Royals edge Tampa Bay

Share this: Email | Facebook | X

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - An error by reliever Randy Choate helped Kansas City score twice in the ninth inning, and the Royals held on to beat the first-place Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Friday night.

Evan Longoria nearly won it for the Rays in the bottom of the ninth, but his long drive to left with two on was caught at the wall for a sacrifice fly, and Joakim Soria retired B.J. Upton on a fly ball for his sixth save.

Scott Podsednik reached safely when Choate (0-2) misplayed his comebacker to start the ninth. After Billy Butler singled and Jose Guillen was hit by a pitch from closer Rafael Soriano, Callaspo gave the Royals a 2-1 lead with his sacrifice fly. Maier's RBI single made it 3-1.

Longoria homered and had two RBIs for the Rays, who lost for just the third time in the last 17 games. Tampa Bay ended April with a 17-6 record.

Josh Rupe (1-1) threw a scoreless eighth.

Yankees 6, White Sox 4

NEW YORK (AP) - Derek Jeter hit a tiebreaking two-run triple in the seventh inning and drove in four runs.

Jeter also hit a tying, two-run homer in the fifth for New York, which opened a six-game homestand with its third consecutive win. The All-Star shortstop went 3 for 4 and is batting .538 (7 for 13) in his last three games.

Paul Konerko set a White Sox record with his major league-best 11th homer in April and Gordon Beckham added two hits as Chicago lost for the 12th time in its last 14 games in New York.

With two on and one out in the seventh, Jeter sliced a 2-2 pitch from Matt Thornton (2-2) past diving right fielder Jayson Nix and into the corner. Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner scored easily to give New York a 6-4 lead.

Alfredo Aceves (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh to improve his career record to 13-1 and Mariano Rivera finished for his seventh save in seven tries.

Orioles 5, Red Sox 4, 10 innings

BALTIMORE (AP) - Adam Jones doubled and scored on a two-out single by Miguel Tejada in the 10th inning, giving Baltimore a victory over Boston.

Tejada had three RBIs, including a tying homer in the eighth after Baltimore blew a 3-1 lead.

The win improved the Orioles' home record to 2-8 and ended a seven-game skid against Boston at Camden Yards.

J.D. Drew hit two solo homers and Dustin Pedroia homered and drove in two runs for the Red Sox, whose three-game winning streak ended. The defeat left Boston with its first losing April (11-12) since 1996.

Matt Albers (1-3) pitched a perfect 10th for the Orioles, whose 5-18 record is still the worst in the majors.

Ramon Ramirez (0-1) took the loss after a solid start by John Lackey.

Tigers 10, Angels 6

DETROIT (AP) - Scott Sizemore and Brennan Boesch hit their first career homers in an eight-run fourth inning.

Sizemore's homer, which came one pitch after Gerald Laird's first of the season, tied the game at four. Miguel Cabrera added an RBI single later in the inning before Boesch's grand slam to center field.

A third Tigers rookie, Austin Jackson, went 5 for 5, making him the first Tigers rookie with five hits in a game since the player he replaced, Curtis Granderson, did it on Sept. 18, 2005.

Rick Porcello (2-2) won despite allowing five runs on eight hits in 5 1-3 innings. Joel Pineiro (2-3) gave up a career-high 10 runs in 3 1-3 innings.

Twins 9, Indians 3

CLEVELAND (AP) - Justin Morneau made an instant impact in his return to the Minnesota lineup, launching a two-run homer after missing two games with a stiff back.

The Twins said the injury was unrelated to the stress fracture that kept him out of the final 20 games last season and the playoffs.

After Joe Mauer singled with two outs in the first, Morneau hit a 444-foot homer over the center-field wall against Fausto Carmona (3-1).

Kevin Slowey (3-2), moved up in Minnesota's rotation, pitched five innings for the win. He filled in for Nick Blackburn, who was placed on the family medical emergency list to deal with a personal matter.