Projo Sox Blog

ONE LONG DAY

The Washington Nationals beat the New York Yankees 3-0 on Thursday after the start of the game was delayed for 51/2 hours by rain. Scheduled to start at 1:05 p.m., the game did not begin until 6:31 p.m. Craig Stammen pitched 6 1-3 innings to earn his first major league victory in the first game without a homer at the new Yankee Stadium.

ROLLING ROCKIES

Clint Barmes, Todd Helton and Carlos Gonzalez homered in Colorado's 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. The surging Rockies have won 13 of 14. They took the final two of the three-game series after Tampa Bay snapped their 11-game winning streak Tuesday.

WHAT A RALLY

Aubrey Huff drove in the winning run with a ninth-inning single off Francisco Rodriguez, capping a two-run rally that carried the Baltimore Orioles to a 5-4 win over the New York Mets. Rodriguez entered with a 0.56 ERA and 16 saves in 17 tries. He walked Adam Jones to force in a run, and after Nick Markakis struck out, Huff hit a liner to right to give Baltimore the win.

SIDELINED

Arizona Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb had another setback and was flying back to Phoenix to have his ailing shoulder examined again. Webb, a 22-game winner last year, made only one start this season before going on the disabled list April 13 with a sore shoulder. His shoulder bothered him Thursday while playing catch on flat ground. Webb was scheduled to throw a bullpen session Friday in Seattle, but that was canceled.

SWEET HOMECOMING

Hunter Pence led off the eighth with a tiebreaking homer and the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 5-3 to avoid a season sweep. Pence, who grew up in Arlington watching the Rangers play, hit the first pitch of the inning from Jason Jennings (2-2) over the center-field wall. Michael Bourn added a two-out RBI triple to make it 5-3.

SPEAKING

"If you told me a dozen years ago that I'd be in this rarefied air, I'd tell you you're full of baloney -- because I certainly started way under .500 when I took over the Yankees in 1996. But I have to thank George Steinbrenner for putting me in a position to do this. I've admired what Sparky did for all those years, and I'm proud to be in that company." -- Dodgers manager Joe Torre after earning his 2,195th regular-season victory to pass Sparky Anderson for fifth on the career list.

Thursday's Stars
--Adrian Gonzalez, Padres, matched his career high with four hits, including a homer, and scored the winning run in the 10th as San Diego beat Seattle 4-3.

--Derrek Lee and Geovany Soto, Cubs, hit consecutive homers in the eighth inning as the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 6-5 win over the rival White Sox.

--Rick Porcello, Tigers, pitched 5 2-3 innings to win for the seventh time in nine starts, helping Detroit beat St. Louis 6-3.

--Rod Barajas, Blue Jays, connected for a pinch-hit tiebreaking homer in the ninth inning of Toronto's 8-7 victory over Philadelphia.

--Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies, tossed 6 2-3 effective innings to win his third straight start, leading Colorado to a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay.

--Nick Blackburn, Twins, pitched a six-hitter for his first career complete game and Minnesota beat Pittsburgh 5-1.

--Nate McLouth, Braves, homered and drove in four runs in Atlanta's 7-0 win at Cincinnati.

--Craig Stammen, Nationals, pitched 6 1-3 innings for his first major league victory, helping Washington beat the New York Yankees 3-0.

--Dan Uggla and Ronny Paulino, Marlins, homered in Florida's rain-shortened 2-1 victory at Boston.

--Chris Young, Diamondbacks, had four of Arizona's 16 hits in a 12-5 win at Kansas City.

 Tags  Baseball Today New York Yankees

---