Beaming Yankees slow Rays

Lowe finds old magic in Dodgers' victory

After his winning double in the 10th inning, Bobby Abreu is the object of catcher Jose Molina's affections. (Kathy willens/Associated Press)

Manager Joe Girardi sat behind his desk in the Yankees' locker room wearing a fake mustache. Bobby Abreu was busy cleaning up after Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera dumped Gatorade on him.

Less than a week after falling nine games behind the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees are within 6 1/2 of the AL East leaders - and they're beginning to feel good about themselves.

"They know we're still around. They know that," Mariano Rivera said after yesterday's 2-1, 10-inning victory over the Rays in New York completed a two-game sweep of the team with the best record in the majors.

Sidney Ponson limited Tampa Bay (55-35) to one run in six innings, and Jose Veras, Kyle Farnsworth, and Rivera (4-3) combined for hitless relief.

Abreu fouled off four straight fastballs from Grant Balfour in the 10th, then took a ball and doubled home Derek Jeter from first by lining a changeup up the gap in right-center.

New York has won four straight - against the two teams ahead of it in the division - after losing five of six. The Yankees are 4-1 since Girardi chewed out and challenged his players following a 7-0 loss to the Red Sox last Thursday.

Dodgers 2, Braves 1 - Derek Lowe took a perfect game into the seventh inning and Matt Kemp homered for host Los Angeles.

Lowe retired the first 18 batters before Gregor Blanco led off the seventh with a clean single to center. Jonathan Broxton replaced Lowe (7-8) after Jeff Francoeur homered in the eighth.

Lowe outdueled Tim Hudson (9-7) in a game that last exactly 2 hours. Takashi Saito pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 17th save. Lowe (7-8) gave up one run, walked two, and struck out four in 7 2/3 innings.

Blue Jays 9, Orioles 8 - Alex Rios and David Eckstein each drove in two runs, A.J. Burnett (9-8) won for the third time in four starts, and host Toronto used a seven-run fourth inning to beat Baltimore.

Eckstein went 2 for 4 with two doubles and Rios finished 2 for 5 with a pair of singles as the Blue Jays won back-to-back games for the first time in July.

Cubs 5, Reds 1 - Carlos Zambrano allowed one hit over eight innings - a second-inning homer by Adam Dunn - and retired the final 20 batters he faced to power Chicago at Wrigley Field.

In his second start since coming off the disabled list with a right shoulder strain, Zambrano (10-3) walked none and struck out five while throwing 103 pitches in a dominating performance.

Tigers 8, Indians 6 - Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer in the ninth and Detroit rallied from an early six-run deficit to hand host Cleveland its 10th straight loss.

Todd Jones (4-0) pitched out of a jam in the top of the ninth, escaping when Casey Blake was thrown out at the plate.

Mets 5, Giants 0 - Johan Santana (8-7) tossed five effective innings before his night was cut short by a rain delay to lift host New York to its fifth straight win.

Ramon Castro backed Santana with a three-run homer, and Carlos Delgado had three more hits. Delgado is batting .429 (15 for 35) in nine games this month.

Phillies 4, Cardinals 2 - Ryan Howard homered leading off the eighth and Carlos Ruiz followed four batters later with a solo shot to put an emphatic end to host Philadelphia's four-game losing streak.

Howard drove an 0-and-2 pitch from Kyle McClellan (1-4) into the right-field seats, rallying the Phillies after they blew a 2-0 lead.

Rangers 5, Angels 4 - Josh Hamilton's 20th homer, a two-run blast with two outs in the ninth off Francisco Rodriguez, lifted Texas over visiting Los Angeles.

Rodriguez (0-2), who has 35 saves, gave up three runs in only his third blown chance this season.

White Sox 7, Royals 6 - Carlos Quentin hit a pair of two-run homers (Nos. 19 and 20) and Chicago fought back from a five-run deficit to score the go-ahead run on an eighth-inning balk to beat host Kansas City.

Mariners 6, Athletics 4 - Jose Lopez hit a three-run double, Adrian Beltre drove in two runs, and visiting Seattle ended a three-game slide by beating Oakland for the 11th time in 14 meetings.

Rockies 8, Brewers 3 - Garrett Atkins hit two home runs and Glendon Rusch (2-3) won as a starter for the first time in exactly two years to lead visiting Colorado.

Nationals 5, Diamondbacks 0 - Jesus Flores's three-run, pinch-hit homer in the sixth inning helped host Washington snap a six-game losing streak.

Marlins 5, Padres 2 - Scott Olsen (5-4) pitched eight strong innings, and Mike Jacobs and Hanley Ramirez homered to lead Florida at San Diego.

Astros 6, Pirates 4 - Geoff Blum hit a three-run homer to help Houston avoid a three-game sweep at Pittsburgh.