NEW YORK, 23 August 2004 — Terry Mulholland pitched six strong innings as Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter hit back-to-back home runs to power the Minnesota Twins to an 8-1 home win over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.
The Twins beat the Indians for the second straight game in the three-game series and opened up a six-game lead at the top of the AL Central, one week to the day when their lead was cut to one game by the Tribe.
Since last Sunday when the Twins beat the Indians at Jacobs Field, however, the Indians have lost six straight games while the Twins have won five of their last six.
Mulholland (4-6) allowed one run on seven hits while striking out four and walking two for the victory. Corey Koskie also homered for the Twins, his 20th of the season, as Minnesota grabbed a 7-1 lead after five innings after spotting the Indians a single run in the third inning for the early lead.
In other games, Manny Ramirez homered and drove in five runs to lead the Boston Red Sox to their fifth straight victory, a 10-7 win over the Chicago White Sox. Jason Varitek hit a pair of home runs for Boston. The White Sox have lost four of five and slipped to the .500 mark (60-60).
In Baltimore, Carlos Delgado homered and drove in three runs as the Toronto Blue Jays eased to a 10-4 win over the Orioles. Reed Johnson and Orlando Hudson both had two hits and drove in two runs for the Blue Jays, while rookie David Bush (2-3) allowed three runs on nine hits over six innings for the win, striking out four and walking one. Jose Guillen and Jeff DaVanon both homered to lead the Anaheim Angels to a 6-1 win over the New York Yankees.
In St. Petersburg, Barry Zito pitched eight shutout innings as the Oakland Athletics clung on to first place in the AL West with a 5-0 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Zito (9-9) allowed four hits while striking out six and walking one. Bobby Crosby, Marco Scutaro and Mark Kotsay all homered for the A’s.
In Detroit, Craig Monroe drove in the winning run with a single in the 11th inning and Carlos Guillen drove in six runs as the Tigers outlasted the Seattle Mariners 11-10.
Green Homers Lift Dodgers Past Braves
Shawn Green hit two home runs, including a grand slam, as Los Angeles defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-4 in a battle of National League division leaders at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. Jeff Weaver pitched seven strong innings for the win as the NL West leading Dodgers beat the NL East leading Braves for the second straight day after dropping the opener of their four-game series.
Weaver (11-10) picked up his fourth consecutive decision by allowing three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and one walk.
It was an eventful day for Weaver, who tied a dubious major league record by hitting three consecutive batters in the first inning.
However, he settled down after that and also chipped in at the plate with a pair of singles.
Giovanni Carrara pitched the ninth for his first save of the season and just the second of his major league career.
In San Francisco, Dustan Mohr dropped a fly ball in right field allowing two runs to score, giving the New York Mets an 11-9 win over the Giants. The teams combined for a major league record 10 double plays, with the Mets turning a team-record six.
Mike Stanton (2-5) pitched one inning for the win and Bartolome Fortunato tossed a scoreless 12th for his first save. Chase Utley hit a bases-loaded triple to key a six-run eighth inning, leading the Philadelphia Phillies past the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6.
In Houston, Jose Vizcaino and Jason Lane had RBI singles in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally the Astros past the Chicago Cubs 4-3. Brad Lidge (4-3) allowed two runs on two hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief for the win and pitcher Brandon Backe drove in two runs for the Astros.
In Denver, Todd Helton homered and Matt Holiday had a two-run double as the Colorado Rockies beat the Montreal expos 5-2. Helton had three hits and scored three runs. Joe Kennedy (6-5) allowed one run on five hits over 6 1/3 innings for the win.
In San Diego, Jeff Conine hit a three-run homer as the Florida Marlins handled the Padres 8-2. Juan Pierre homered and had three hits.
