Cano's 4 hits, Mussina's pitching help Yankees stops streaking Rays 2-1
Associated Press | May 14, 08 11:00 PM CDT
Robinson Cano went 4-for-4 and drove in a run to back the pitching of Mike Mussina, helping the New York Yankees end the Tampa Bay Rays' six-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday.
Mussina (6-3) allowed one run and five hits over 6 1-3 innings to win his fifth consecutive decision.
Cano, who tied a career high with four hits, had a RBI single in the fourth. Bobby Abreu drove in New York's other run off James Shields (4-3) with a two-out double in the fifth, and shortstop Derek Jeter started a nifty double play to end a Tampa Bay threat.
Joba Chamberlain struck out the side in the eighth _ and didn't pump his fist. Mariano Rivera bounced back from allowing the winning run in an 11-inning loss the previous night with a perfect ninth for his 11th save in 11 opportunities.
Orioles 6, Red Sox 3
At Baltimore, Jay Payton hit his fourth career grand slam to back a gritty pitching effort by Daniel Cabrera, and Baltimore rallied to beat Boston.
Solo homers by Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell, and a defensive gem by Manny Ramirez _ yes, Manny Ramirez _ weren't enough to prevent the Red Sox from losing their fourth straight. It was the third consecutive game in which Boston blew a three-run lead.
The Orioles trailed 3-2 before going ahead in the seventh. With two outs, Freddie Bynum was credited with an infield hit when second baseman Dustin Pedroia couldn't make a play on a grounder.
Mariners 4, Rangers 3, 12 innings
At Arlington, Texas, Miguel Cairo had a two-out RBI single in the 12th inning, and Seattle beat Texas to avoid a sweep and keep the Rangers from reaching .500.
Wladimir Balentien led off the 12th with a single off Franklyn German (1-2), and Yuniesky Betancourt sacrificed. Balentien moved to third on a deep flyout by Ichiro Suzuki, who went 0-for-6 and ended a 13-game hitting streak. Cairo then singled up the middle.
Indians 2, Athletics 0
At Cleveland, C.C. Sabathia pitched a five-hitter and struck out 11 in Cleveland's major league-leading seventh shutout.
Sabathia (3-5) extended the scoreless streak of Indians starters to 43 1-3 innings since Friday. He tied his season high for strikeouts, walked two and won consecutive starts for the first time this season. He has a 1.49 ERA over his past five starts.
The streak is the longest by an Indians starting staff since they tossed 47 scoreless innings in August 1948. It's the longest by a major league team in one season since a 54-inning streak by Baltimore's starters from Sept. 1-7, 1974, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Grady Sizemore and Ryan Garko homered off Oakland's Joe Blanton (2-6), who lost for the fourth time in five starts.
Blue Jays 6, Twins 5
At Minneapolis, Matt Stairs hit a grand slam and Roy Halladay rebounded from a shaky start to help Toronto beat Minnesota.
Halladay (4-5) has been the victim of poor run support all season, getting only 3.14 runs per outing entering Wednesday. Stairs' slam in the first inning gave the right-hander a 4-0 advantage.
The Twins answered back as Justin Morneau hit his seventh homer of the season in the bottom of the first to make it 4-2 and Jason Kubel added an RBI double to make it 4-3.
Michael Cuddyer's RBI groundout tied it in the third.
Toronto regained the lead on Brad Wilkerson's RBI single in the fourth off Boof Bonser (2-5).
Royals 2, Tigers 0
At Kansas City, Missouri, Luke Hochevar pitched six strong innings and Joey Gathright drove in the only runs, helping Kansas City beat Detroit and hand Justin Verlander his AL-leading seventh loss.
Hochevar (3-2), the first overall pick in the 2006 draft, limited the Tigers to four singles while striking out five and walking three. He lowered his earned run average to 3.94 in five starts since being called up from Triple-A Omaha on April 20.
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