Rays/MLB

AL roundup

By TIMES WIRES
Published April 27, 2006

A'S 6 RANGERS 4 (10): ARLINGTON, Texas - Kevin Mench set a Texas record by homering in his sixth straight game. His grand slam didn't matter because Francisco Cordero set a more dubious mark.

Cordero blew his third straight save chance - the second in less than 24 hours, and fifth already this season - when Dan Johnson led off the ninth inning for Oakland with a home run. Jay Payton then had a two-run single in the 10th to give the Athletics a victory.

"We know he's going through some struggles right now. That's just the way this game is," Mench said of Cordero. "We know he's going to bounce back."

The fifth blown save set a major league record for April, and the team record for any month of a season. That matches the number of blown chances Cordero had in all of 2004, when the hard-throwing right-hander set a Rangers record with 49 saves.

"It just seems like every time, it's just one pitch," said Cordero, who has three saves.

Texas led 4-3 until Johnson's first homer, a 410-foot shot into the Rangers bullpen in right-center field. Cordero said it was a fastball that stayed over the middle of the plate for Johnson, who was hitting only .130.

"A guy who's gotten off to a fairly rotten start ends up tying the game, and Jay Payton got his first RBIs of the season at a time when they were big," manager Ken Macha said.

"It's a pretty big win there, particularly when your pitcher goes down in the middle of the game, and they jump off to a pretty good lead."

Frank Thomas and Bobby Crosby also homered for the A's, who have won only five of their last 15 games.

A's starter Rich Harden left the game early with back spasms. Macha said Harden would return to Oakland today for an MRI.

NOTABLE: Mench's shot was his second grand slam in his homer streak, and the third of his career. He has 20 RBIs this season, all in the last seven games.

QUOTABLE: "I guess it's something special. I'm just having fun with it." - Mench

A'S 6 RANGERS 4 (10): ARLINGTON, Texas - Kevin Mench set a Texas record by homering in his sixth straight game. His grand slam didn't matter because Francisco Cordero set a more dubious mark.

Cordero blew his third straight save chance - the second in less than 24 hours, and fifth already this season - when Dan Johnson led off the ninth inning for Oakland with a home run. Jay Payton then had a two-run single in the 10th to give the Athletics a victory.

"We know he's going through some struggles right now. That's just the way this game is," Mench said of Cordero. "We know he's going to bounce back."

The fifth blown save set a major league record for April, and the team record for any month of a season. That matches the number of blown chances Cordero had in all of 2004, when the hard-throwing right-hander set a Rangers record with 49 saves.

"It just seems like every time, it's just one pitch," said Cordero, who has three saves.

Texas led 4-3 until Johnson's first homer, a 410-foot shot into the Rangers bullpen in right-center field. Cordero said it was a fastball that stayed over the middle of the plate for Johnson, who was hitting only .130.

"A guy who's gotten off to a fairly rotten start ends up tying the game, and Jay Payton got his first RBIs of the season at a time when they were big," manager Ken Macha said.

"It's a pretty big win there, particularly when your pitcher goes down in the middle of the game, and they jump off to a pretty good lead."

Frank Thomas and Bobby Crosby also homered for the A's, who have won only five of their last 15 games.

A's starter Rich Harden left the game early with back spasms. Macha said Harden would return to Oakland today for an MRI.

NOTABLE: Mench's shot was his second grand slam in his homer streak, and the third of his career. He has 20 RBIs this season, all in the last seven games.

QUOTABLE: "I guess it's something special. I'm just having fun with it." - Mench

BLUE JAYS 8 ORIOLES 2: TORONTO - Vernon Wells homered twice and Alex Rios had three hits to lead Toronto.

Rios hit his sixth home run, a two-run shot off Erik Bedard, in the sixth. Wells followed with his first homer of the game off Sendy Rleal to give Toronto a 6-2 lead.

Rios is platooning with Eric Hinske in right field, but he's making it hard for Blue Jays manager John Gibbons to keep him on the bench.

Rios went 3-for-4 with a walk, raising his average to .396. He didn't hit his sixth home run last year until August 8. He finished with 10 after hitting just one in his rookie season.

Rios also was credited with a stolen base in the eighth despite almost being picked off first.

Wells followed Rios' steal with his ninth homer of the season, giving Toronto a 8-2 lead. The Blue Jays have won four of five.

NOTABLE: Wells went 3-for-5, raising his average to .400. He has three multihomer games this season and 12 in his career. His eight home runs match his career high for a month, done twice previously.

INDIANS 7 RED SOX 1: CLEVELAND - Cliff Lee gave Cleveland's banged-up bullpen some needed rest, and Jhonny Peralta hit a three-run homer to give the Indians a win for just the fifth time in 14 games.

The left-hander's quality start was only the second in eight games for Cleveland's staff, which has three relievers on the disabled list and is still waiting for ace C.C. Sabathia to get back from the DL.

Lee was aided by two double plays and he worked out of trouble in the third and sixth innings. Jason Davis pitched two scoreless inning and Bob Wickman finished up the five-hitter.

Wily Mo Pena homered for Boston, which lost for the first time in seven games at Jacobs Field.

The Indians took a 3-0 lead in the first on Peralta's homer off Tim Wakefield, and they were also helped by four passed balls charged to Boston's Josh Bard, who spent the night chasing pitches back to the screen.

NOTABLE: Wakefield's knuckler has been giving Bard fits all year. He has 10 passed balls already, one more than Bard had in his first four major league seasons combined.

ANGELS 4 TIGERS 0: ANAHEIM, Calif. - While Bartolo Colon is on the disabled list, Los Angeles is getting by fine without its ace.

John Lackey allowed one hit over eight innings, Vladimir Guerrero hit a two-run homer and the Angels defeated Detroit for their second shutout in three games.

"It's big for us," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said. "These guys have to pitch deep into a game to give us a chance to win, and you couldn't ask for a better job than John gave us."

The Angels took two of three from Detroit and have won five of their last six series, also beating the Yankees, Rangers, Twins and Athletics.

NOTABLE: Mark Maroth had his streak of 191/3 scoreless innings stopped in the third, when the Angels scored three runs.

With two outs, Garret Anderson lined a single to left field, scoring Orlando Cabrera, who had singled and taken second on an error by shortstop Carlos Guillen.

QUOTABLE: "Our bullpen has been lights out. That part has to stay the same until our hitting gets its feet on the ground and gets our offense going," - Scioscia

ROYALS 3 TWINS 1: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Banished to the minors at the start of the season for being overweight, Runelvys Hernandez allowed two runners in seven innings to lead Kansas City.

The 6-foot-1 right-hander reported to spring training at 280 pounds, and the team said he has dropped 17 since. Kansas City decided on March 27 that he should go on the disabled list and report to Triple-A Omaha for a rehabilitation assignment after he allowed nine runs in 12 spring-training innings with five homers and 10 walks.

Shannon Stewart singled leading off the game, and Hernandez then retired 13 straight until Justin Morneau homered in the fifth. Hernandez struck out one and walked none, throwing 53 of 82 pitches for strikes.

Kansas City went ahead in the fourth when Mark Grudzielanek tripled leading off and scored on an infield grounder by Reggie Sanders, who stranded eight runners Tuesday night, when the Royals left on 14.

Morneau's homer snapped an 0-for-19 slump.

NOTABLE: Hernandez was 1-2 with a 10.67 ERA at Triple-A before the Royals brought him back this week, and he came through with just the second win of the year for a Kansas City starter.

[Last modified April 27, 2006, 03:01:32]