AL: Rangers hit two homers in ninth, nip Seattle 7-6

By wire services
Published April 10, 2005

SEATTLE - Hank Blalock and Richard Hidalgo hit two-run homers in the ninth for Texas in a 7-6 win over Seattle on Saturday.

Activated off the disabled list before the game, Pedro Astacio shut down Seattle for seven innings in his Rangers debut, allowing two runs and six hits. Brian Shouse couldn't hold the lead, though.

Wilson Valdez and Ichiro Suzuki led off the eighth with singles. Jeremy Reed bunted, but Shouse's throw was in the baseline and knocked loose when Reed and Alfonso Soriano collided. Valdez scored to tie it at 3. Adrian Beltre's single made it 4-3, and Bret Boone added a two-run single.

Seattle's Eddie Guardado also couldn't hold a lead. With one out, Soriano reached on Boone's error. Blalock followed with a homer. Michael Young singled. An out later, Hidalgo homered.

Seattle got men on first and third with two outs in the ninth, but Francisco Cordero got Beltre to fly out to center.

YANKEES 8, ORIOLES 5: Host New York ralled with five in the seventh, capped by Ruben Sierra's three-run homer, to get Randy Johnson off the hook.

Johnson gave up five runs (four earned) six days after beating Boston 9-2. He hit a batter and walked Chris Gomez with the bases loaded in the fourth, when the Orioles sent nine hitters to the plate for a 5-1 lead.

Gary Sheffield's two-out single in the seventh made it 5-4. Steve Kline came on to face Hideki Matsui, who hit a high popup down the leftfield line. Shortstop Miguel Tejada couldn't get under it, and it dropped for a ground-rule double to score Derek Jeter. Sierra hit the next pitch over the leftfield fence.

BLUE JAYS 12, RED SOX 5: Gregg Zaun's grand slam capped a six-run eighth for host Toronto. Vernon Wells, Corey Koskie and Shea Hillenbrand hit consecutive homers off David Wells in the third to give Toronto a 5-1 lead.

After Boston tied it at 5, Frank Catalanotto's pinch-hit single in the seventh gave Toronto the lead again. In the eighth, Toronto loaded the bases on Wells' single, Koskie's walk and Hillenbrand's single. Blaine Neal hit Eric Hinske with a pitch for one run. Alex Rio's infield single scored another, and Zaun hit a shot over the rightfield fence.

WHITE SOX 8, TWINS 5: Carl Everett, Timo Perez and Paul Konerko homered for visiting Chicago. Sent home with the flu Friday, Chicago's Jon Garland wasn't sure if he would start. But he went six innings, allowing 10 hits and three runs without a walk. White Sox starters are 3-0 with a 1.91 ERA in 33 innings.

Everett's homer made it 2-0 in the first. Perez's homer, an upper-deck shot to lead off the seventh, gave Chicago a 4-3 lead. After three more runs in the seventh, Konerko's homer in the eighth made it 8-4.

TIGERS 11, INDIANS 1: Marcus Thames hit a grand slam and Brandon Inge just missed the cycle for host Detroit. Inge tripled, doubled and singled in his first three at-bats but flew out in the seventh.

Up 3-0, Detroit loaded the bases in the third. Craig Monroe grounded to short, but second baseman Ronnie Belliard dropped Jhonny Peralta's toss for a run. Then Thames, called up from Triple A on Saturday morning, made it 8-0 with his second grand slam.

ANGELS 8, ROYALS 3: Host Los Angeles scored four unearned runs. It scored five in the fourth to lead 7-1.

With Bengie Molina on first, Maicer Izturis hit a grounder to third. But second baseman Ruben Gotay failed to tag second, and his relay to first was late. Chone Figgins and Darin Erstad followed with run-scoring singles.

Vladimir Guerrero drove in two with a two-out single, and Garret Anderson capped the rally with a two-run double over centerfielder David DeJesus' head.

[Last modified April 10, 2005, 01:30:03]