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NEW YORK - Kevin Brown was angry.
He had pitched seven shutout innings before giving up Scott Spiezio's home run, and Yankees manager Joe Torre removed him after a two-out single in the eighth. The crowd of 54,732 responded with a standing ovation as Brown walked off the mound and, finally, as he approached the dugout, he responded with a tip of his cap.
While most of the Yankees concentrated on the positives of Sunday's 2-1 win over the Mariners, which gave Brown a 5-0 start for the first time since 1990 with Texas, he chose to dwell on his mistakes.
"I don't know if they can understand," he said. "I feel like I've given them a chance to get back into the game. I'm pretty irritated at myself. At that point in time, I'm not so sure I'm worthy of that kind of appreciation. I'm too busy kicking myself."
While Brown gave the bullpen a rest for most of the sunny afternoon following New York's 13-inning loss Saturday, backups John Flaherty and Tony Clark drove in the runs. The Yankees, who have won 14 of 18, moved back into the East lead, a half-game ahead of Boston.
BLUE JAYS 3, RED SOX 1: Roy Halladay outpitched Pedro Martinez after losing their first two matchups this season, and Carlos Delgado hit a two-run homer for host Toronto, which gained a split of the four-game series. Halladay (4-4) worked seven strong innings, allowing one run and six hits - all singles - while striking out six and walking two. Martinez (4-3) gave up three runs and six hits in seven innings.
ORIOLES 4, ANGELS 0: Sidney Ponson pitched a five-hitter to end a run of four poor starts, and host Baltimore snapped a three-game losing streak. Jerry Hairston drove in two runs, and Javy Lopez had three hits for the Orioles. Ponson (3-3) retired 19 of the final 21 batters. He struck out four and walked one in his second complete game of the season. Former Seminole High star Casey Kotchman had two hits for the Angels.
TIGERS 3, RANGERS 1: Jason Johnson (2-5) pitched five strong innings before leaving with a blister, and three relievers combined to throw four shutout innings for host Detroit. Omar Infante homered, and Alex Sanchez had three hits for the Tigers.
WHITE SOX 11, TWINS 0: Jose Valentin and Joe Crede homered to back Mark Buehrle's solid pitching performance, and host Chicago avoided a three-game sweep. Buehrle (3-1) allowed seven hits and struck out seven in 62/3 innings to improve to 11-4 against the Twins.
ATHLETICS 6, ROYALS 2: Bobby Crosby had a homer among his three hits and drove in two runs, and Erubiel Durazo also homered for visiting Oakland, which gained its first sweep of the season. Oakland left-hander Barry Zito (3-3) gave up Joe Randa's two-run triple in the first inning but recovered to pitch through the sixth.