NEW YORK, 30 May 2004 — A below-par Pedro Martinez was given plenty of support as the Red Sox rallied to defeat the Seattle Mariners 8-4 in American League action in Boston on Friday.
Martinez (5-3) surrendered eight hits and all four Seattle runs in seven innings of work. He also struck out nine to give him an AL-best 72 strikeouts for the season.
The Dominican-born right-hander, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, improved his record to 13-0 against Seattle lifetime. It did not look good in the early going, Bret Boone and Rich Aurilia taking him deep in the second and fifth innings as the Mariners moved into a 4-1 lead.
A frustrated Martinez took it out on his team jacket between innings, but the Red Sox were quick to respond, David Ortiz capping off a five-run Boston fifth with a grand slam home run off loser Joel Pineiro (1-6).
In Cleveland, Casey Blake took reliever Jim Mecir deep in the bottom of the ninth to give the Indians a 1-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics. It was Blake’s sixth homer, making a winner of Jose Jimenez (1-3), who worked a scoreless ninth.
In Detroit, Luis Matos’ two-run homer helped the Baltimore Orioles to a 7-5 victory over the Tigers, snapping the sagging O’s seven-game losing streak.
In Toronto, Carlos Delgado’s two-run homer sparked a four-run first inning, the Blue Jays hanging on to down the Texas Rangers 5-4 for their fourth straight win.
Ted Lilly (3-2) tossed six innings of six hit-ball for the victory. Rod Barajas’ three-run blast in the eighth brought Texas close.
In St. Petersburg, Hideki Matsui and Derek Jeter belted solo homers and Gary Sheffield had a three-run blast as the New York Yankees pounded the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7-5.
In Chicago, Paul Konerko singled to deep center with the bases full in the bottom of the ninth as the White Sox rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Angels. Konerko belted a two-run homer earlier in the contest.
In Kansas City, Tony Graffanino’s infield single with two men gone in the ninth gave the Royals a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. Jeremy Affeldt (1-3) set down the Twins in the top of the ninth for the victory.
Cardinals Edge Astros to Deny Clemens Eighth Win
The St. Louis Cardinals edged past the Astros 2-1 in 10 innings on Friday as Roger Clemens was denied the opportunity to pick up a major-league leading eighth win in Houston.
Clemens (7-0), who came out of a brief retirement to pitch for his hometown team was not around at the end of the game, as Octavio Dotel was on the mound when the Cards plated the winning run.
Dotel (0-3) balked to allow Ray Lankford to trot home from third after the pinch hitter had walked to launch the 10th and advanced to third on Scott Rolen’s single.
Umpires refused to overturn the ruling despite the protests of Astros manager Jimy Williams. Rolen had one of just six hits against Clemens, a solo homer in the fourth.
“The Rocket”, a six-time Cy Young Award winner, went seven innings, striking out six.
In Pittsburgh, Rob Mackowiak blasted a grand slam home run in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Pirates to a 9-5 win over the Chicago Cubs in game one of their doubleheader.
In the nightcap, Craig Wilson’s 10th-inning homer gave the Pirates a 5-4 victory and a sweep of the Cubs. Mackowiak had two-run blast in the ninth to force the extra frame.
In Philadelphia, Tomas Perez forced extra innings with a double to deep right in the eighth and then homered in the 10th to give the Phillies a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves.
In Montreal, Ken Griffey Jr belted a two-run homer, his 493rd, helping the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-6 win over the Expos before just over 7,000 fans.
In Miami, Dontrelle Willis (5-3) scattered four hits over seven innings as the Florida Marlins edged the New York Mets 2-1.
In Milwaukee, Sean Burrough’s two-run homer in the top of the ninth plated the winning runs as the San Diego Padres outlasted the Brewers 5-3.
In Los Angeles, Randy Johnson (6-4) tossed 6 1/3 innings of six-hit ball to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 6-3 win over the reeling Dodgers, who lost for the 12th time in 14 outings.
Luis Gonzalez’s 13th homer, a two-run shot, plated the deciding run.
In San Francisco, Marquis Grissom singled to plate two ninth-inning runs and then Barry Bonds homered for the 671st time to score two more as the Giants rallied to edge the Colorado Rockies 4-2 for their seventh straight win.
