ATLANTA: Tim Wakefield pitched six scoreless innings to win a duel with Javier Vazquez, and the Boston Red Sox blanked the punchless Atlanta Braves 1-0 Saturday.
Mark Kotsay drove in the game's only run with a sixth-inning single.
Wakefield (10-3) came up with a performance worthy of the day he tied Roger Clemens' record for the most career starts by a Red Sox pitcher at 382. His knuckleball was really fluttering on a sweltering day at Turner Field-it was 95 degrees at first pitch-and the Braves managed just three singles off the 42-year-old right-hander.
Wakefield became the AL's third 10-game winner, joining Minnesota's Kevin Slowey and Toronto's Roy Halladay. Jonathan Papelbon worked around a shaky ninth for his 18th save.
Vazquez (5-7) certainly pitched good enough to win. He struck out eight to claim the NL strikeout lead from San Francisco's Tim Lincecum (125-124), but a brief spurt of wildness in the sixth was costly.
Phillies 10, Blue Jays 0: In Toronto, J.A. Happ pitched a five-hit shutout, Jayson Werth homered twice and the Philadelphia Phillies blanked the Toronto Blue Jays.
In the first complete game of his career, Happ (5-0) struck out four and didn't walk a batter to win for the first time in four starts, helping the Phillies snap a three-game losing streak. The victory was Philadelphia's third in 14 games.
Cardinals 5, Twins 3: In St.Louis. Albert Pujols hit a pair of two-run homers, helping the St. Louis Cardinals pound 10-game winner Kevin Slowey in a victory over the Minnesota Twins. Pujols leads the majors with 28 homers and 74 RBIs after his 29th career multi-homer game, sixth this season and second in six days.
Angels 2, Diamondbacks 1: Mike Napoli hit a tiebreaking home run in the top of the ninth inning to lift the Los Angeles Angels over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Napoli hit an one-out, 0-1 pitch from Chad Qualls (1-1) 428 feet to center field to give the Angels their fourth straight win and 11th in the last 14.
White Sox 8, Cubs 7: Gordon Beckham singled in the winning run with two outs in the ninth, and Scott Podsednik homered while tying a career high with four hits to lift the Chicago White Sox over the Cubs. With the game tied at 7, Paul Konerko lined a single to left with one out off Sean Marshall (3-6) to start the winning rally.
Yankees 5, Mets 0: A.J. Burnett combined with two relievers on a one-hitter, Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada made Citi Field seem small with opposite-field homers, and the New York Yankees rolled past the Mets again. Alex Cora got the Mets' only hit, lining a clean single to center on a 0-1 pitch leading off the sixth.
Astros 8, Tigers 1: Rookie right-hander Felipe Paulino pitched seven solid innings and the Houston Astros used a five-run third to pull away from the Detroit Tigers. It was Houston's third straight win and gave the Astros the series victory in this inter-league match-up.
Pirates 6, Royals 2: Delwyn Young homered and drove in a career-high four runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to their fourth straight win. Paul Maholm (5-4) allowed only two runs in seven innings and Jack Wilson and Adam LaRoche each had two hits and an RBI for Pittsburgh, which clinched a winning record in interleague play for only the second season since the format was adopted 12 years ago.
Orioles 6, Nationals 3: Nolan Reimold hit a three-run homer, Gregg Zaun and Aubrey Huff had solo shots, and the Baltimore Orioles received a strong performance from their bullpen in a victory over the Washington Nationals.
After Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie (6-7) allowed three runs in five shaky innings, four Baltimore relievers limited the Nationals to three hits the rest of the way.
Reds 7, Indians 3: Homer Bailey pitched five innings for his first major league win in nearly two years and Jay Bruce hit his 18th home run for Cincinnati to help the Reds beat the Cleveland Indians. Bailey (1-0) was recalled from Triple-A earlier in the day to make his second start of the year and won for the first time since Sept. 20, 2007 against the Chicago Cubs.
Rays 3, Marlins 2: Carlos Pena hit his AL-leading 23rd home run and Willy Aybar broke a ninth-inning tie with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly, giving the Tampa Bay Rays a victory over the Florida Marlins. Jason Bartlett singled off Burke Badenhop (5-3) with one out in the ninth, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch.
Padres 7, Rangers 3: Rookie Kyle Blanks drove in three runs and the San Diego Padres had a season-high 16 hits while beating the Texas Rangers. Blanks, called up last week from Triple-A Portland, had the first RBI of his career with a double in the second. He added a two-run double in the fifth that gave San Diego a 6-1 advantage.
