OAKLAND, 5 August 2003 — Miguel Tejada picked up a two-run double off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Oakland Athletics a dramatic 2-1 win over the New York Yankees in the American League on Sunday.
Andy Pettitte allowed one hit over eight innings but was removed after walking Mark Ellis to lead off the ninth. Rivera came on but failed to hold the lead as the A’s took two of three games in the series between two teams battling for playoff position.
New York’s lead in the AL East was cut to 3 1/2 games over Boston while the A’s stayed within 1/2 game of the Red Sox for the AL wild card.
Pettitte was dominant for eight-plus innings, giving up only Jose Guillen’s infield single in the first. He struck out six and walked two and appeared set for his ninth straight victory.
But Rivera allowed a one-out single by Eric Chavez before Tejada’s double off the left field wall scored Ellis and Chavez with the game-winning runs.
Mark Mulder (15-7) was sharp for Oakland, surrendering one run on five hits in a complete game. He struck out seven and walked two.
Rivera (5-1) blew his fourth save opportunity of the season, charged with one run on two hits in 1/3 inning. Alfonso Soriano drove in New York’s lone run in the fifth and had two hits.
Royals 2 Devil Rays 0
In Kansas City, Jimmy Gobble pitched six-plus shutout innings in his major league debut as the Royals blanked the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2-0. Gobble (1-0) allowed six hits while striking out three and walking one.
Twins 7 Tigers 2
In Minneapolis, Johan Santana pitched six strong innings to lead the Minnesota Twins past the Detroit Tigers 7-2. Santana (5-3) allowed two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and three walks for the win.
Red Sox 7 Orioles 5
In Baltimore, David Ortiz clubbed two home runs to give the Boston Red Sox a 7-5 triumph over the Orioles. Doug Mirabelli, Johnny Damon, Trot Nixon and Bill Mueller also homered for Boston, which snapped a four-game losing streak.
Blue Jays 4 Angels 0
In Anaheim, Kelvim Escobar tossed 8 1/3 shutout innings as the Toronto Blue Jays blanked the Angels 4-0. Escobar (7-6) allowed six hits with four strikeouts and four walks. Cliff Politte claimed the last out for his 12th save of the season.
Mariners 8 White Sox 2
In Seattle, Edgar Martinez drove in three runs as the Mariners scored six runs in the fifth inning to bury the Chicago White Sox 8-2. Ichiro Suzuki drove in two runs for Seattle. Gil Meche (12-7) allowed one run on four hits in five innings for the win.
Rangers 8 Indians 5
In Arlington, Einar Diaz homered and drove in three runs as the Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians 8-5. Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro belted back-to-back homers in the first for Texas.
