DETROIT, 17 June 2005 — Placido Polanco had three hits and drove in three runs while Craig Monroe had a single, a double and a homer as the Detroit Tigers beat the San Diego Padres 8-2 in Interleague play at Comerica Park on Wednesday. Mike Maroth pitched eight solid innings for the Tigers, who will attempt to sweep the three-game series with a win in the series finale on Thursday afternoon. Monroe also scored three runs and drove in two runs for the Tigers, as Maroth ended a personal five-game losing streak with the victory.
In other Interleague games, Rodrigo Lopez pitched eight strong innings as the Orioles beat the Houston Astros 5-1 in Baltimore. Lopez (6-2) allowed one run on four hits, walking one and striking out seven. Melvin Mora homered for the Orioles.
In Boston, David Ortiz had two hits and drove in three runs as the Red Sox beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-1. Bronson Arroyo (5-3) pitched seven innings, allowing one run on six hits, walking two and striking out eight for the win.
In Toronto, Ted Lilly pitched seven solid innings, as the Blue Jays beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2. Lilly (4-7) allowed four runs, walking three and striking out six.
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Hideo Nomo pitched seven strong innings as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3. Nomo (4-6) allowed two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out two for the win.
In Kansas City, Jose Lima pitched eight strong innings as the Royals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1. Lima (1-5) allowed one run on five hits, walking one and striking out six.
In New York, Jason Giambi hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th as the Yankees beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5. Mariano Rivera (3-2) pitched two innings, walking one and striking out three for the win. Jorge Posada also homered for the Yankees.
In Arlington, Alfonso Soriano had three hits and drove in four runs as the Texas Rangers beat the Atlanta Braves 9-5. Chan Ho Park (7-1) pitched five innings, allowing one run on eight hits, walking three and striking out three.
In Chicago, Jon Garland went six innings for his 11th win as the White Sox beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 12-6. Garland (11-2) allowed six runs on six hits.
In Minneapolis, Omar Vizquel hit a two run homer to key a three run ninth inning, leading the San Francisco Giants to an 8-4 win over the Minnesota Twins.
In Oakland, Marco Scutaro drove in the winning run with a single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the A’s a 3-2 win over the New York Mets. Justin Duchscherer (3-1) earned the win with two innings of hitless relief after starter Dan Haren allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings.
In Seattle, Ichiro Suzuki hit a lead-off home run that sparked the Mariners to a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Randy Winn and Mike Morse also homered in the win and Aaron Sele (6-5) held the Phillies to one run and eight hits in six innings.
In Anaheim, Ryan Drese pitched a two-hit shutout across eight innings and Brian Schneider homered to give the Washington Nationals a 1-0 win over the Angels.
Drese (5-6) struck out three batters and walked four and Chad Cordero struck out two batters in the ninth inning to maintain the shutout and record his 21st save.
In Cleveland, Aaron Boone belted a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the Indians to a 7-6 win over the Colorado Rockies. Bob Howry (4-1) struck out two batters in an inning of relief for the win.
Relentless Marlins Bully Cubs With Hitting Frenzy
Juan Pierre and Paul Lo Duca each had four hits as the Florida Marlins thumped the Chicago Cubs 15-5 in National League action at Wrigley Field on Wednesday. The Marlins recorded season highs in both runs and hits, with 20, and staked starter A.J. Burnett to an early 8-0 lead. Carlos Delgado, Miguel Cabrera, Juan Encarnacion and Luis Castillo all homered for Florida, with Delgado’s three-run blast capping a six-run fourth inning.
