MINNEAPOLIS - Mark Teixeira's career-long homer drought is finally over.
After sending a Francisco Liriano fastball about 420 feet into the Metrodome seats yesterday, Teixeira thinks his next long ball may not be far behind.
Teixeira ended a 23-game homerless stretch and the New York Yankees completed a season sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 6-4 victory.
"I'm a streaky home run hitter, and they come in bunches," Teixeira said. "And after hitting a bunch in a row it took a while to get another one."
Teixeira, who managed to keep his average and on-base percentage high through his power outage, connected on the first pitch of the fifth inning. It was his 21st homer of the season and first in 96 at-bats, dating to June 12 against the Mets.
Was it starting to wear on him?
"Not at all," he said. "We're playing so much great baseball. I'm getting on base. I'm still hitting the ball; I'm just not getting that lift."
Mariano Rivera picked up his 23d save for the Yankees, who have won eight straight on the road and beat the Twins all seven times they met this season.
Liriano (4-9) gave up six runs - three earned - on seven hits in 51/3 innings for the Twins, who have lost 18 of their last 24 against New York.
Twins all-star first baseman Justin Morneau was 0 for 4 and went 0 for 10 in the series.
New York moved Alfredo Aceves from the bullpen for a spot start in place of the injured Chien-Ming Wang. Aceves gave up four runs - two charged to him when reliever David Robertson walked Denard Span and Matt Tolbert with the bases loaded in the fourth - on four hits in 31/3 innings.
Robertson's walks were the only hiccups for the sterling New York bullpen. The relievers combined to allow two hits and no runs over the final 52/3 innings.
New York 030 210 000 – 6 8 2
Minnesota 020 200 000 – 4 6 1
New York AB R H BI Avg. Minnesota AB R H BI Avg.
Jeter ss 4 0 1 1 .314 Span cf 4 0 0 1 .288
Swisher rf 5 0 0 0 .239 Tolbert 2b 3 0 0 1 .178
Teixeira 1b 4 1 1 1 .281 b-B.Harris ph 1 0 1 0 .268
A.Rodriguez dh 3 1 1 0 .247 Mauer dh 5 0 2 0 .389
Posada c 3 2 1 0 .289 Morneau 1b 4 0 0 0 .313
Cano 2b 4 2 1 0 .304 Kubel lf 3 1 1 1 .306
Me.Cabrera lf 4 0 1 0 .277 Cuddyer rf 3 2 1 0 .274
Ransom 3b 3 0 1 2 .185 Buscher 3b 3 1 1 0 .210
Gardner cf 4 0 1 2 .286 Redmond c 2 0 0 0 .224
Totals 34 6 8 6 a-JM'rales ph-c 1 0 0 0 .333
Punto ss 4 0 0 0 .211
Totals 33 4 6 3
a-struck out for Redmond in the 8th. b-singled for Tolbert in the 9th. E: Ransom (4), Aceves (1), Tolbert (2). LOB: New York 5, Minnesota 8. 2B: Cano (23), Me.Cabrera (13), Cuddyer (19). HR: Teixeira (21), off Liriano; Kubel (14), off Aceves. RBIs: Jeter (36), Teixeira (63), Ransom 2 (10), Gardner 2 (19), Span (28), Tolbert (12), Kubel (43). SB: A.Rodriguez (3). CS: Gardner (4). RLSP: New York 2 (Jeter, Gardner); Minnesota 5 (Span, Mauer 3, Redmond). RA: Punto. GIDP: Jeter. DP: Minnesota 1 (Punto, Tolbert, Morneau).
New York walks (3): Jeter, A.Rodriguez, Ransom.
Minnesota walks (5): Span, Tolbert, Kubel, Cuddyer, Buscher.
New York strikeouts (9): Swisher, Teixeira 2, A.Rodriguez, Posada 2, Ransom, Gardner 2.
Minnesota strikeouts (9): Span, Mauer, Morneau, Kubel, Cuddyer, Buscher, Redmond, J.Morales, Punto.
New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Aceves 31/3 4 4 3 1 2 65 2.49
D.Robertson 1 0 0 0 3 2 28 2.53
Albaladejo (W) 12/3 0 0 0 1 2 23 5.04
Coke (H) 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 5 3.13
Hughes (H) 11/3 0 0 0 0 2 19 4.01
Ma.Rivera (S) 1 1 0 0 0 0 11 2.43
Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Liriano (L) 51/3 7 6 3 2 5 105 5.47
Dickey 2 1 0 0 0 3 33 2.83
Mijares 11/3 0 0 0 1 1 23 1.98
Guerrier 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 3 2.56
W: Albaladejo, 4-1. L: Liriano, 4-9. S: Rivera, 23. H: Hughes, 5. H: Coke, 9.
IR-S: D.Robertson 3-2, Albaladejo 1-0, Hughes 1-0, Dickey 1-0, Mijares 1-0, Guerrier 1-0. HBP: by Aceves (Redmond), by Liriano (Posada). Umpires: Home, Tim Timmons; first, Mark Wegner; second, Jeff Kellogg; third, Scott Barry.
T: 3:18. A: 40,142 (46,632).
Rays 3, Blue Jays 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Rookie David Price outpitched Roy Halladay, and Carlos Pena snapped a fifth-inning tie with a two-run double that helped Tampa Bay beat slumping Toronto for a three-game sweep.
Price (3-3) allowed one run and six hits in six innings as the AL champions beat Halladay for the second time in 11 days. The Blue Jays have lost 10 of 12 and fallen below .500 for the first time this season.
Toronto's Scott Rolen, who has a career-best 25-game hitting streak, did not play. The Blue Jays normally rest him when a day game follows a night game.
Toronto 000 010 100 – 2 9 1
Tampa Bay 100 020 00x – 3 10 0
Toronto AB R H BI Avg. Tampa Bay AB R H BI Avg.
Bautista 3b 4 0 1 0 .263 B.Upton cf 4 1 1 0 .241
A.Hill 2b 3 0 1 0 .298 Crawford lf 4 1 1 0 .313
Lind lf 4 0 2 1 .309 Longoria 3b 4 0 2 1 .287
Millar dh 4 0 0 0 .234 C.Pena 1b 4 0 2 2 .232
V.Wells cf 4 0 1 0 .263 Zobrist 2b 4 0 1 0 .288
Rios rf 4 1 2 0 .262 Burrell dh 3 0 0 0 .223
Overbay 1b 4 0 0 0 .249 1-Kapler pr-dh 0 0 0 0 .257
Barajas c 4 0 0 0 .258 Gross rf 4 0 1 0 .277
JoMcDonald ss 4 1 2 1 .294 Bartlett ss 4 0 1 0 .354
Totals 35 2 9 2 M.Hernandez c 3 1 1 0 .268
Totals 34 3 10 3
1-ran for Burrell in the 8th. E: Barajas (7). LOB: Toronto 9, Tampa Bay 8. 2B: A.Hill (15), Jo.McDonald (1), C.Pena (19). RBIs: Lind (59), Jo.McDonald (2), Longoria (65), C.Pena 2 (57). SB: Rios (14), Crawford (44), Zobrist (10). RLSP: Toronto 5 (V.Wells 3, A.Hill, Overbay); Tampa Bay 5 (Burrell 3, Bartlett 2). RA: Gross. GIDP: Rios. DP: Tampa Bay 1 (Longoria, Zobrist, C.Pena).
Toronto walks (2): Bautista, A.Hill. Tampa Bay walks (1): Burrell.
Toronto strikeouts (9): Bautista, Lind 2, Millar, Rios, Overbay 3, Barajas. Tampa Bay strikeouts (11): B.Upton 2, C.Pena 2, Zobrist 2, Burrell 2, Gross, Bartlett 2.
Toronto IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Halladay (L) 7 9 3 3 0 8 119 2.85
Accardo 1 1 0 0 1 3 22 3.86
Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Price (W) 6 6 1 1 1 7 103 4.70
J.Nelson (H) 1/3 2 1 1 1 0 15 4.59
Choate 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 1.23
Balfour (H) 12/3 0 0 0 0 1 28 4.39
Wheeler (S) 1 0 0 0 0 1 7 3.13
W: Price, 3-3. L: Halladay, 10-3. S: Wheeler, 1. H: Nelson, 7. H: Balfour, 11.
Choate pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. IR-S: Choate 3-1, Balfour 3-0. HBP: by Price (A.Hill).
Umpires: Home, Tim Welke; first, Jim Reynolds; second, James Hoye; third, Bill Welke.
T: 2:57 (Rain delay: 0:20). A: 25,749 (36,973).
White Sox 10, Indians 8
CHICAGO - Kelly Shoppach hit a grand slam and had a career-high five RBIs, and Cleveland built a big lead before holding on for a win over Chicago.
Five Cleveland relievers combined for 42/3 scoreless innings.
Cleveland 243 001 000 – 10 11 1
Chicago 204 020 000 – 8 13 2
Cleveland AB R H BI Avg. Chicago AB R H BI Avg.
A.Cabrera ss 3 1 1 0 .298 Podsednik cf 6 1 2 1 .310
Sizemore dh 2 1 0 0 .233 Al.Ramirez ss 5 0 0 0 .275
V.Martinez 1b 4 0 1 1 .298 Dye rf 4 1 2 0 .300
Choo lf 4 0 0 0 .297 Thome dh 3 1 1 0 .254
Jh.Peralta 3b 5 1 3 1 .260 Konerko 1b 3 1 1 1 .304
Garko rf 5 2 4 1 .279 Pierzynski c 5 2 2 2 .304
1-Gimenez pr-rf 0 0 0 0 .242 J.Nix lf 4 1 1 1 .231
J.Carroll 2b 3 2 1 0 .275 Wise lf 1 0 0 0 .200
B.Francisco cf 3 2 0 0 .242 Getz 2b 4 1 4 2 .258
Shoppach c 3 1 1 5 .199 Beckham 3b 5 0 0 0 .245
Totals 32 10 11 8 Totals 40 8 13 7
1-ran for Garko in the 9th. E: Jh.Peralta (9), Dye (3), Beckham (6). LOB: Cleveland 8, Chicago 11. 2B: A.Cabrera (17), Jh.Peralta (16), Getz (13). HR: Shoppach (7), off Richard; Pierzynski (10), off D.Huff. RBIs: V.Martinez (58), Jh.Peralta (37), Garko (33), Shoppach 5 (24), Podsednik (22), Konerko (59), Pierzynski 2 (27), J.Nix (12), Getz 2 (20). SB: A.Cabrera (9), Sizemore (9), Getz 2 (13). CS: Jh.Peralta (1). S: A.Cabrera, J.Carroll. RLSP: Cleveland 4 (Jh.Peralta, Choo 2, Shoppach); Chicago 7 (Beckham, Konerko, Al.Ramirez 2, J.Nix 2, Podsednik). RA: Choo, B.Francisco, Thome, Pierzynski. GIDP: A.Cabrera, V.Martinez, B.Francisco. DP: Chicago 3 (Getz, Al.Ramirez, Konerko), (Getz, Al.Ramirez, Konerko), (Al.Ramirez, Getz, Konerko).
Cleveland walks (10): A.Cabrera, Sizemore 3, V.Martinez, Choo, J.Carroll, B.Francisco, Shoppach 2.
Chicago walks (5): Thome 2, Konerko 2, Getz.
Cleveland strikeouts (10): Sizemore 2, V.Martinez, Choo 3, Jh.Peralta, J.Carroll, Shoppach 2.
Chicago strikeouts (8): Podsednik 2, Al.Ramirez 2, Dye, Thome, J.Nix, Beckham.
Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
D.Huff 41/3 11 8 7 2 2 99 6.71
Veras 1 1 0 0 1 0 20 5.68
Sipp (W)(H) 2/3 0 0 0 1 1 16 2.77
R.Betancourt (H) 1 0 0 0 0 1 8 3.58
Jo.Smith (H) 2/3 0 0 0 1 2 18 3.86
K.Wood (S) 11/3 1 0 0 0 2 29 4.85
Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Richard (L) 1 4 6 6 3 1 46 5.42
Carrasco 12/3 3 3 3 5 0 55 3.91
Poreda 21/3 1 0 0 2 3 46 0.90
Dotel 2 2 1 0 0 3 26 3.15
Thornton 1 0 0 0 0 2 12 2.55
T.Pena 1 1 0 0 0 1 14 4.11
W: Sipp, 1-0. L: Richard, 3-3. S: Wood, 11. H: Betancourt, 8. H: 0, 4. H: Smith, 5.
Richard pitched to 4 batters in the 2nd.Sipp pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. IR-S: Veras 1-1, Sipp 2-0, R.Betancourt 1-0, K.Wood 1-0, Poreda 2-0. IBB: off Poreda (V.Martinez). HBP: by Veras (Dye), by Carrasco (B.Francisco). Umpires: Home, Tim Tschida; first, Bob Davidson; second, Jeff Nelson; third, Mark Carlson.
T: 3:43. A: 27,257 (40,615).
Royals 8, Red Sox 6
BOSTON - Kansas City rallied from an early four-run deficit and knocked Boston out of sole possession of first place in the American League East with a victory.
Luke Hochevar (5-3) won for the fifth time in seven starts, despite allowing nine hits and five runs in six innings.
Mark Teahen and Willie Bloomquist each had three hits, while Alberto Callaspo had a pair of RBI doubles for Kansas City.
Kansas City 000 304 010 – 8 13 1
Boston 301 010 010 – 6 10 1
Kansas City AB R H BI Avg. Boston AB R H BI Avg.
DeJesus cf 4 1 1 2 .255 J.Drew rf 5 0 0 0 .255
Bloomquist ss 5 0 3 1 .285 Pedroia 2b 5 2 3 1 .300
Pena Jr. ss 0 0 0 0 .089 Youkilis 3b 5 2 2 1 .291
Butler 1b 5 0 1 0 .291 D.Ortiz dh 3 1 1 2 .224
J.Guillen lf 5 1 1 0 .245 Bay lf 3 1 1 1 .264
Teahen 3b 5 2 3 0 .289 Ellsbury cf 4 0 0 0 .299
Jacobs dh 5 0 0 0 .218 Varitek c 3 0 1 0 .244
Olivo c 4 1 1 1 .249 1-Kottaras pr-c 0 0 0 0 .218
Callaspo 2b 4 1 2 2 .303 Kotsay 1b 3 0 0 1 .274
Freel rf 3 2 1 1 .176 N.Green ss 4 0 2 0 .262
Totals 40 8 13 7 Totals 35 6 10 6
1-ran for Varitek in the 8th. E: Callaspo (11), Varitek (2). LOB: Kansas City 7, Boston 6. 2B: Teahen (18), Callaspo 2 (23), Pedroia (27), Youkilis (21), N.Green (17). 3B: Bloomquist (7). HR: DeJesus (7), off Masterson; D.Ortiz (11), off Hochevar; Pedroia (4), off Hochevar. RBIs: DeJesus 2 (41), Bloomquist (19), Olivo (35), Callaspo 2 (35), Freel (3), Pedroia (38), Youkilis (48), D.Ortiz 2 (44), Bay (72), Kotsay (5). SB: Bloomquist (16), Teahen (4), Olivo (3). CS: N.Green (4). SF: Kotsay. RLSP: Kansas City 5 (J.Guillen, Butler 2, DeJesus, Olivo); Boston 3 (J.Drew, Youkilis, N.Green). RA: Butler. GIDP: Kotsay. DP: Kansas City 1 (Callaspo, Bloomquist, Butler).
Kansas City walks (2): DeJesus, Freel.
Boston walks (3): D.Ortiz, Bay, Varitek.
Kansas City strikeouts (8): DeJesus, Butler, J.Guillen 2, Teahen 2, Jacobs, Callaspo.
Boston strikeouts (8): J.Drew, Youkilis, D.Ortiz, Bay, Ellsbury, Varitek, N.Green 2.
Kansas City IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Hochevar (W) 6 9 5 5 1 5 101 5.34
Bale (H) 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 10 5.79
J.Cruz (H) 1 0 1 0 2 1 33 4.19
Soria (S) 11/3 0 0 0 0 1 16 1.57
Boston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Penny 5 6 3 3 1 1 97 4.71
Delcarmen (H) 2/3 2 2 2 0 0 16 2.43
Masterson (BS) (L) 1/3 2 2 2 0 0 14 4.31
R.Ramirez 12/3 3 1 1 1 4 41 2.33
D.Bard 11/3 0 0 0 0 3 17 2.78
W: Hochevar, 5-3. L: Masterson, 3-3. S: Soria, 14. H: Bale, 7. H: Delcarmen, 5. H: Cruz, 6. BS: Masterson, 1.
IR-S: J.Cruz 1-0, Soria 2-0, Masterson 1-1, D.Bard 1-0. PB: Olivo. Umpires: Home, Bill Miller; first, Derryl Cousins; second, Todd Tichenor; third, Jim Joyce. T: 3:32. A: 38,189 (37,373).
