NEW YORK, 22 May 2005 — Hideki Matsui had two hits and drove in a pair of runs and Kevin Brown pitched five good innings as the New York Yankees opened Interleague play with a 5-2 win over the New York Mets Friday night at Shea Stadium.
The Yankees took advantage of errors by Kaz Matsui and Doug Mientkiewicz to score two runs in the sixth inning to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Brown (3-4) allowed one unearned run on three hits, striking out five and walking four. Four relievers completed the five-hitter, including Mariano Rivera, who pitched a scoreless ninth for his eighth save. Tino Martinez, Robinson Cano and Ruben Sierra drove in the other Yankees’ runs as Joe Torre’s team won for the 11th time in 12 games.
In other Interleague play, Freddy Garcia pitched seven strong innings as the White Sox beat the Cubs 5-1 in Chicago.
Garcia (4-3) allowed one run on five hits, walked one and struck out three. Joe Crede and Jermaine Dye homered. Greg Maddux (2-2) pitched seven innings, allowing three earned runs on nine hits and walking one for the loss. Jerry Hairston Jr. drove in lone Sox run.
In Toronto, Vernon Wells homered twice as the Blue Jays beat the Washington Nationals 6-1. Ted Lilly (2-4) pitched six innings, allowing one run on five hits and walking eight. Pete Walker pitched three innings for his first save.
In Boston, Bill Mueller homered and drove in two runs as the Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3. Wade Miller (1-0) pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits, walking two and striking out five for the win. Keith Foulke pitched one inning for his 11th save and Jason Varitek homered for the Red Sox.
In Detroit, Brandon Webb pitched eight solid innings as the Arizona Diamonbacks beat the Tigers 6-2. Webb (6-0) allowed two runs on eight hits, walked one and struck out eight. Brian Bruney pitched one inning for his fourth save. Craig Counsell had four hits and drove in two runs.
In Cincinnati, Aaron Harang pitched 7 1/3 strong innings as the Reds beat the Cleveland Indians 2-1. Harang (3-2) allowed one run on four hits, striking out nine and walking two. Danny Graves pitched 1 1/3 innings for his 10th save and Felipe Lopez and Adam Dunn homered for the Reds.
In Baltimore, Chase Utley homered and drove in three runs as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Orioles 9-3. Randy Wolf (3-4) pitched six innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits striking out six and walking two. Pat Burrell drove in two runs for the Phillies.
In Miami, Mike Lowell had two hits and drove in three runs as the Florida Marlins beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7-6. Al Leiter (2-4) pitched five innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walking two and striking out two. Todd Jones pitched one inning for his fourth save and Paul Lo Duca drove in three runs for the Marlins.
In Arlington, Kenny Rogers pitched eight strong innings as the Rangers beat the Astros 7-3. Rogers (5-2) allowed three runs on 10 hits, walked two and struck out one. Laynce Nix homered and drove in six runs.
In Minneapolis, Carlos Silva pitched a five-hitter as the Minnesota Twins beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-1. Silva (3-2) allowed one run and struck out five. Juan Castro homered. Gary Glover (2-3) pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and walking one for the loss. Damian Miller homered for the Brewers.
In Kansas City, John Mabry hit a grand slam and drove in two more runs as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Royals 7-6. Mark Mulder (6-1) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking five and striking out two. Jason Isringhausen pitched one inning for his 10th save.
Mackowiak, Lawton Pace Pirates to Easy Win Over Rockies
In Pittsburgh, Rob Mackowiak hit a three-run home run and Matt Lawton homered and drove in three runs as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 9-4 in the sole game played in the National League.
The Pirates scored six runs in the seventh inning to snap a two-game losing streak, both of them coming in extra innings.
