Yovani Gallardo and Tommy Hanson dueled nearly to a draw on the mound. It was Gallardo's bat that proved to be the difference. Gallardo's single bounced over Chipper Jones at third base to drive in the only run Milwaukee needed off the previously unbeaten Hanson in the Brewers' 4-0 win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night.
Royals manager Trey Hillman approached closer Joakim Soria during batting practice to run an idea past him. With the team mired in a 10-game losing streak and the bullpen failing almost every night, he might need to get six outs instead of three. After the way Luke Hochevar pitched, there wasn't any doubt.
Jon Lester on the mound and the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park were the perfect mix for the Boston Red Sox. David Ortiz jump-started Boston's sluggish offense with a three-run homer, Adam LaRoche added a two-run shot in his Red Sox debut and Lester worked into the eighth inning in a 7-2 win over the struggling Orioles on Saturday night.
Gary Sheffield is headed to the disabled list with a strained right hamstring, adding to the rash of substantial injuries that has wrecked the New York Mets' season. The Mets placed Sheffield on the 15-day DL and recalled left-hander Jonathon Niese from Triple-A Buffalo to start Saturday night against Houston.
Chone Figgins and Maicer Izturis are normally the table-setters for the Los Angeles Angels. Against the Minnesota Twins, they looked as though they belonged in the middle of the lineup. Figgins and Izturis both homered during a nine-run outburst in the fourth inning, and the AL West leaders extended their winning streak to a season-high eight games Saturday with an 11-5 victory over the faltering…
Jimmy Rollins was hidden behind a throng of reporters and cameras when Shane Victorino entered the clubhouse. "Can you stand up and talk? I can't see you," said Victorino, only an inch taller than the 5-foot-8 Rollins. For a little guy, Rollins can drive the ball a long way. Rollins hit a go-ahead grand slam and had a career-high five RBIs, Victorino went 4 for 4 with a homer and the…
Jeremy Sowers jumped back into the Cleveland Indians' rotation after a stint in the minors and pitched his best game of the season. Sowers, recalled from Triple-A before the game, pitched seven scoreless innings, Asdrubal Cabrera homered, drove in two runs and scored three times and the Indians beat Seattle Mariners 10-3 on Saturday.
The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox with bouncers and dribblers, and the victory wasn't any less satisfying. Detroit tied the game against Bobby Jenks in the ninth inning, then won it 4-3 off D.J. Carrasco in the 10th — all without hitting a single ball hard. That was certainly true of Carlos Guillen's winning single — a slow bouncer up the middle that just eluded White Sox…
Gio Gonzalez wasn't around to see Landon Powell and the Oakland offense finally come alive. The Athletics starter was in a tunnel deep inside Yankee Stadium, escaping the heat between innings on a warm Saturday afternoon. The young left-hander had to rely on groans from the crowd to know when the A's finally broke through, taking advantage of a debatable decision by New York manager Joe…
The Tampa Bay Rays refused to quit. Jason Bartlett hit an RBI double in the 12th inning, capping the biggest comeback in Tampa Bay history, and the Rays erased an eight-run deficit to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-9 on Saturday. "That was a great game for us," Rays slugger Carlos Pena said. "It's an incredible boost to our confidence." Down 8-0 after four, Tampa Bay cut it to…
