A-Rod passes Reggie, Yankees rout Mets 7-1
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The associated press - Published: June 27, 2009
NEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez hit his 564th home run to pass Reggie Jackson on the career list, three errors by Mets infielders led to a four-run second inning and CC Sabathia pitched the Yankees to a 9-1 win Friday night in the first Subway Series game at Citi Field.
Fill-in leadoff batter Brett Gardner had a career-high five hits, including his third home run of the season and a triple. Rodriguez made it 7-1 with a two-run, opposite-field drive in the eighth off reliever Elmer Dessens, into the right-center field bullpens for his 11th homer this season.
Rays 7, Marlins 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — B.J. Upton's three-run double snapped an eighth-inning tie and helped the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Florida Marlins 7-3 Friday night in the opener of a series between the intrastate rivals.
Rangers 12, Padres 2
ARLINGTON, Texas — David Murphy and Hank Blalock homered to pace a suddenly resurgent Texas Rangers offense and Kevin Millwood won his fifth straight decision at home in a 12-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.
Murphy's three-run homer, a towering 404-foot shot into the second deck in right field, put Texas up 6-1 against Walter Silva (0-1), who gave up nine runs in 2 1-3 innings. It was Murphy's third homer in eight games.
Brewers 5, Giants 1
MILWAUKEE — Yovani Gallardo outdueled Matt Cain and Ryan Braun drove in a pair of runs, lifting the Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night.
Slumping shortstop J.J. Hardy homered for the Brewers, who had lost five of their previous six games. It was only the second loss in seven games for the Giants.
Indians 9, Reds 2
CLEVELAND — Jeremy Sowers pitched into the eighth inning for his first win as a starter this season and Ryan Garko hit a two-run homer to lead the Cleveland Indians to just their second win in 10 games, 9-2 over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.
Sowers (2-5), who began the season at Triple-A Columbus, carried a one-hitter into the seventh before the Reds began to make solid contact.
Blue Jays 6, Phillies 1
TORONTO — Ricky Romero held Philadelphia hitless for six innings and Aaron Hill hit a two-run double in the Toronto Blue Jays' 6-1 victory over the slumping Phillies on Friday night.
Orioles 11, Nationals 1
BALTIMORE — Rookie Brad Bergesen allowed four hits in six innings to win his fourth straight decision, Melvin Mora had four RBIs, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Nationals 11-1 on Friday night.
Aubrey Huff drove in three runs, and Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and Nolan Reimold each had three hits for the Orioles, who used an eight-run sixth inning to turn the game into a rout.
Pirates 5, Royals 3
PITTSBURGH — Virgil Vasquez went six innings for his first major league win and the Pittsburgh Pirates got home runs from three unlikely power sources in a 5-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.
Vasquez (1-0), recalled by the Pirates after Thursday's game to make his first start since Aug. 31, 2007, allowed two runs and four hits while striking out seven.
Nyjer Morgan, Jason Jaramillo and Jack Wilson homered for Pittsburgh, which has won three straight since snapping a five-game losing streak. Mark Teahen hit his ninth homer and Miguel Olivo went 2 for 4 with an RBI for the Royals, who have lost seven of nine.
Matt Capps converted his 11th consecutive save opportunity and 17th overall with a shaky ninth.
Cubs 5, White Sox 4
CHICAGO — Geovany Soto hit a three-run homer, Jake Fox went deep again to back another solid start by Randy Wells and the Chicago Cubs broke a four-game losing streak by beating the White Sox 5-4 on Friday.
On a day when things finally went right on the field, there was more controversy for the Cubs. This time, the mercurial Milton Bradley went after the Gatorade cooler in the dugout and had an angry exchange with manager Lou Piniella in the clubhouse after striking out in the top of the sixth. Ryan Freel replaced him in right field in the bottom half.
On the field, the news was better for the Cubs. And helping them turn things around was the man at the center of controversy the previous day.
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