Double trouble for Yankees
Sabathia is injured during loss to Marlins
Hanley Ramirez and Cody Ross homered, and the Florida Marlins held off a late rally to beat the struggling New York Yankees, 6-5, last night in Miami.
Yankees starter CC Sabathia came out in the second inning with tightness in his left biceps and the Marlins took advantage, handing New York its fourth loss in five games - all against Washington and Florida. Sabathia is day to day, but said he expects to make his next start.
“It wasn’t a sharp pain or anything,’’ Sabathia said. “It just felt a little tight. It’s something I felt before, between starts or something. It’s nothing major.’’
New York manager Joe Girardi protested the game because of a mixup with the Marlins lineup in the eighth inning, when a Florida player was removed in a double switch but took his position on the field anyway.
“We’ve never seen it,’’ Girardi said. “Something doesn’t add up.’’
Chris Volstad (5-7) gave up three runs in six innings. Matt Lindstrom allowed a two-run triple to Brett Gardner with two outs in the ninth, then got Derek Jeter to ground out for his 14th save in 16 chances.
Cardinals 12, Royals 5 - Albert Pujols finished off a three-day romp in Kansas City with two homers and six RBIs, helping St. Louis give manager Tony La Russa his 2,500th career win.
Pujols, who had three homers and 10 RBIs in the Cardinals’ three-game sweep of the Royals, had four hits yesterday and delivered the decisive blow in an eight-run fourth inning, pounding his club record-tying third grand slam of the season off a window on the Royals Hall of Fame in left. He also had a run-scoring single in the first and added his major league-leading 26th homer in the fifth to put the Cardinals up, 12-4.
“It’s nothing special. I’m just seeing good pitches and hitting them,’’ said Pujols, who has 12 homers in 27 career games at Kauffman Stadium.
Cubs 6, Indians 2 - Randy Wells (1-3) pitched into the seventh inning for his first major league win, Geovany Soto homered, and Jake Fox drove in three runs to lead host Chicago to its fourth straight win.
Derrek Lee extended his hitting streak to 18 games, tying a career high, and the Cubs cruised to an easy win.
Dodgers 5, Angels 3 - James Loney hit a two-run homer that was upheld by video review, Clayton Kershaw (4-5) pitched seven shutout innings, and the Dodgers beat the Angels in Anaheim, Calif., to take two of three in the Freeway Series.
Juan Pierre had a pair of RBI doubles and Casey Blake hit an RBI single. The Dodgers had nine hits off Angels starter John Lackey (2-3).
Rays 10, Mets 6 - B.J. Upton homered and matched a career high with four RBIs, and Carl Crawford drove in a pair of runs to power visiting Tampa Bay.
Orioles 2, Phillies 1 - Brian Roberts knocked in the winning run for the second straight game, a tiebreaking single in the eighth, and Jeremy Guthrie (5-7) won for the first time since May 25 as Baltimore completed a three-game sweep in Philadelphia.
Blue Jays 9, Nationals 4 - Toronto avoided the unsavory distinction of becoming the first team this season to be swept by the bottom-dwelling Nationals, getting five RBIs from Lyle Overbay and a solid outing by Ricky Romero (4-3) in a victory in Washington.
Astros 4, Twins 1 - Wandy Rodriguez (6-6) pitched seven strong innings for his first win since May 20, and Jeff Keppinger had three hits, an RBI, and a run as Houston took two of three at the Metrodome for its sixth series win in its last seven overall.
White Sox 4, Reds 1 - Mark Buehrle (7-2) pitched seven shutout innings, Bobby Jenks pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save, and visiting Chicago improved to 14-3 against Cincinnati in interleague play, winning 10 of the last 11.
Tigers 3, Brewers 2 - Brandon Inge hit a three-run homer and Justin Verlander (8-3) allowed two runs and five hits in 7 2/3 innings to help Detroit win at home.
Rockies 5, Pirates 4 - Clint Barmes homered, drove in two runs, and scored two more as host Colorado completed a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh and improved to 18-5 under manager Jim Tracy.
Giants 3, Rangers 2 - Barry Zito (4-7) carried a no-hit bid into the seventh, Randy Winn hit a go-ahead single in the bottom of the inning, and San Francisco beat Texas for the 11th straight time at home.
Padres 4, Athletics 1 - Kevin Correia (4-5) carried a shutout into the seventh inning and Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a two-run home run to lead San Diego over visiting Oakland.
Mariners 3, Diamondbacks 2 - Tony Clark dropped a routine throw to first base, allowing Ronny Cedeno to score the winning run for host Seattle with two outs in the ninth inning. 