Gardner Sparks Yankees to 3rd Straight Win

No one knows who will be manning center field for the Yankees next season, but Brett Gardner left an impression last night of what he's capable of. Gardner doubled in a run, robbed Luke Scott of a home run, and threw out Nick Markakis at the plate, in the Yankees 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

The victory was the Yankees third in a row and moved them back into sole possession of third place in the AL East, ahead of Toronto. Carl Pavano provided an adequate five innings of work (2 ER, 6 hits, 1 BB, 2 K) to earn his 4th win of the season.

The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Aubrey Huff's RBI single, but Gardner threw out Markakis at home plate and had runners on the corners with no one out in the second. But Pavano escaped with just a sacrifice fly by Lou Montanez for a 2-0 advantage.

The Yankees tied the game up in the third against O's starter Radhames Liz, when Robinson Cano led off the inning with his 14th home run of the season, and Ivan Rodriguez singled, stole second base, and came home on Gardner's double to the gap in left-center field. What has become the norm for the 2008 Yankees then kicked in as Gardner was stranded.

Gardner then flashed the leather in the fourth when Scott drove a pitch to deep center field. Gardner raced back to the 408-ft sign, leapt, caught the baseball, and slammed into the wall. He sat on the warning track momentarily shaken up while Scott cursed on the base paths.

The Yankees have been more aggressive on the bases of late and it paid off in the fifth inning when Johnny Damon singled with one out, stole second base, and moved to third base on Derek Jeter's single. Liz retired Bobby Abreu on a foul out, but then wild pitched home Damon with the go ahead run. The Yankees again had a chance for more when Alex Rodriguez walked, but Jason Giambi grounded out to end the inning.

The Yankees refreshed pen has been looking better of late and they combined for four shutout innings last night. Phil Coke struck out the first two hitters in the sixth before a walk to Adam Jones and a Giambi throwing error (what else?) put two aboard. Joe Girardi sent for Brian Bruney, who made it a 'K' trifecta by striking out Montanez looking to end the threat.

Bruney and Damaso Marte combined for a scoreless seventh inning and Joba Chamberlain struck out the side in the eighth. Then it was on to Mariano Rivera, whose usual ovation was even louder as the days at home are dwindling. The greatest closer of all-time made things interested when a pair of two out singles and an error put runners on the corners, but he got Brian Roberts to pop out to Ivan Rodriguez, on the first pitch, to pick up save number 37.


News and Notes

Mariano Rivera's save was career number 480. Ivan Rodriguez had trouble at first picking up the final pop up and gave Mo a hug of relief after catching it.

Derek Jeter donated the spikes he wore in his record breaking hits game to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Cano Ends Long Day, 8-7

The Yankees finished off a three game sweep of the Orioles yesterday in an, ugly, incredibly long, poorly pitched ball game. It took a Robinson Cano mammoth seventh inning home run and stellar late relief to hold on to an 8-7 win. The Yankees suddenly have a four game winning streak and trail the wildcard-leading Red Sox by 5 games as the two teams get set to start a three game series at the Stadium tomorrow night.

Sunday's game was downright painful. The Yankees and Orioles have set records at Camden Yards for lengthy games, and yesterday's fiasco was threatening the nine inning record for time played. Yankees' starter Darrell Rasner was bad, but Orioles lead man Daniel Cabrera had one of the worst games possible. He had absolutely no command of his pitches, missing the plate in every way imaginable. Unfortunately for Alex Rodriguez, that also meant taking an upper-90's fastball off of his left elbow.

With the game tied at 7-7 in the seventh, Orioles' lefty specialist Jamie Walker entered the game to face Hideki Matsui and Cano. He retired Matsui on a ground out, but Cano's swing resulted in a 425-ft blast to center to give the Yankees the lead.

The Orioles tried to tie things right back up in their half of the seventh when Ramon Hernandez and Brian Roberts stroked consecutive singles off of Jose Veras, who was working for his third straight day. But Damaso Marte came on to strike out Nick Markakis and Melvin Mora to preserve the lead. Mariano Rivera then came on for a four-out save, striking out Markakis looking, with the tying run on second base, for the game's final out.

The game ended four hours and one minute after it began. The first two innings took two days and 2,000 pitches. (Okay, not quite, but it felt like it.) It started out promising for Rasner, who retired the first two batters he faced, but then Mora and Aubrey Huff hit back-to-back home runs for a 2-0 Orioles lead. But Cabrera wouldn't accept the gift.

He gave up a lead-off single to Xavier Nady in the second and then walked Matsui. Cano drilled a pitch off of the top of the wall in right field for an RBI double, and two batters later Johnny Damon crushed a Cabrera delivery into the right field seats for a 3-run home run and a 4-2 Yankees lead.

Rasner got out of a two-on, two-out jam in the third and the Yankees added to their lead in the fourth. Singles by Damon and Bobby Abreu plus A-Rod's elbow smash loaded the bases with one out. Jason Giambi just missed getting all of one and had to settle for a sacrifice fly and an RBI. Nady then came up with a big two-out hit when he ripped a 2-run double into the left field corner. Down 7-2, Dave Trembley finally pulled Cabrera from the game.

But this would be no laugher. Derek Jeter's one-out bobble allowed Brian Roberts to reach safely and Nick Markakis brought Roberts home when Nady misplayed his single to left. When Rasner walked Mora, Joe Girardi sent for Dave Robertson to try to put out the fire. Instead, Robertson made it worse. Huff doubled to right to plate Markakis and Millar's sac fly brought home Mora to cut the lead to 7-5. Robertson finally retired Luis Montanez to end the inning, but the damage was done.

Jay Payton singled, stole second base, and moved to third on a ground out as the Orioles brought the tying run to the plate in the fifth inning. Robertson struck out Juan Castro for the second out of the inning and Girardi sent for Edwar Ramirez to face the lefty-hitting Roberts. With Pudge Rodriguez set up outside, Ramirez went inside, and Roberts drilled the pitch into the right field seats to tie the game.


News and Notes

Bobby Abreu went hitless Saturday, but had eight hits in the other two games of the series combined.

Robinson Cano's 4-5 day, which included a home run and two doubles, raised his average to .269, the highest it has been since July 26.

Mariano Rivera's save was his 31st in 32 attempts. He saved all three games in the series.

There is no truth to the rumor that the Yankees will be holding open auditions for Rasner's next start (damn!).

August 24, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	4	0	3	0	0	1	0	0		8	15	3
Baltimore	2	0	0	3	2	0	0	0	0		7	14	0

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	6	2	2	3	0	0	3	.312
Jeter, SS	5	0	0	0	0	0	2	.293
Abreu, RF	4	1	3	0	1	0	0	.297
Rodriguez, A, 3B	3	1	2	0	1	0	1	.312
Giambi, 1B	4	0	0	1	0	0	5	.250
Ransom, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.000
Nady, LF	5	1	2	2	0	2	1	.328
Matsui, DH	4	1	1	0	1	0	1	.311
Cano, 2B	5	2	4	2	0	1	0	.269
Rodriguez, I, C	4	0	1	0	1	0	4	.284
Totals	40	8	15	8	4	3	17
BATTING 2B: Cano 2 (26, Cabrera, D, Cabrera, D), Nady (32, Cabrera, D), Abreu (34, Cherry). HR: Damon (9, 2nd inning off Cabrera, D, 2 on, 1 out), Cano (12, 7th inning off Walker, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Damon 5; Abreu 4; Rodriguez, A 2; Nady 3; Matsui; Cano 9; Rodriguez, I. RBI: Cano 2 (58), Damon 3 (55), Giambi (77), Nady 2 (80). 2-out RBI: Nady 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Rodriguez, I 2; Matsui; Damon. SF: Giambi. GIDP: Giambi. Team LOB: 11. FIELDING E: Jeter (10, fielding), Nady (3, fielding), Rodriguez, I (5, throw).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Rasner	3.1	8	5	3	2	2	2	5.03
Robertson	1.1	2	1	1	0	1	0	6.00
Ramirez (W, 4-1)	1.1	2	1	1	1	1	1	3.66
Veras (H, 9)	0.1	2	0	0	0	1	0	2.70
Marte (H, 21)	1.1	0	0	0	1	3	0	4.34
Rivera (S, 31)	1.1	0	0	0	1	2	0	1.53

Baltimore	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Roberts, 2B	5	2	3	2	1	0	0	.301
Markakis, RF	5	1	1	0	1	2	3	.301
Mora, 3B	4	2	1	1	1	1	5	.281
Huff, DH	5	1	3	2	0	0	0	.304
Millar, 1B	4	0	1	1	0	1	1	.248
Montanez, L, LF	3	0	1	0	0	0	2	.367
a-Scott, PH-LF	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	.272
Payton, CF	5	1	3	0	0	2	3	.253
Quiroz, C	3	0	0	0	0	1	4	.196
b-Cintron, PH-SS	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	.273
Castro, J, SS	3	0	0	0	0	2	2	.192
c-Hernandez, R, PH-C	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	.259
Totals	41	7	14	6	5	10	20
a-Walked for Montanez, L in the 6th. b-Struck out for Quiroz in the 7th. c-Singled for Castro, J in the 7th.
BATTING 2B: Huff 2 (39, Robertson, Ramirez). HR: Mora (22, 1st inning off Rasner, 0 on, 2 out), Huff (28, 1st inning off Rasner, 0 on, 2 out), Roberts (9, 5th inning off Ramirez, 1 on, 2 out). TB: Roberts 6; Markakis; Mora 4; Huff 8; Millar; Montanez, L; Payton 3; Hernandez, R. RBI: Mora (96), Huff 2 (91), Millar (66), Roberts 2 (48). 2-out RBI: Mora; Huff; Roberts 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Mora 3; Quiroz; Montanez, L; Payton; Markakis. SF: Millar. Team LOB: 13. BASERUNNING SB: Payton (7, 2nd base off Robertson/Rodriguez, I), Roberts (33, 2nd base off Rivera/Rodriguez, I). FIELDING DP: (Roberts-Cintron-Millar).

Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Cabrera, D 3.2 9 7 7 3 0 1 5.24 Sarfate 2.1 1 0 0 1 2 0 4.92 Walker (L, 1-2) 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 5.74 Cherry 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 Johnson 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2.29

HBP: Rodriguez, A (by Cabrera, D). Pitches-strikes: Rasner 98-60, Robertson 22-17, Ramirez 27-19, Veras 13-8, Marte 27-14, Rivera 18-12, Cabrera, D 95-49, Sarfate 49-31, Walker 8-6, Cherry 12-8, Johnson 11-8. Ground outs-fly outs: Rasner 3-5, Robertson 1-2, Ramirez 1-2, Veras 0-0, Marte 1-0, Rivera 2-0, Cabrera, D 3-8, Sarfate 1-4, Walker 3-0, Cherry 3-0, Johnson 1-1. Batters faced: Rasner 21, Robertson 6, Ramirez 7, Veras 3, Marte 5, Rivera 5, Cabrera, D 24, Sarfate 9, Walker 4, Cherry 4, Johnson 5. Inherited runners-scored: Robertson 2-2, Ramirez 1-1, Marte 2-0, Rivera 1-0, Sarfate 1-0. Umpires: HP: Ed Rapuano. 1B: Ed Hickox. 2B: CB Bucknor. 3B: Joe West. Weather: 90 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 10 mph, Out to LF. T: 4:01. Att: 42,746.

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Late Rally Bats Down O's

Mike Mussina wasn't able to garner his 17th win, but the Yankees rallied from 3-1 and 4-3 deficits to beat the Orioles, 9-4, last night at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Mussina didn't have his best stuff and fell behind 3-1 on a pair of Aubrey Huff RBI singles and a Ramon Hernandez solo home run.

The Yankees tied things up in the 5th inning on back-to-back solo home runs by Robinson Cano and Jose Molina, but the Orioles took the lead against Mussina again in the sixth on Kevin Millar's sac fly.

With Mussina out of the game, the Yankees came back against the Orioles bullpen, which was without closer George Sherrill. Bobby Abreu greeted lefty specialist Jamie Walker with his fourth of five hits on the night, and Alex Rodriguez ripped a double to left to put two men in scoring position with no one out.

Jason Giambi failed in the clutch for a change, popping out to Juan Castro at shortstop, but reliever Kam Mickolio uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Abreu to score just ahead of Hernandez's retrieval and throw to the plate. Xavier Nady then singled to right to put the Yankees ahead for good.

Damaso Marte retired the first two Orioles in the bottom of the eighth, but when he hit Huff with a pitch, Joe Girardi immediately went to Mariano Rivera for a four-out save. Rivera retired Yankees killer Millar on a pop up to Derek Jeter to end the inning and then the Yankees piled it on in the ninth.

With two away, Abreu singled for hit number five, and A-Rod followed with another double, this one a one-hopper into the seats. Cody Ransom, who had replaced Giambi for defense in the eighth and homered in his only Yankees at-bat last Sunday, made it two home runs in two at-bats. He crushed a Francisco Cabrera pitch into the left field seats to bust the game open. Nady wanted in on the act too though, and hit his eighth home run since joining the Yankees and his 21st of the season overall.

Armed with a four-run lead, Rivera easily retired the Orioles in order in the ninth for this 29th save in 30 attempts.


News and Notes

When Derek Jeter was asked after the game about hit number 2,500, he said he was only focused on 2,501 on Saturday. Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth are the only other two Yankees to reach the 2,500 hit mark.

Xavier Nady is hitting .321-8-21 in 25 games, with a 1.012 OPS.

Bobby Abreu's 5 hits tied a career-high mark he set on Aug. 8, 1999. No fans were happier than the Venezuelan little league team that Abreu paid to have transported from Williamsport, PA to the game. Abreu also made a great running catch on a foul ball in the right field corner. Unfortunately, he also shied away from a ball in right-center field that led to the Orioles taking a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning.

August 22, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	4		9	16	0
Baltimore	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0		4	9	1

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	5	1	1	0	0	0	2	.312
Jeter, SS	5	0	1	0	0	2	0	.296
Abreu, RF	5	2	5	1	0	0	0	.295
Rodriguez, A, 3B	5	2	2	0	0	1	4	.309
Giambi, 1B	4	0	1	0	0	2	3	.250
Ransom, 1B	1	1	1	3	0	0	0	1.000
Nady, LF	5	1	2	2	0	2	0	.328
Matsui, DH	3	0	0	0	2	1	1	.313
Cano, 2B	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.263
Molina, C	4	1	1	1	0	2	4	.227
Totals	41	9	16	8	2	10	15
BATTING 2B: Damon (26, Liz), Rodriguez, A 2 (28, Walker, Cabrera, F). HR: Cano (11, 5th inning off Liz, 0 on, 0 out), Molina (2, 5th inning off Liz, 0 on, 0 out), Ransom (2, 9th inning off Cabrera, F, 2 on, 2 out), Nady (21, 9th inning off Cabrera, F, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Damon 2; Jeter; Abreu 5; Rodriguez, A 4; Giambi; Ransom 4; Nady 5; Cano 5; Molina 4. RBI: Abreu (82), Cano (56), Molina (14), Nady 2 (78), Ransom 3 (5). 2-out RBI: Ransom 3; Nady. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Damon 2; Molina. GIDP: Rodriguez, A. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING CS: Abreu (10, 2nd base by Liz/Hernandez, R). FIELDING DP: (Rodriguez, A-Cano-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina	6.0	9	4	4	0	3	1	3.45
Veras (W, 4-2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.78
Marte (H, 20)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.45
Rivera (S, 29)	1.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.60

Baltimore	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Roberts, 2B	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	.299
Markakis, RF	4	1	1	0	0	2	1	.301
Mora, 3B	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.283
Huff, DH	3	0	2	2	0	0	0	.301
Millar, 1B	4	1	2	0	0	0	3	.249
Scott, LF	4	0	1	0	0	0	2	.272
Hernandez, R, C	3	1	1	2	0	0	0	.257
Payton, CF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.239
Castro, J, SS	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.202
Totals	33	4	9	4	0	3	7
BATTING 2B: Millar (24, Mussina). HR: Hernandez, R (14, 4th inning off Mussina, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Roberts; Markakis; Mora; Huff 2; Millar 3; Scott; Hernandez, R 4. RBI: Huff 2 (89), Hernandez, R 2 (56). 2-out RBI: Huff. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Scott. SF: Hernandez, R. GIDP: Millar. Team LOB: 4. BASERUNNING SB: Roberts (32, 2nd base off Mussina/Molina). CS: Scott (2, 2nd base by Mussina/Molina). FIELDING E: Castro, J (3, fielding). PB: Hernandez, R (9). Outfield assists: Markakis (Giambi at 2nd base). DP: 2 (Hernandez, R-Roberts, Mora-Roberts-Millar).

Baltimore	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Liz	4.2	9	3	3	1	4	2	7.32
Sarfate	1.1	0	0	0	1	2	0	5.09
Cherry (H, 2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	7.20
Walker (H, 8)(L, 1-1)	0.1	2	2	2	0	0	0	5.64
Mickolio (BS, 1)	0.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	9.00
Castillo, A	1.1	1	1	1	0	2	0	2.84
Cabrera, F	0.1	3	3	3	0	1	2	4.24

Mickolio pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

WP: Mickolio.
HBP: Huff (by Marte).
Pitches-strikes: Mussina 110-75, Veras 11-5, Marte 6-4,
Rivera 15-10, Liz 83-52, Sarfate 23-12, Cherry 11-8,
Walker 13-7, Mickolio 6-4, Castillo, A 29-16, Cabrera, F 13-8.
Ground outs-fly outs: Mussina 7-7, Veras 2-1,
Marte 0-2, Rivera 1-3, Liz 5-3, Sarfate 1-1, Cherry 0-2,
Walker 0-1, Mickolio 0-0, Castillo, A 2-0, Cabrera, F 0-0.
Batters faced: Mussina 25, Veras 3, Marte 3, Rivera 4,
Liz 21, Sarfate 5, Cherry 3, Walker 3, Mickolio 1, Castillo, A 6, Cabrera, F 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Rivera 1-0, Sarfate 1-0,
Mickolio 2-2, Castillo, A 1-0, Cabrera, F 1-1.
Umpires: HP: CB Bucknor. 1B: Joe West. 2B: Ed Rapuano. 3B: Ed Hickox.
Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 7 mph, R to L.
T: 3:23.
Att: 43,543.

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Skid Hits 3 as Rally Falls Short

The Yankees climbed out of a hole in the 9th inning tonight, turning a runaway into a one run ball game with the tying run on 2nd base and just 1 out. But as we've seen time and time again this year, they come up short when needing the big hit. This time it was Robinson Cano and Wilson Betemit both going down on swinging strikes as George Sherrill barely preserved a 7-6 game.

Darrell Rasner kept the Yankees in the game, leaving in the 7th with two on, two out, and the Orioles ahead 2-1. The Yankees newest Damaso Marte had a chance for heroics, but failed miserably. After a bloop single by Nick Markakis loaded the bases, Marte temporarily escaped trouble when Aubrey Huff's blast into the upper deck in right field faded into foul territory. But Marte wasn't so lucky with his next pitch.

Huff drilled a Marte breaking pitch into the gap in left-center to clear the bases and put the Orioles on top 5-1. Melvin Mora added an RBI double for Marte finally worked out of the inning. Huff would narrowly miss a home run again, in the 9th against Mariano Rivera, but later in the at-bat he tied a career high with his 4th hit, yup, a home run against Rivera in the same at-bat.

The Yankees lone run until the 8th was Alex Rodriguez's 22nd home run off of Daniel Cabrera. Down 6-1 in the 8th Cabrera was ejected after hitting Rodriguez in the shoulder with a high fastball. Home plate ump Chad Fairchild felt there was intent though manager Dave Trembley strongly disagreed. Cano would deliver a 2-run single that would cut the lead to 6-4 and put the tying runs on base with no one out.

But Jim Johnson struck out Betemit (gee, what a shock that was), retired Melky Cabrera on a line out to center and struck out pinch-hitter Xavier Nady (you think he wishes he were back in P-Burgh?) looking.

Huff's home run off Rivera would prove to be crucial when the Yankees rallied in the 9th against closer George Sherrill. Johnny Damon's lead off single was followed by a walk to Derek Jeter and an RBI double by Bobby Abreu. It was suddenly a 7-5 game and A-Rod was up. But Sherrill won the showdown, throwing a high fastball past the reigning AL MVP for a strikeout.

Jason Giambi came through, lining a pitch off of the mound, and nearly Sherrill, for a 2-run single. Down a run, pinch-runner Justin Christian swiped 2nd, putting the tying run in scoring position. But Sherrill K'ed Cano on three pitches and threw a 2-2 pitch past Betemit to hand the Yankees their third straight loss.


News and Notes

Alex Rodriguez's home run was the 540th of his career. It put him 8 behind Mike Schmidt on the all-time list.

Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 10 games, in which he's hitting .318 (14-44)

Kevin Millar homered for the second straight night. Why does no Yankees back him off the plate?

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Around the Horn - 4/9

0 wins, 7 losses, 15 runs scored, a .235 team batting average. Those are the woeful stats of the Detroit Tigers who remained winless after the Red Sox won their home opener, 5-0. The Tigers haven't started this badly since their forgettable 119 loss campaign of 2003. How long until Jim Leyland pops his cork?

Kudos to the Red Sox yesterday (yes it pains us to say that)- they had Bill Buckner throw out the ceremonial 1st pitch. Billy Bucks has been unfairly known as the goat of the 1986 World Series because of the ball that went through his legs in Game 6, helping to extend the "Curse of the Bambino". But the real goat was manager John McNamara who wanted Buckner out there to celebrate the championship. McNamara knew Buckner was no longer the defensive gem he once was. The Red Sox also honored current and former members of the Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins.

With K-Rod sidelined for a few days with an ankle injury and Scot Shields coming off an ineffective season, the Angels gave Justin Speier a chance to close out last night's game with the Indians. The result? A Travis Hafner 2-run HR that won it for the Tribe.

Alan Embree blew a 2-run lead on a Frank Thomas HR in the 8th, but the A's prevailed over the Jays in the 9th, 9-8, on Ryan Sweeney's RBI triple. Huston Street picked up his first save and had his first scoreless appearance. The home run was #516 for The Big Hurt.

Aubrey Huff and the Orioles are on a tear. Huff had 4 hits and 4 RBI yesterday as the O's won their 6th straight, 8-1 over the Rangers. Can the Rangers ever get pitching?

Erik Bedard won his first game as a Mariners in the M's 6-5 win over the Rays. Remember when Ichiro couldn't buy a hit during spring training? With a 3-hit day, he's hitting .324. The Rays have lost 3 straight after winning 3 of their first 4.

The Phillies still have the Mets number. They won the last 8 meetings last season to help clinch the Wild Card. Yesterday they ruined the Mets home opener and a nice performance by starter Oliver Perez, by rallying from a 2-0 deficit late to win 5-2.

Troy Glaus delivered a decisive 2-run double in the 8th in the Cards 5-3 win over the Astros.

Mark Reynolds stayed red hot for the Diamondbacks, homering for the 5th time in as many games. He and Connor Jackson each drove in 3 runs as the Dbacks toppled the Dodgers 10-5. Doug Davis, battling thyroid cancer, picked up his first win of the year. He'll undergo surgery tomorrow. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Davis and his family.

Closer Brian Wilson blew the Giants one run lead to the Padres in the 9th, but Bengie Molina saved him with a walk-off home run in the 11th. Molina's 2nd home run of the game gave the Giants a 3-2 win.

Matt Holliday had 3 hits and a pair of RBI in the Rockies 4-3 win over the Braves.

Eric Gagne gave up a 9th, game tying home run to the Reds Corey Patterson for his 2nd blown save of the season. But Richie Weeks delivered a walk-off single in the 10th to give the Brewers a 3-2 victory.

Injury News

The Twins are expected to place starter Matt Garza on the DL with nerve irritation in his arm. The plan is to have Francisco Liriano take Garza's place on Sunday.

The Red Sox have placed Bartolo Colon on the minor league DL with a strained oblique.

B.J. Ryan made his 2nd rehab appearance for the Jays; Randy Johnson struck out 7 in a 6 inning rehab start. He allowed 3 runs.

The Nationals have placed Dmitri Young on the DL with a sore back.

Mets right-hander El Duque has been sent for an MRI due to continued soreness in his right foot.

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