NEW YORK, 22 June 2004 — Robert Fick drove in the winning run with an RBI triple to help the Tampa Bay Devil Rays claim their franchise-record 11th straight victory, edging the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 in Interleague play on Sunday.
Mark Hendrickson (5-5) allowed one run on five hits over six innings in Phoenix as the surging Devil Rays completed a three-game sweep of the hosts Diamondbacks.
Tampa Bay, in third position in the American League East, has never before been so high this late in the season. Fick’s third-inning triple scored Carl Crawford with the game-winning run. The duo both had two hits while Crawford also scored twice. Rocco Baldelli drove in the other Tampa run with a sacrifice fly in the first. Jesus Colome picked up the final five outs to seize his second save of the season.
Brandon Webb (3-7) allowed two runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings to take the loss for the D-Backs. Tim Olson had two hits for Arizona.
In San Francisco, Jason Schmidt tossed a complete game one-hit shutout to win his ninth successive decision as the Giants blanked the Boston Red Sox 4-0. Edgardo Alfonzo notched a grand slam homer in the seventh inning to account for the only runs. Schmidt (9-2) struck out nine batters and walked two to pitch his 15th career shutout and second one-hitter this season.
In San Diego, Miguel Batista tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 3-0 triumph over the Padres. Orlando Hudson homered and drove in two runs for Toronto.
In Montreal, Orlando Cabrera clubbed a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Expos a 4-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.
In Atlanta, Jason Davis pitched seven solid innings and also picked up his first major league homer to power the Cleveland Indians to a 5-2 victory over the Braves.
In New York, Richard Hidalgo and Mike Piazza homered as the Mets thumped the Detroit Tigers 6-1. It was Hidalgo’s first hit for New York since being acquired from the Houston Astros.
In Philadelphia, Jim Thome belted a pair of two-run homers to carry the Phillies to an 8-2 drubbing of the Kansas City Royals.
Thome drove in five runs, giving him 50 RBI and 23 homers this season. Jimmy Rollins added an inside-the-park home run for Philadelphia.
In Pittsburgh, Randy Winn had two hits and an RBI and Freddy Garcia pitched six strong innings to steer the Seattle Mariners to their fourth straight victory, 5-4 over the Pirates.
In Milwaukee, Johan Santana struck out 12 batters in eight innings and drove in a run as the Minnesota Twins beat the Brewers 4-2. Torii Hunter added a two-run double for Minnesota.
In Houston, Wade Miller pitched seven solid innings to nudge the Astros past the Anaheim Angels 3-1. Eric Bruntlett recorded his first homer of the season for Houston. Angels starter Jarrod Washburn is listed day-to-day after leaving following two innings with neck and back spasms.
In Chicago, Moises Alou cracked a two-run homer to spark the Cubs to a 5-3 triumph over the Oakland Athletics.
In Denver, Brian Roberts stroked a grand slam homer with two outs in the ninth inning as the Baltimore Orioles overcame the Colorado Rockies 4-2.
In Miami, Hank Blalock hit a two-run homer in the top of the 11th inning to hand the Texas Rangers a 4-2 victory over the Florida Marlins.
In Los Angeles, Shawn Green homered and Dave Roberts had two hits and two RBI as the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 5-4.
