NEW YORK, 2 September 2005 — Kevin Millar belted a pair of home runs and David Ortiz went deep for the fifth time in as many games to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 7-6 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Fenway Park on Wednesday.
Doug Mirabelli also homered as the Red Sox overcame a big deficit for the second straight night to seal their fourth straight win and remain clear in the American League East standings ahead of the charging New York Yankees.
A day earlier, the Red Sox had spotted the Devil Rays a 5-0 lead before rallying for victory and found themselves in a similar hole on Wednesday after Carl Crawford and Travis Lee homered in the third to push the visitors 5-1 in front.
Once again the Red Sox rallied, Mirabelli’s solo home run triggering a three-run burst in the fourth to pull Boston within one.
Casey Fossum (8-11) was saddled with the loss, yielding six runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.
In Seattle, Randy Johnson delivered seven scoreless innings while Robinson Cano and Gary Sheffield homered in guiding the New York Yankees to a 2-0 shutout over the Mariners.
Johnson (13-8), a former-Mariner, scattered just three hits while striking out seven with two walks, to claim his second straight decision as New York stayed 2 12 games back of the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox.
Tom Gordon worked a perfect eighth and Mariano Rivera came on in the ninth to get the final three outs to nail down the win and his 35th save of the season.
With the win, the Yankees also stayed top in the AL wild card standings, a game clear of the Los Angeles Angels and 1 1/2 games in front of the Cleveland Indians.
In Anaheim, John Lackey pitched seven shutout innings and Darin Erstad and Maicer Izturis each drove in a run as the Los Angeles Angels pulled out of five-game losing skid with a 2-1 win over the Oakland Athletics.
Lackey (11-5) was brilliant, yielding just three hits while striking out seven and walking four to help put an end to Oakland’s seven game winning run and moved to within one game of the A’s in the battle for the AL West division title.
In Toronto, Bruce Chen tossed eight shutout innings and Miguel Tejada slammed a three-run homer as the Baltimore Orioles dumped the Blue Jays 7-0 to snap a five-game losing streak.
In Arlington, Michael Young and Alfonso Soriano hit two-run homers in the sixth inning to lead the Texas Rangers to a 9-2 rout of the Chicago White Sox. Rod Barajas, David Dellucci and Adrian Gonzalez also homered for the Rangers, who lead the major leagues with 218.
In Kansas City, Emil Brown singled home Denny Hocking in the bottom of the ninth inning to earn the Royals 1-0 decision over the Minnesota Twins.
Phillies Dump Mets to Take Wild Card Lead
Chase Utley belted a pair of home runs in Philadelphia’s 8-2 victory over the New York Mets at Shea Stadium on Wednesday, moving the Phillies back into the lead in the National League wild card race.
Ryan Howard and Mike Lieberthal also added solo shots for Philadelphia, who pulled out of a three-game losing run to edge a half game clear of the Houston Astros and one in front of the Florida Marlins.
Brett Myers (12-6) provided the Phillies with seven solid innings to take credit for the win, allowing just two runs on six hits while striking out seven and walking one.
Mets ace Pedro Martinez (13-6) was tagged with the loss after surrendering five runs on eight hits in seven innings. The four home runs the righthander served up matched a career high. The Phillies spotted the Mets a 2-0 lead before Howard homered in the fourth and Utley went deep in the sixth to tie the game at 2-2.
In Miami, Hector Luna belted a two-run homer and drove in three runs while David Eckstein added a solo shot, sparking the St Louis Cardinals to a 10-5 win over the Florida Marlins. Eckstein also drove in three runs and Yadier Molina chipped in with a pair of RBIs to help the Cardinals to their fourth win in five games. Albert Pujols contributed an RBI to give him 100 on the season, becoming just the sixth player in major league history to drive in at least 100 runs in each of his first five seasons.
In Houston, Andy Pettitte turned in seven brilliant scoreless innings while Jason Lane and Jose Vizcaino each smacked two-run homers to lead the Astros to a 10-0 demolition of the Cincinnati Reds.
In Chicago, Derek Lowe tossed a one-hit complete game shutout and Jose Cruz Jr drove in three runs as the Los Angeles Dodgers blanked the Cubs 7-0.
In Milwaukee, rookie Prince Fielder belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Brewers to a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates to snap a three-game losing skid. J.J. Hardy and Rickie Weeks also homered for the Brewers.
In San Francisco, Mike Matheny, Moises Alou, Ray Durham and Todd Linden each hit solo home runs to lead the Giants past the Colorado Rockies 5-3, notching their fourth win in five games.
In San Diego, Ben Johnson hammered a three-run homer and Dave Roberts added a solo shot as the Padres rolled to a 9-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
In Atlanta, Andruw Jones belted his major league-leading 43rd home run of the season and had five RBIs in powering the Atlanta Braves to a 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals in the first game of doubleheader.
In the nightcap, Preston Wilson had pair of RBIs and Jose Vidro scored twice as the Nationals edged the Braves 4-3 to earn a split of the games.
