Yankees Avoid Royals Sweep

Andy Pettitte picked up his first victory and Alex Rodriguez and Melky Cabrera each homered and drove in two runs, helping the New York Yankees defeat the Kansas City Royals 6-1 Thursday night and avoid a series sweep. Jorge Posada also homered for the Yankees. Pettitte held the Royals to one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Rodriguez increased his career RBI total to 1,510, moving him one ahead of Mickey Mantle and into 45th place on the all-time list. Jose Guillen's two-out double in the first scored Mark Teahen for the Royals' only run. The Yankees, who were 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the first two games of the series, went 2-for-8 on Thursday night. (More baseball stories.)