and the Indians beat the Orioles, 9-6, yesterday in Baltimore.
Signed as a free agent in January after spending his entire career with the Red Sox, Nixon came in batting a respectable .271. He finished at .320, second-best on the team behind Victor Martinez (.337).
"I was just fortunate to have the kind of day that I did today. I found the holes when I needed to," Nixon said.
Nixon was 1 for 15 against lefthanded pitchers before getting two hits apiece against Brian Burres and Kurt Birkins. He added his career-high fifth hit in the eighth -- an RBI single -- against righthander Todd Williams.
Yankees 5, Mariners 0 -- Darrell Rasner limited Seattle to three hits over 5 2/3 innings and host New York won for the fifth time in six games after losing eight of nine.
On a day Roger Clemens announced he would return to the Yankees, there was plenty of drama on the field, too. Benches and bullpens emptied, but no punches were thrown, when Yankees reliever Scott Proctor threw an inside pitch to Yuniesky Betancourt with none on and two outs in the seventh. Josh Phelps, who went out of the way to collide with Seattle catcher Kenji Johjima while sliding to score New York's first run in the fifth, had been hit by the first pitch to him from Jarrod Washburn (2-3) in the sixth.
Rasner (1-1) threw first-pitch strikes to 15 of his first 18 batters and 17 of 22 overall. He struck out four and walked two.
White Sox 4, Angels 3 -- A.J. Pierzynski tied the game with a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the eighth, then singled home the go-ahead run in the 10th to lead visiting Chicago past Los Angeles.
Angels starter Bartolo Colon, making his fourth start after beginning the season on the disabled list, took a shutout into the eighth inning before leaving with a mild strain in his right biceps.
Phillies 8, Giants 5 -- Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino each hit two-run homers, helping visiting Philadelphia beat San Francisco and spoil the major league debut of highly touted rookie Tim Lincecum.
Brewers 6, Pirates 4 -- Prince Fielder homered twice for host Milwaukee, which improved to a major league best 21-10 and is 11 games over .500 for the first time since 1992.
Diamondbacks 3, Mets 1 -- Livan Hernandez gave up one run in seven innings and Arizona ended a 13-game home losing streak to New York.
Rangers 3, Blue Jays 2 -- Michael Young hit a solo homer in the eighth to give host Texas a three-game sweep of Toronto.
Athletics 5, Devil Rays 3 -- Nick Swisher hit a tiebreaking solo homer and Joe Blanton gave up three runs over 7 1/3 innings to lift visiting Oakland past Tampa Bay.
Tigers 13, Royals 4 -- Craig Monroe, Curtis Granderson, and Gary Sheffield hit two-run homers in the second inning and Detroit routed host Kansas City for its seventh win in a row.
Padres 3, Marlins 1 -- Jake Peavy allowed one hit in seven innings -- a one-out triple in the sixth by Dan Uggla -- and struck out 10 to lead visiting San Diego past Florida.
Reds 9, Rockies 3 -- Josh Hamilton hit a pair of homers and righthander Bronson Arroyo got his first career victory over Colorado as host Cincinnati snapped a four-game losing streak.
Cubs 4, Nationals 3 -- Daryle Ward singled home the winning run in the 10th inning after Ryan Theriot tied it with a single in the ninth, and surging Chicago beat visiting Washington for its fifth straight victory.
Cardinals 3, Astros 1 -- Braden Looper allowed a run in six innings, helping St. Louis beat visiting Houston for only its second victory in eight games.
Braves 6, Dodgers 4 -- Jarrod Saltalamacchia got his first two major league hits, including a single to drive in the go-ahead run in the seventh, and host Atlanta rallied to beat Los Angeles.
