AL: Johnson propels Yanks into first

NEW YORK - The Yankees were headed up the tunnel to their clubhouse after Randy Johnson, Mariano Rivera and Matt Lawton combined with some great defense to beat the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 Wednesday night.

That's when manager Joe Torre heard the crowd roar.

The scoreboard flashed that the Devil Rays had taken an eighth-inning lead against Boston. For the third night this season, the Yankees went to bed with the East lead.

"I thought Randy went back out there for a curtain call," former Rays catcher John Flaherty said.

Johnson held the Orioles to three hits in eight innings in his first start since a second-inning ejection last week, and Lawton broke out of a long slump with a two-run homer in the second off Rodrigo Lopez.

The Yankees moved a half-game ahead of Boston. New York had led the division twice, after an opening-night win over the Red Sox and a July 18 victory at Texas.

The Yankees, a season-high 25 games over .500, were nine games out of first in early May after an 11-19 start and trailed by four Sept. 10. Seeking their eighth straight East title, they lead with 11 games to go.

"We got to where we want to be, but it doesn't change the focus of this team at all," Flaherty said. "This is going to be a grind all the way out."

Friday night at Toronto, Johnson was ejected in the second for repeatedly complaining about the calls of plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth. He didn't get into it with Wednesday's plate umpire, Larry Vanover, but the left-hander did motion with both hands at first-base umpire Randy Marsh when he didn't get a check-swing call on Miguel Tejada in the fourth, mimicking a swing.

"I just was focused. I was not going to get all worked up about stuff," Johnson said.

CHICAGO - Cleveland's chase of the White Sox got a big boost from 6-foot-8 Scott Elarton and powerful Travis Hafner. Now the Indians are only 21/2 games behind first-place Chicago in the Central again.

Elarton pitched five-hit ball into the eighth and Hafner homered twice, leading the Indians to an 8-0 victory over the White Sox. Cleveland took two of three in the series, helped by Hafner's four home runs.

The Indians, who trailed by 15 Aug. 1, won for the 14th time in 16 tries and bounced back from a 10-inning loss Tuesday night when Joe Crede hit a winning homer.

Hafner, who has homered in four straight games, hit a long three-run shot to center off Jon Garland in the eighth to quiet a loud sellout crowd 36,543. He added a two-run shot off Jeff Bajenaru in the ninth, giving him a career-high 30 and 100 RBIs.

TWINS 10, A'S 4: Michael Cuddyer homered, hit three doubles and drove in four as visiting Minnesota snapped a three-game losing streak. Cuddyer finished with a career-high four hits. He followed his homer in the second with three doubles for his third career four-RBI game.

MARINERS 3, BLUE JAYS 2: Rookie phenom Felix Hernandez took a no-hit bid into the seventh for visiting Seattle before giving up a questionable single, a one-out liner by Corey Koskie that glanced off shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt's glove.

ROYALS 4, TIGERS 3: Pinch-hitter Denny Hocking's two-out, two-run single in the ninth gave host Kansas City its first four-game sweep in six years.

[Last modified September 22, 2005, 01:20:03]