NEW YORK, 19 September 2004 — Johnny Damon drove in the winning run with a bloop single in the top of the ninth inning as the Boston Red Sox rallied to edge the New York Yankees 3-2 in an American League East showdown at Yankee Stadium on Friday.
Boston scored twice in the top of the ninth inning off closer Mariano Rivera to pull within 2 1/2 games of the first place Yankees in the East. The Red Sox trailed New York by 10 1/2 games on Aug. 15 and are 25-5 since then.
Trailing 2-1, the Red Sox managed two runs off Rivera in the ninth, the first coming on an RBI single by Orlando Cabrera. Damon homered for Boston’s other run in the third inning off starter Orlando Hernandez, who did not return after one of the rain delays.
In other games, Larry Bigbie drove in seven runs to lead the Baltimore Orioles to an 11-2 romp over the Minnesota Twins. Bigbie had a three-run homer, a three-run double and an RBI double while Rafael Palmeiro hit his 548th career home run, tying him with Mike Schmidt for 10th place on the all-time list.
In Chicago, Carlos Pena homered in the top of the 10th inning to give the Detroit Tigers a wild 11-10 win over the White Sox. Omar Infante hit two home runs for the Tigers, while Craig Monroe, Bobby Higginson and Dmitri Young also homered for Detroit.
Aubrey Huff homered and had three hits as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11-4. B.J. Upton hit a three-run homer and Julio Lugo and Tino Martinez both drove in two runs for the Devil Rays, who moved four games ahead of Toronto for fourth place in the AL East. Doug Waechter (4-7) allowed four runs on four hits in 6 2/3 innings for the win.
In Cleveland, Abraham Nunez hit an inside-the-park home run when Jody Gerut injured his right knee in right field, helping the Kansas City Royals to a 6-4 win over the Indians. Mike Wood (3-7) allowed three runs on five hits over six innings for the win, David DeJesus drove in three runs and Jeremy Affeldt pitched the ninth for his 11th save.
In Anaheim, Vladimir Guerrero hit a pair of home runs to lead the Angels to a 9-5 win over the Texas Rangers. Troy Glaus and Jose Guillen also homered for the Angels, who moved to within a game of first place in the AL West behind Oakland. Bartolo Colon (16-11) allowed three runs on three hits in seven innings for the win. Greg Dobbs hit a three-run double to key a five-run seventh inning, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 6-3 win over the Oakland Athletics.
Jones Leads Braves Closer to Division Title
Chipper Jones hit a three-run homer and J.D. Drew also went deep as the Atlanta Braves continued to close in on another division title with an 8-1 win over the Florida Marlins in Miami on Friday.
The Braves increased their lead in the NL East to 8 1/2 games over the Marlins and reduced their magic number to eight to win their 13th consecutive division title.
Paul Byrd (8-5) allowed one run on nine hits over five innings to pick up the win, starting on three days rest for the first time this season. Adam LaRoche had three hits and drove in two runs and Marcus Giles also had three hits for the Braves, who had 11 hits off five Florida pitchers.
In other games, Derek Lee homered and drove in five runs, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 12-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Carlos Zambrano (14-8) allowed one run on six hits over seven innings with five strikeouts and three walks for the win and also hit his third career homer.
In Houston, Roy Oswalt pitched seven strong innings before leaving with a rib injury as the Astros edged the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1. Oswalt (18-9) allowed one run on eight hits and Brad Lidge finished up for his 23rd save. Mike Lamb drove in the winning run with a seventh inning home run.
Tony Batista’s two-run single keyed a five-run ninth inning, leading the Montreal Expos to a 12-8 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Batista had three RBI in the game, giving him 100 on the season. Juan Rivera homered and drove in three runs for the Expos and Luis Ayala (6-11) allowed one run on one hit in two innings for the win.
Barry Bonds hit his 700th career home run as the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres 4-1. Bonds drilled an 0-1 pitch from Jake Peavy into the left field stands for his 42nd homer of the season, joining Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) as the only two players to hit 700 career home runs.
Noah Lowry (5-0) pitched 6 2/3 strong innings for the win, allowing one run on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks for the win. Dustin Hermanson got the last three outs for his 14th save.
In St Louis, Jim Edmonds tripled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning, leading the Cardinals to a 4-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mike Matheny and John Mabry both homered for the Cardinals, who won for just the fourth time in 10 games.
Cesar Izturis hit a two-run double in the top of the 10th inning, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers an 8-6 win over the Colorado Rockies. Izturis had three hits and three RBI and Shawn Green and Milton Bradley homered for the Dodgers, who trailed 6-1 after two innings. Eric Gagne (7-3) pitched two scoreless innings for the win.
