CHICAGO, 19 May 2005 — Jon Garland pitched seven strong innings to register his eighth victory and A.J. Pierzynski hit a two-run homer as the White Sox beat the Texas Rangers 5-2 in American League play in Chicago on Tuesday.
Garland (8-0) allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks as he became the first eight-game winner in the major leagues. Damaso Marte pitched a scoreless eighth for the Sox and Dustin Hermanson followed with a perfect ninth for his ninth save.
In other games, Scott Elarton pitched 5 2/3 strong innings as the Indians beat the Los Angeles Angels 13-5 in Cleveland. Elarton (1-2) allowed three runs on nine hits, walking two and striking out one.
In Detroit, Rondell White singled in the 11th inning as the Tigers beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 4-3. Franklyn German (1-0) pitched two outs and struck out two for the win.
In Minneapolis, Josh Towers pitched a solid five innings as the Blue Jays thumped the Minnesota Twins 10-3. Towers (5-1) allowed two runs on seven hits and striking out two. Vernon Wells homered and drove in three runs for the Blue Jays.
In Seattle, Carl Pavano pitched a five-hitter as the New York Yankees won their 10th straight game, downing the Mariners 6-0. Pavano (3-2) struck out seven and walked none. Jason Giambi homered, had three hits and drove in three runs for New York, while Alex Rodriguez also homered.
In Kansas City, Rafael Palmeiro homered and drove in five runs as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Royals 12-8. John Parrish (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings, allowing three walks and striking out four.
In Oakland, Edgar Renteria and David Ortiz both drove in two runs as the Boston Red Sox edged the Athletics 7-5. Boston scored four runs in the eighth inning and had just four hits in the game.
Abreu Maintains Hitting Streak in Phillies Win
In Philadelphia, Bobby Abreu hit his eighth homer in nine games and the Philadelphia Phillies scored five times in the second inning to offset an equal number of errors in beating the St. Louis Cardinals 7-5 at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday.
Abreu’s solo homer in the first inning extended his hitting streak to 10 games and was his 10th home run in May. The Phillies slugger had two RBI and has now driven in runs in nine straight games.
In other games, Derrek Lee hit two homers and drove in four runs as the Chicago Cubs rallied past the Pirates 4-3 in Pittsburgh. Will Ohman (2-0) pitched two outs for the win and Ryan Dempster pitched one inning for his first save.
In Washington, Wes Obermueller pitched eight strong innings as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Nationals 8-2. Obermueller (1-0) allowed two hits and struck out four. Carlos Lee homered and drove in four runs and Brady Clark also homered for Milwaukee.
In New York, Kazuo Matsui homered as the Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1. Mike DeJean (3-1) pitched two outs for the win. Braden Looper pitched two outs for his 10th save.
In Houston, Roy Oswalt pitched eight solid innings as the Astros blanked the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-0. Oswalt (5-4) allowed five hits and struck out eight.
In Los Angeles, Olmedo Saenz homered, had three hits and drove in five runs as the Dodgers beat Dontrelle Willis and the Florida Marlins 14-5. Cesar Izturis had five hits and drove in two runs for the Dodgers while Jeff Kent had three hits and four RBI.
In Denver, Joe Kennedy pitched five strong innings as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants 9-4. Kennedy (2-4) allowed four runs on eight hits, walked four and struck out two. Matt Holliday, Dustan Mohr and Todd Greene homered.
In San Diego, Khalil Greene singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Padres rallied to edge the Atlanta Braves 3-2. Dennys Reyes (2-0) got the final out in the ninth as the Padres scored a single run in the eighth.
