Angels are a hit in New York, too
Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, and Juan Rivera each hit three-run homers, and the Los Angeles Angels added to their East Coast romp with a 12-6 win over the Yankees last night in New York.
Coming off a three-game sweep at Boston in which they scored 22 runs, the Angels hit a trio of three-run homers in a game for the first time in 30 years. Los Angeles improved baseball's best record to 68-40 with its 11th victory in 13 games since the All-Star break.
Jon Garland coasted to his 10th win and Garret Anderson had four hits for the second consecutive night. Every Los Angeles starter had at least one hit and scored a run.
Ivan Rodriguez received a boisterous ovation in his first at-bat for New York. The 14-time All-Star catcher arrived in New York just hours after being acquired from Detroit Wednesday. He went 1 for 3 and was thrown out at home in the seventh, though replays showed Rodriguez beat the throw.
Hunter and Rivera each tagged Andy Pettitte in the third to give the Angels a 6-0 lead. Guerrero connected in the sixth, one batter after Chris Britton, called up from Triple A yesterday, relieved Pettitte (12-8).
Cubs 11, Brewers 4 - Jim Edmonds hit two homers, including a grand slam, and visiting Chicago finished off a four-game sweep of Milwaukee to extend its lead to five games in the NL Central.
Rich Harden (1-1) picked up his first NL win, giving up a run and six hits in seven innings with nine strikeouts. Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome also homered for the Cubs, who swept four games from the Brewers for the first time since 2003.
Twins 10, White Sox 6 - Jason Kubel's three-run homer highlighted an unruly seventh inning during host Minnesota's win.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected for arguing a called strike on Denard Span, and fans responded by tossing hats and baseballs onto the field. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen quickly pulled his players off the field, and the Metrodome public address announcer warned the Twins were risking a forfeit if the behavior continued.
The fans settled down after about five minutes, and the Twins had a four-run inning to erase a 4-3 deficit. Joe Mauer's RBI single tied it and Kubel followed with the homer off Octavio Dotel for a 7-4 lead.
Diamondbacks 2, Dodgers 1 - Brandon Webb scattered six hits in eight innings to win his big league-leading 15th game, and visiting Arizona beat Los Angeles to extend its lead over the Dodgers to two games in the NL West.
Webb (15-4) walked one and struck out six in outpitching Derek Lowe and continuing his domination of the Dodgers. The 2006 NL Cy Young Award winner is 8-0 in his last nine starts against Los Angeles, allowing nine runs in 71 innings.
Marlins 12, Rockies 2 - Anibal Sanchez won his first start in 15 months, Hanley Ramirez and Jorge Cantu hit home runs, and host Florida beat Colorado.
Indians 9, Tigers 4 - Fausto Carmona won for the first time since May 12 and Grady Sizemore had four RBIs, leading host Cleveland over Detroit.
Phillies 8, Nationals 4 - Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth homered, and host Philadelphia won its fifth straight and handed Washington its ninth consecutive defeat.
Braves 9, Cardinals 4 - Rookie Clint Sammons homered and drove in three runs to lead host Atlanta past St. Louis, snapping the Braves' five-game losing streak.
Mariners 8, Rangers 5 - Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey limited his former team to two runs and six hits pitching into the eighth inning, Adrian Beltre homered, and visiting Seattle held on to beat Texas.
