May 13, 2008

AL Capsules

By The Associated Press

The Associated Press

Paul Byrd and two Cleveland relievers combined for the Indians' fourth shutout in seven games with a 4-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.

Byrd (2-3) allowed five hits over 7 1-3 innings, striking out seven without a walk.

The right-hander extended the Indians' scoreless streak to 34 innings by their starting staff. The last run allowed by a Cleveland starter came Friday night in the fifth inning against Toronto by C.C. Sabathia _ the only run yielded by an Indians starter in the last 39 innings.

Travis Hafner singled home a first-inning run off Justin Duchscherer (3-2) and Ryan Garko hit a three-run homer off Andrew Brown in the eighth.

Rafael Perez retired the only Oakland batter he faced and Masahide Kobayashi worked the final 1 2-3 innings for his first save. The 33-year-old right-hander, signed as a free agent in November, had 227 saves over the last eight seasons in Japan.

Orioles 5, Red Sox 4

BALTIMORE (AP) _ Luke Scott homered and had three of Baltimore's 11 hits off Josh Beckett, and the Orioles received a fine pitching performance from Jeremy Guthrie in a victory over the Red Sox.

Scott was mired in a 7-for-55 skid before going 3-for-3 against Beckett, who came in 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA in four career starts at Camden Yards. Scott's three-run homer in the third inning put Baltimore ahead 5-3, and the advantage stood up.

Guthrie (2-3) allowed three runs, two earned, and eight hits in six-plus innings.

Beckett (4-3) gave up five runs in 5 2-3 innings.

The Red Sox were without manager Terry Francona, who will miss the two-game series following the death of his mother-in-law. He was replaced by bench coach Brad Mills, now 5-4 when subbing for Francona.

Rays 2, Yankees 1, 11 innings

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) _ Gabe Gross singled with no outs in the 11th inning to drive in the first run Mariano Rivera has allowed all season, giving Tampa Bay a victory over the Yankees and sending the Rays into first place in the AL East.

Cliff Floyd began the 11th with a single and pinch-runner Jonny Gomes stole second before Gross delivered the winner up the middle on a 1-1 pitch. Rivera (0-1) had not allowed a run in 14 previous appearances.

J.P. Howell (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, the Rays' 15th in 20 games. Tampa Bay has won a club-record 11 straight at home and is a half-game ahead of Boston in the AL East after the Red Sox lost 5-4 at Baltimore. It's the first time the Rays have sat alone atop the division standings beyond the first week of a season.

At 23-16, the Rays are seven games over .500 for the first time in the team's 11 seasons. They've finished last nine times in the past decade.

Royals 3, Tigers 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Jose Guillen drove in a pair of runs to help the Royals rally to beat the Tigers.

With the game tied 2-2 in the eighth inning, Guillen doubled with two outs off Francisco Cruceta (0-1). Esteban German ran for Guillen. After Billy Butler walked, Mark Teahen had an infield single, but Edgar Renteria committed a throwing error on a backhanded flip to second base, allowing German to score an unearned run.

Leo Nunez (3-0), the third of four Kansas City pitchers picked up the victory. Joakim Soria worked a perfect ninth to earn his ninth save in as many opportunities. He has yet to give up an earned run.

Blue Jays 5, Twins 3

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Matt Stairs homered and scored twice for the struggling Blue Jays' offense in Toronto's victory over Minnesota.

Lyle Overbay and former Twin Shannon Stewart each had two hits, including RBI-doubles, for the Jays, who scored at least five runs in a game for just the second time in the last 10 games.

Carlos Gomez and Jason Kubel hit solo homers for Minnesota, but reliever Dennys Reyes was charged with his first earned run of the season after a so-so start from Kevin Slowey (0-3), and the Twins lost at home for just the second time in 13 games.

After scoring 27 runs in taking three of four from the Red Sox over the weekend, the Twins took a big step back against Jesse Litsch (5-1) and the Jays.

Rangers 5, Mariners 2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) _ Ramon Vazquez drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly and the surging Rangers beat Seattle.

Vazquez went deep in the 10th inning Monday night to give the Rangers a 13-12 victory over the Mariners in the opener of the three-game series. He finished with two RBIs in the second game as Texas won for the 12th time in 14 games.

Josh Rupe (2-1) allowed one hit in 1 2-3 scoreless innings and Eddie Guardado pitched the ninth for his first save since Aug. 12, 2006, for the Cincinnati Reds.

Felix Hernandez (2-4) gave up three runs and six hits in six innings.