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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   ADDITIONAL ITEMS • mlb (External Link)   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, May 15, 2008 AL ROUNDUP: Yankees respond to criticism Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Hank Steinbrenner criticized the Yankees, and Joe Girardi held a pregame team meeting with his struggling team. New York responded with a win. Robinson Cano went 4-for-4 and drove in a run to back the pitching of Mike Mussina, helping the Yankees end the Tampa Bay Rays' six-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday night. Mussina (6-3) allowed one run and five hits over 6 1/3 innings to win his fifth consecutive decision. Cano, who tied a career high with four hits, had a RBI single in the fourth. Bobby Abreu drove in New York's other run off James Shields (4-3) with a two-out double in the fifth, and shortstop Derek Jeter started a nifty double play to end a Tampa Bay threat. Joba Chamberlain struck out the side in the eighth -- and didn't pump his fist. Mariano Rivera bounced back from allowing the winning run in an 11-inning loss the previous night with a perfect ninth for his 11th save in 11 opportunities. Orioles 6, Red Sox 3 BALTIMORE -- Jay Payton hit his fourth career grand slam to back a gritty pitching effort by Daniel Cabrera, and the Baltimore Orioles rallied to beat the Red Sox. Solo homers by Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell, and a defensive gem by Manny Ramirez -- yes, Manny Ramirez -- weren't enough to prevent the Red Sox from losing their fourth straight. It was the third consecutive game in which Boston blew a three-run lead. The Orioles trailed 3-2 before going ahead in the seventh. With two outs, Freddie Bynum was credited with an infield hit when second baseman Dustin Pedroia couldn't make a play on a grounder. After Craig Hansen (0-2) gave up a single to Guillermo Quiroz and walked Brian Roberts to load the bases, Payton hit the second pitch from Hideki Okajima into the left-field seats. That provided Cabrera (4-1) with a rare win over the Red Sox. Indians 2, Athletics 0 CLEVELAND -- C.C. Sabathia pitched a five-hitter and struck out 11 in the Cleveland Indians' major league-leading seventh shutout. Sabathia (3-5) extended the scoreless streak of Indians starters to 43 1/3 innings since Friday. He tied his season high for strikeouts, walked two and won consecutive starts for the first time this season. He has a 1.49 ERA over his past five starts. Sabathia pitched his sixth shutout, his first since a five-hitter last June 5. The streak is the longest by an Indians starting staff since they tossed 47 scoreless innings in August 1948. It's the longest by a major league team in one season since a 54-inning streak by Baltimore's starters from Sept. 1-7, 1974, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Indians, who took a half-game lead over Minnesota, had not been alone in first this year and hadn't even held a share of the lead since the opening week. Grady Sizemore and Ryan Garko homered off Oakland's Joe Blanton (2-6), who lost for the fourth time in five starts. Blue Jays 6, Twins 5 MINNEAPOLIS -- Matt Stairs hit a grand slam and Roy Halladay rebounded from a shaky start to help the Blue Jays beat the Twins. Halladay (4-5) has been the victim of poor run support all season, getting only 3.14 runs per outing entering Wednesday. Stairs' slam in the first inning gave the right-hander a 4-0 advantage. The Twins answered back as Justin Morneau hit his seventh homer of the season in the bottom of the first to make it 4-2 and Jason Kubel added an RBI double to make it 4-3. Michael Cuddyer's RBI groundout tied it in the third. Toronto regained the lead on Brad Wilkerson's RBI single in the fourth off Boof Bonser (2-5). Halladay pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing four runs and nine hits. He struck out nine. Scott Downs pitched the ninth for his fifth save in six chances. Royals 2, Tigers 0 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Luke Hochevar pitched six strong innings and Joey Gathright drove in the only runs, helping the Royals beat the Tigers and hand Justin Verlander his AL-leading seventh loss. Hochevar (3-2), the first overall pick in the 2006 draft, limited the Tigers to four singles while striking out five and walking three. He lowered his earned run average to 3.94 in five starts since being called up from Triple-A Omaha on April 20. Joakim Soria completed the shutout, picking up his 10th save in as many chances with a perfect ninth. Verlander (1-7) lost for the first time in 10 career starts against the Royals. White Sox 6, Angels 1 ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Carlos Quentin broke an eighth-inning tie with his first career grand slam, leading the White Sox over Los Angeles in John Lackey's return to the Angels' rotation. Sidelined since March 21 because of a strained triceps, Lackey allowed one run and six hits in seven innings. He retired 14 of 15 batters during one stretch and finished with four strikeouts and one walk. He threw 99 pitches. Lackey had never been on the disabled list during his six previous major league seasons. Jose Contreras (4-3) allowed one run and four hits in seven innings to win consecutive starts for the first time since September. Quentin, who tied a career high with five RBIs, broke a 1-1 tie when he connected in the eighth off Scott Shields (2-1).

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