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AL: Slumping Tiger leads record-tying romp

Associated Press
Published May 28, 2004

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Carlos Pena and the hard-hitting Detroit Tigers left their mark on the Royals, especially Justin Huisman.

Pena's line drive struck the Royals reliever on the forehead, leaving a clear imprint of the baseball.

Huisman was okay after Pena's single, one of a team record-tying 27 hits by the Tigers in a 17-7 romp Thursday.

"We got so many base hits, I just couldn't believe it," Pena said.

Pena went 6-for-6 with two home runs and five RBIs and shares the club record for hits in a nine-inning game with Ty Cobb and two others.

Pena tied the league record for hits in a nine-inning game, with Alfonso Soriano and Frank Catalanotto also doing it this season.

"Things like this never happen. Very, very seldom do they happen," Pena said.

Pena, a seldom-used first baseman, entered with a .204 average. He had two hits off starter Brian Anderson and two off Huisman and homers off Scott Sullivan and Nate Field.

Detroit also had eight doubles in easily setting the major-league high for hits this season, eclipsing the 23 the White Sox got against Minnesota on May 23.

The Tigers also had the most hits in the majors since Boston got 28 in a 25-8 rout of Florida at Fenway Park last June 27.

"What a day!" Detroit manager Alan Trammell said. "To me, that just sums it up."

The hits - eight doubles, 17 singles and Pena's home runs - tied the team record set Sept. 29, 1928, against the Yankees.

YANKEES 18, ORIOLES 5: Alex Rodriguez homered and Hideki Matsui had two hits during an eight-run fifth, and visiting New York completed a three-game sweep.

Enrique Wilson homered and drove in four and Tony Clark also had four RBIs for the Yankees, who outscored the Orioles 41-17 in the series. New York scored at least 41 in a three-game series for the fourth time in franchise history.

The devastation took place at the expense of former Yankees first-base coach Lee Mazzilli, a rookie manager with Baltimore.

Miguel Tejada, Rafael Palmeiro and Jose Leon homered for the Orioles, who have lost seven straight.

New York, which visits the Devil Rays for a three-game series starting tonight, trailed 3-0 before getting nine hits in its most productive inning of the season. The Yankees last scored as many as eight in an inning on May 8, 2003, when they put up 10 in the third at Seattle.

A'S 15, RED SOX 2: Eric Chavez and Scott Hatteberg homered to lead visiting Oakland's best offensive game of the season.

Mark Mulder had his streak of three complete games snapped, allowing two runs on four hits and issuing a career-high seven walks in 52/3 innings. He struck out four.

The Athletics scored three in the first and second and six in the fourth, when they had a homer, four doubles and a single.

BLUE JAYS 3, ANGELS 2: Roy Halladay took a three-hit shutout into the ninth and host Toronto completed a three-game sweep.

Halladay outpitched Jarrod Washburn, who failed to become the majors' first eight-game winner.

After Chone Figgins hit a bunt single in the first, Vladimir Guerrero followed with a single. Halladay retired 19 straight before David Eckstein's single leading off the ninth.

WHITE SOX 9, RANGERS 0: Mark Buehrle scattered nine hits over seven innings and Juan Uribe homered twice as host Chicago shut out Texas for the second straight game.

INDIANS 9, MARINERS 5: Jake Westbrook got spotted a big lead and Cleveland's brutal bullpen didn't give it all back as the host Indians ended their season-high skid at seven.

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