NEW YORK, 22 September 2004 — Torii Hunter and Corey Koskie belted two-run homers in the first inning to help the Minnesota Twins clinch their third straight American League (AL) Central Division title with an 8-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox Monday.
It is the first time in club history the Twins have won three consecutive divisional crowns. But the loss eliminated host Chicago from the AL playoffs.
Henry Blanco and Luis Rivas also homered for the Twins, who received another solid outing from Carlos Silva.
Silva (13-8) allowed two runs on seven hits over seven innings to pick up his third win in a row. Koskie had three RBI for Minnesota, which notched 12 hits in total. Mark Buehrle (14-10) gave up seven runs on 10 hits over eight innings to take the loss.
Chicago’s Jose Valentin cracked a two-run homer off Silva in the seventh inning.
In Boston, BJ Surhoff smacked a grand slam as the Baltimore Orioles dealt the Red Sox’s divisional title hopes a big blow with a 9-6 win.
Melvin Mora also homered for the Orioles. Jason Grimsley (5-6) collected four outs in relief for the victory while Jorge Julio tossed the ninth inning for his 22nd save of the season.
Tim Wakefield (11-10) yielded eight runs, seven earned, on five hits in 4 1/3 innings to take the loss. David Ortiz homered for Boston, still 4 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the AL East.
In New York, Gustavo Chacin pitched seven strong innings for his first major league win, carrying the Toronto Blue Jays past the Yankees 6-3.
Chacin (1-0) allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits over seven-plus innings before Miguel Batista delivered the final two frames for his second save of the season. Russ Adams homered and drove in three runs for Toronto while Alex Rios had two RBI.
Javier Vazquez (14-10) gave up four runs on nine hits over 6 2/3 innings and took the loss. Alex Rodriguez drove in two runs for New York.
In Detroit, Mike Maroth pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings as the Tigers edged the Cleveland Indians 3-1.
Maroth (11-11) surrendered six hits and struck out three batters before Esteban Yan seized the last four outs for his fifth save of the season. Dmitri Young and Brandon Inge homered for Detroit.
Scott Elarton (3-5) allowed three runs on seven hits over five innings to take the loss. Travis Hafner drove in Cleveland’s run with an eighth-inning single.
In St. Petersburg, Calvin Pickering clubbed a two-run homer in the eighth inning to push the Kansas City Royals to a 6-3 triumph over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Brian Anderson (5-11) gave up three runs on seven hits over 7 2/3 innings for the win and Jeremy Affeldt pitched the ninth for his 12th save of the season. Aubrey Huff and Carl Crawford homered for Tampa Bay. Jorge Sosa (4-5) allowed the game-winning homer and took the loss.
In Anaheim, John Lackey pitched six solid innings as the Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 5-2. Lackey (13-12) scattered 10 hits and allowed two runs with seven strikeouts and no walks before Troy Percival claimed the last three outs for his 29th save of the season.
Dallas McPherson had three hits and drove in a run for Anaheim while Chone Figgins stole home in the eighth for the final Anaheim run.
Vladimir Guerrero was hit on the head with a pitch in the first and, although he walked off the field on his own, was taken to hospital for observation.
Ryan Franklin (4-16) allowed four runs on 11 hits in five innings for the loss. Ichiro Suzuki had two hits for the Mariners to give him a total of 238 this season, 19 short of tying George Sisler’s 1920 major league record.
Weathers Wins First Start in Six Years for Marlins
David Weathers pitched five strong innings in his first start for six years, leading the Florida Marlins to a 5-2 win over the Chicago Cubs and a split of their National League (NL) doubleheader in Miami Monday.
The Cubs started the day 1/2 game behind the San Francisco Giants for the NL wild card and ended the doubleheader in the same spot, thanks to a 5-1 triumph in the opener.
Florida are 4 1/2 games out of the wild card, with the defending World Series champions having no contests left with the Cubs, Giants or the other two teams ahead of them (Houston and San Diego) in the race.
Weathers (7-7), pitching for his third team this season, allowed one run on two hits with six strikeouts and two walks. Three relievers finished up, including Armando Benitez, who tossed a scoreless ninth for his 44th save of the season.
Damion Easley homered and drove in four runs in game two for the Marlins, who managed only four hits off five Chicago pitchers.
Matt Clement (9-13) gave up five runs on three hits over 2 1/3 innings, striking out three batters and walking three to take the loss.
Michael Barrett homered for the Cubs while Aramis Ramirez had two of their five hits.
In game one, Mark Prior surrendered five hits over 7 2/3 innings while the Cubs pounded out 16 hits for the victory.
Prior (6-4) struck out nine batters and walked one. Corey Patterson had three hits and drove in two runs for Chicago and Neifi Perez and Jose Macias collected three hits apiece. Carl Pavano (17-7) allowed five runs on 12 hits over six innings, striking out six batters and walking one.
Miguel Cabrera notched three hits for the Marlins and Paul Lo Duca drove in their lone run.
The two teams were forced back to Miami for the doubleheader because of postponements over the Labor Day weekend caused by Hurricane Frances.
In Milwaukee, Albert Pujols, Roger Cedeno and Edgar Renteria picked up RBI singles in the ninth inning to carry the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-4 victory over the Brewers.
Renteria had three of the 13 hits by St. Louis while Pujols claimed two RBI. Julian Tavarez (7-4) recorded one out for the win and Jason Isringhausen pitched the ninth frame for his 43rd save of the season.
Dan Kolb (0-4) was torched for three runs on four hits in 1/3 inning to take the loss. Chris Magruder had two hits and an RBI for the Brewers.
