Friday American League Capsules.
NY YANKEES 2, TORONTO 1
BRONX, New York It may be too little, too late, but Carl Pavano is making a contribution to the New York Yankees.
Pavano pitched six strong innings to win his second straight start and Mariano Rivera earned a five-out save as the Yankees edged the Toronto Blue Jays, 2-1, in the opener of a three-game series.
Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi drove in fourth-inning runs for the Yankees, who defeated A.J. Burnett for the first time in four tries this season. However, New York (72-62) remained six games behind Boston (78-56) in the American League wild card race, as the Red Sox defeated the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
Pavano (2-0) made his second start of the season and 21st overall for the Yankees since signing a four-year, $39.95 million contract prior to the 2005 season. A litany of injuries, however, has prevented New York from getting a reasonable return on their investment.
Last weekend, Pavano defeated the Baltimore Orioles, tossing five effective innings for his first victory since April 2007. The 32-year-old righthander was even better in a 72-pitch effort on Friday night, allowing one run and three hits in six frames with one walk and one strikeout.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi then went liberally with his bullpen to protect a 2-1 lead, using in five relievers – including Rivera, who entered with runners on first and second and one out in the eighth.
Rivera got Joe Inglett to ground into a forceout and struck out Marco Scutaro to end the inning. The closer extended his streak to 27 at-bats without allowing a hit before Vernon Wells singled with one out in the ninth, then retired the next two batters for his 32nd save in 33 opportunities.
It was Riveras third five-out save of the season.
Burnett (16-10), who had won his previous six decisions, suffered his first loss since July 18 at Tampa Bay.
He dominated the Yankees in three previous wins this season, allowing just four runs in 22 1/3 innings. In this one, the righthander yielded two runs and seven hits with a walk and eight strikeouts en route to his first complete game of the season.
The Yankees scored the only runs Pavano needed in the fourth.
Johnny Damon led off with a single off the right field wall, stole second and scored on an opposite-field double to left by Abreu. Alex Rodriguez delivered an infield single and Giambi drove in the second run with a sacrifice fly.
Inglett opened the game with a single, and Pavano heard a smattering of boos. But the oft-injured starter soon won over the crowd when Inglett was erased on a double play.
The Blue Jays did not get another hit until Travis Snider, who was promoted from the minor leagues prior to the game, doubled to center field in the sixth for his first major league hit. Snider scored on a single by Marco Scutaro that cut the deficit to 2-1.
TAMPA BAY 14, BALTIMORE 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida Scott Kazmir tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings and Ben Zobrist belted a grand slam to highlight a seven-run fourth as the Tampa Bay Rays routed the Baltimore Orioles, 14-3.
Cliff Floyd drove in five runs for the Rays (82-51), who own the best record in the American League and remained 4 1/2 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox (78-56) for first place in the AL East Division.
After Floyds plated two with a double in the fourth, Willy Aybar grounded out and Eric Hinske was walked intentionally, setting the stage for Zobrists game-breaking blast. Gabe Gross followed with a solo shot to cap the scoring in the frame.
It was more than enough support for Kazmir (10-6), who allowed just three hits but was removed after tossing 102 pitches. The lefthander struck out six and walked three to baffle the Orioles, who have lost six of their last seven games.
DETROIT 6, KANSAS CITY 3
DETROIT The Detroit Tigers rallied for six runs in the fifth inning en route to a 6-3 win in the series opener against the Kansas City Royals.
After Marcus Thames reached on an error to start the inning, the Tigers used six hits to score all the runs they needed. Curtis Granderson ripped a two-run triple and Jeff Larish plated two with a single in the decisive frame off Kyle Davies (5-6).
Zach Miner (8-4) allowed one run and six hits in six innings to notch his third straight win and fourth in five decisions since joining the rotation.
Mark Teahen hit his 11th home run of the season and Mike Aviles had two hits and an RBI for Kansas City, which has lost four straight and 12 of 13.
SEATTLE 3, CLEVELAND 2
CLEVELAND After rain delayed the start of the game for 55 minutes, Raul Ibanez and the Seattle Mariners doused the Cleveland Indians winning streak.
Ibanez singled, homered and drove in three runs as the Mariners posted a 3-2 victory, ending the Indians 10-game winning streak.
The Mariners struck in the first inning as Ichiro Suzuki singled, took second on a groundout, stole third and scored on a single by Ibanez.
Yuniesky Betancourt opened the third with a single, and Ibanez followed with his 22nd home run off Jeremy Sowers (2-7).
The Indians plated a run in the third on a groundout by Jamey Carroll and another in the fourth on a double by Shin-Soo Choo but could not get the equalizer.
Felix Hernandez (9-8) pitched six innings, allowing six hits while walking four and striking out seven. Roy Corcoran tossed two scoreless innings and J.J. Putz worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 10th save.
BOSTON 8, CHI WHITE SOX 0
BOSTON Daisuke Matsuzaka tossed eight stellar innings and Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay each drove in three runs to lead the Boston Red Sox to an 8-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Matsuzaka allowed two hits and walked two while striking out seven en route to his 16th win – one more than in his 2007 rookie campaign. The Japanese righthander did not allow a hit after the third inning.
The Red Sox broke open a 3-0 game with four runs in the sixth. Youkilis got credit for the first RBI with a bases loaded hit-by-pitch and Bay cleared the bases with a double off the Green Monster to push the advantage to 7-0.
Dustin Pedroia finished 4-for-4 with three runs scored and two stolen bases for the Red Sox, who have won four of five.
LA ANGELS 3, TEXAS 1
ANAHEIM, California Ervin Santana pitched eight masterful innings, leading the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to a 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.
Santana (14-5) completed his standout month, allowing one run and five hits in improving to 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA in six starts. The righthander struck out seven, marking the sixth time in as many outings in August he has reached that total.
Francisco Rodriguez set down the side in order in the ninth to post his 52nd save of the season, just five short of tying Bobby Thigpens single-season record set in 1990.
After Milton Bradley provided the only offense for Texas with an RBI single in the fourth, Garret Anderson sparked a three-run rally in the sixth with a two-run homer off Dustin Nippert (1-4).
Four batters later, Juan Rivera plated the Angels final run with a sacrifice fly.
MINNESOTA 12, OAKLAND 2
OAKLAND, California Joe Mauer collected five hits and drove in four runs and Kevin Slowey pitched six effective innings with 10 strikeouts to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 12-2 rout of the Oakland Athletics.
Justin Morneau finished with four hits and Denard Span and Jason Kubel each drove in a pair of runs for Minnesota (76-59), which moved within one-half game of the Chicago White Sox (76-58) in the American League Central.
Mauer highlighted a six-run rally in the second inning with a two-run base hit. Morneau followed with a run-scoring infield single to cap the outburst and give the Twins a 6-0 advantage.
Slowey (11-8), who won his fourth consecutive decision, gave up two runs and six hits with a walk. He also struck out 12 over seven stellar frames in 13-2 win over the Athletics on August 19.
