Pedro Ciriaco #77 of the Boston Red Sox steals third as Jayson Nix #17 of the New York Yankees is unable to field the throw in the seventh inning during the second game of a doubleheader at Fenway Park July 7, 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts.
(July 6, 2012 – Source: Jim Rogash/Getty Images North America)
BOSTON (AP) — Pedro Ciriaco had four hits and four RBIs, fellow newcomer Mauro Gomez added three hits and the Boston Red Sox gained a split of their day-night doubleheader with a 9-5 win over the New York Yankees on Saturday.
Ciriaco drove in the runs with a pair of doubles one day after being called up from Pawtucket. Gomez is 8 for 17 in five games since being promoted from the Triple-A team Tuesday night.
Andruw Jones hit three homers in the doubleheader, including two of the Yankees’ four in their 6-1 win in the opener in which Freddy Garcia (3-2) pitched 6 2-3 solid innings in muggy conditions. They added three homers in the nightcap, running their baseball-high total to 133. They’re on a pace for a club-record 255. The 1997 Seattle Mariners hold the major league record with 264.
Boston’s Franklin Morales (1-2) lasted just 3 1-3 innings in the opener, yielding six runs and six hits, including all four homers.
Felix Doubront (9-4) got the win in the nightcap, while Phil Hughes (9-7) took the loss.
TIGERS 8, ROYALS 7
DETROIT (AP) — Prince Fielder hit a two-run, game-tying homer in the first, Delmon Young had a two-run home run to pad the lead in the seventh inning and the Detroit Tigers held on to beat the Kansas City Royals.
Detroit closer Jose Valverde started the ninth with a four-run lead and almost lost it. Billy Butler hit a two-run single with the bases loaded to pull Kansas City within two runs. Yuniesky Betancourt nearly hit a go-ahead, three-run homer on a fly center fielder Austin Jackson tracked down near the wall in left-center.
Jackson charged to make an underhanded catch on Mike Moustakas’ sacrifice fly for the second out and Jeff Francoeur struck out.
Doug Fister (2-6) gave up four runs in six-plus innings and snapped a three-game losing streak. Bruce Chen (7-8) gave up six runs for the second straight game and allowed nine hits over 3 1-3 innings.
WHITE SOX 2, BLUE JAYS 0
CHICAGO (AP) — Gavin Floyd pitched 7 2-3 innings of four-hit ball and Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer to lead the Chicago White Sox past the Toronto Blue Jays.
Floyd (7-8) struck out three and walked two while improving to 3-1 with a 1.37 ERA in his last four starts. The 6-foot-6 right-hander received a standing ovation when he left in the eighth.
The White Sox have won five straight to move a season-high 10 games over .500. The AL Central leaders also have won a season-high seven straight at home.
Ricky Romero (8-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings for the Blue Jays, who have lost three straight.
INDIANS 7, RAYS 3
CLEVELAND (AP) — Ubaldo Jimenez struck out eight over six innings and Shelley Duncan hit a two-run homer to help the Cleveland Indians beat the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Indians got three doubles in the second inning off rookie Matt Moore (5-6) as they jumped to a 3-0 lead.
Jimenez (8-7) allowed a two-run homer to Luke Scott in the fourth, but otherwise was in command. The right-hander gave up five hits and walked only one.
Cleveland’s fourth win in five games kept the second-place Indians three games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central. The Rays have lost nine of 13.
RANGERS 4, TWINS 3, 10 INNINGS
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Nelson Cruz hit an RBI double in the 10th inning to lead the Texas Rangers over the Minnesota Twins, snapping their five-game losing streak.
Texas’ Josh Hamilton had a home run, walk and a run scored as the designated hitter one night after leaving in the fifth inning with back spasms. Cruz finished 3 for 5 with two doubles and two RBIs, and Adrian Beltre hit a home run that tied the game in the sixth as the Rangers improved to 41-5 the past two years in games in which Beltre has homered.
Joe Nathan (1-2) pitched scoreless ninth and 10th innings for the Rangers, his longest outing in almost three years after ligament replacement surgery.
Kyle Waldrop (0-1) failed to get an out in the 10th and took the loss.
ANGELS 3, ORIOLES 0
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jered Weaver scattered three hits over eight innings in his final start before heading to his third straight All-Star game, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles.
Weaver (10-1) won his fourth straight outing since coming off the disabled list, striking out five and walking one while lowering his ERA to 1.96. He joined Sandy Koufax (1963-64) as the only pitchers since 1950 with consecutive seasons of double-digit wins and an ERA under 2.00 before the All-Star break.
Scott Downs pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save in eight attempts.
Jason Hammel (8-5) gave up three runs, six hits and four walks over 6 2-3 innings and struck out four.
MARINERS 7, ATHLETICS 1
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Jason Vargas pitched a seven-hitter to win for the first time in more than a month, and the Seattle Mariners snapped Oakland’s five-game winning streak.
Kyle Seager hit a bases-loaded double to drive in three, Brendan Ryan added a two-RBI double in the second and Ichiro Suzuki singled up the middle in the fifth to snap a career-worst 0-for-23 hitless stretch as the Mariners scored their most runs since a 14-10 loss at Arizona on June 20.
Vargas (8-7) tossed his sixth career complete game and first since July 6 last year at Oakland. Casper Wells homered to help Vargas end a five-start winless stretch in which he went 0-3 since a win at Anaheim on June 4. Jarrod Parker (5-4) got the loss.
