Tigers can't solve Wakefield puzzle

DETROIT - The Detroit Tigers started the week being frustrated by Daisuke Matzusaka and overpowered by Josh Beckett. They were baffled again yesterday, by Tim Wakefield.

The 42-year-old knuckleballer beat the Tigers for the 16th time - the most by any active pitcher - and the Boston Red Sox defeated Detroit, 6-3, to finish a three-game sweep.

Wakefield (7-3) gave up three runs and eight hits in 62/3 innings. He allowed three runs in the second inning, but shut down the Tigers after that.

"After that inning, I felt really comfortable," he said. "I only needed 80 pitches, so that's great, and I got some offensive support."

Dontrelle Willis (1-3) took a step back in his comeback from control problems, allowing five runs in 21/3 innings despite not giving up a hit. He walked five batters and hit another with a pitch.

While taking a 3-0 lead, the Tigers lost Miguel Cabrera, who hurt his left hamstring while going from first to second on Curtis Granderson's single and was barely able to come home on Brandon Inge's two-run double. Adam Everett added an RBI groundout.

Cabrera, a first baseman, said after the game that he didn't think the injury was serious and hoped to play tonight.

Boston scored six runs in the third inning to chase Willis, who walked three straight batters to force in a pair of runs. Zach Miner gave up a two-run double to Jason Bay, and Mike Lowell's groundout and Rocco Baldelli's single completed the scoring.

Boston 006 000 000 – 6 6 0

Detroit 030 000 000 – 3 10 0

Boston AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      Detroit AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

Pedroia 2b 4   1   1   0   .325      Thomas rf 4   0   0   0   .247

J.Drew dh 1   1   0   1   .253      Santiago 2b 4   0   2   0   .306

Youkilis 1b 1   1   0   1   .362      Ordonez dh 4   0   1   0   .275

a-Kotsay ph-1b 3   0   0   0   .000      Mi.Cabrera 1b 1   1   1   0   .354

Bay lf 5   1   1   2   .283      Larish 1b 2   0   0   0   .224

Lowell 3b 4   0   2   1   .302      Granderson cf 4   1   1   0   .271

Baldelli rf 3   0   1   1   .265      Inge 3b 4   1   3   2   .280

Ellsbury cf 3   1   1   0   .313      Raburn lf 4   0   1   0   .265

Lugo ss 3   1   0   0   .266      Everett ss 3   0   0   1   .267

Kottaras c 4   0   0   0   .188      c-Polanco ph 1   0   0   0   .250

Totals 31   6   6   6         Sardinha c 2   0   1   0   .115

b-Laird ph-c 1   0   0   0   .224

Totals 34   3   10   3      

a-flied out for Youkilis in the 4th. b-struck out for Sardinha in the 8th. c-grounded into a fielder's choice for Everett in the 9th. LOB: Boston 8, Detroit 5. 2B: Bay (14), Inge (8), Raburn (2). RBIs: J.Drew (27), Youkilis (34), Bay 2 (53), Lowell (36), Baldelli (7), Inge 2 (35), Everett (18). CS: Inge (3). RLSP: Boston 3 (Kotsay, Pedroia 2); Detroit 2 (Everett, Polanco). RA: Lowell, Raburn, Everett. GIDP: Baldelli 2, Thomas, Larish. DP: Boston 2 (Pedroia, Kotsay), (Wakefield, Pedroia, Lugo, Kotsay); Detroit 2 (Everett, Santiago, Mi.Cabrera), (Inge, Santiago, Larish).

Boston walks (9): Pedroia, J.Drew 4, Youkilis, Lowell, Baldelli, Lugo.

Detroit walks (1): Larish.

Boston strikeouts (7): J.Drew, Bay 2, Ellsbury, Lugo, Kottaras 2.

Detroit strikeouts (6): Thomas, Granderson, Raburn, Everett, Sardinha, Laird.

Boston IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Wakefield (W) 62/3   8   3   3   0   3   80   4.50

Masterson (H) 2/3   0   0   0   0   2   11   4.20

Okajima (H) 2/3   1   0   0   0   1   10   2.25

Papelbon (S) 1   1   0   0   1   0   21   2.25

Detroit IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Willis (L) 21/3   0   5   5   5   3   53   6.84

Miner 4   4   1   1   2   2   67   5.29

Perry 2/3   0   0   0   0   0   4   3.27

Zumaya 1   2   0   0   1   1   24   2.65

Rodney 1   0   0   0   1   1   24   2.86

W: Wakefield, 7-3. L: Willis, 1-3. S: Papelbon, 14. H: Okajima, 9. H: Masterson, 2. IR-S: Masterson 1-0, Miner 3-3, Perry 1-0. HBP: by Willis (Ellsbury). Umpires: Home, Jeff Nelson; first, Mark Carlson; second, Tim Tschida; third, Bob Davidson. T: 2:53. A: 31,353 (41,255).

Twins 11, Indians 3

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota's Jason Kubel hit a pair of three-run homers to back Scott Baker, who pitched seven effective innings against Cleveland.

Kubel's first homer capped a four-run first inning against Fausto Carmona (2-6). The cleanup batter followed an inning later with his second to give Minnesota a 7-0 lead.

Justin Morneau added his 15th home run of the year and drove in three runs for the Twins.

Baker (3-6) took advantage of the early run support, retiring his first eight batters. He didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning while winning for the second time in three starts.

Cleveland 000 002 100– 3 7 0

Minnesota 430 003 01x–11 13 1

Cleveland AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      Minnesota AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

B.Francisco rf 4   0   0   0   .263      Span lf 4   2   1   1   .307

J.Carroll 3b 3   1   1   1   .304      Mauer dh 4   4   3   0   .436

Barfield 2b 1   0   0   0   .750      Morneau 1b 3   3   3   3   .348

V.Martinez c 4   0   0   0   .346      Kubel rf 4   2   3   6   .322

Garko 1b 0   0   0   0   .250      Crede 3b 4   0   1   1   .232

Choo lf 4   0   1   0   .297      B.Harris ss 5   0   1   0   .279

J.Peralta ss-3b 4   0   0   0   .263      Redmond c 4   0   0   0   .250

DeRosa dh 4   0   1   0   .264      Gomez cf 4   0   1   0   .218

Gimenez 1b-c 4   1   2   1   .500      Tolbert 2b 4   0   0   0   .179

Crowe cf 3   0   1   0   .182      Totals 36   11   13   11      

Valbuena 2b-ss 3   1   1   0   .203

Totals 34   3   7   2      

E: B.Harris (1). LOB: Cleveland 6, Minnesota 7. 2B: DeRosa (11), Valbuena (7), Morneau (17), Kubel (13), B.Harris (8). HR: Gimenez (1), off S.Baker; Kubel 2 (7), off Carmona 2; Span (4), off Ohka; Morneau (15), off Ohka. RBIs: J.Carroll (4), Gimenez (1), Span (24), Morneau 3 (50), Kubel 6 (31), Crede (23). SB: Choo (9). SF: Crede. RLSP: Cleveland 3 (Crowe, Jh.Peralta, Valbuena); Minnesota 3 (Gomez, B.Harris 2). RA: V.Martinez, Crede.

Cleveland walks (2): Crowe, Valbuena.

Minnesota walks (5): Span, Mauer, Morneau 2, Kubel.

Cleveland strikeouts (13): B.Francisco, J.Carroll 2, Barfield, V.Martinez, Choo, Jh.Peralta, DeRosa 2, Gimenez, Crowe 2, Valbuena.

Minnesota strikeouts (2): Crede, B.Harris.

Cleveland IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Carmona (L) 2   5   7   7   3   1   54   7.42

Ohka 5   6   3   3   1   0   82   5.40

J.Lewis 1   2   1   1   1   1   19   5.46

Minnesota IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

S.Baker (W) 7   6   3   2   1   10   106   5.88

Henn 2   1   0   0   1   3   36   2.57

W: Baker, 3-6. L: Carmona, 2-6. .

IBB: off J.Lewis (Kubel). Umpires: Home, Joe West; First, Paul Nauert; Second, Paul Schrieber; Third, Chad Fairchild.

T: 2:40. A: 20,897 (46,632).

Angels 6, Blue Jays 5

TORONTO - Howie Kendrick dashed home with daring baserunning, scoring the winning run on a ninth-inning double play to help Los Angeles edge Toronto.

After the Blue Jays tied the game with three runs in the eighth, Kendrick, facing Brandon League (1-2), opened the ninth with a bunt single and went to third on Chone Figgins' single to right.

Erick Aybar grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, but Kendrick raced home as the second out was made, sliding in ahead of the throw by first baseman Lyle Overbay, who didn't appear to see his late break.

Los Angeles 300 101 001–6 10 0

Toronto 000 100 130–5 12 1

Los Angeles AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      Toronto AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

Figgins 3b 4   1   2   1   .307      Scutaro ss 3   0   0   1   .294

E.Aybar ss 5   0   0   0   .275      A.Hill 2b 5   0   0   1   .316

Guerrero dh 5   1   2   1   .271      Rios cf 5   0   0   0   .266

Tor.Hunter cf 4   1   2   1   .312      Lind lf 5   2   5   0   .313

J.Rivera rf-lf 4   0   1   1   .301      Millar dh 4   1   1   0   .267

K.Morales 1b 3   0   0   0   .278      2-V.Wells pr 0   0   0   0   .257

Napoli c 4   1   1   1   .270      Overbay 1b 5   1   2   3   .282

Quinlan lf 3   1   1   0   .238      Bautista 3b 3   1   0   0   .265

Matthews Jr. rf 1   0   0   0   .257      R.Chavez c 3   0   2   0   .282

Kendrick 2b 3   1   1   0   .229      1-Jo.McDnld pr 0   0   0   0   .211

Totals 36   6   10   5         Barajas c 1   0   1   0   .289

Inglett rf 3   0   1   0   .154

Totals 37   5   12   5      

1-ran for R.Chavez in the 7th. 2-ran for Millar in the 9th. E: Bautista (1). LOB: Los Angeles 6, Toronto 11. 2B: J.Rivera (8), Lind 3 (21), Overbay (14). HR: Napoli (8), off Tallet. RBIs: Figgins (14), Guerrero (6), Tor.Hunter (43), J.Rivera (21), Napoli (21), Scutaro (26), A.Hill (38), Overbay 3 (27). SB: Guerrero (1), Tor.Hunter (11), Barajas (1). SF: Scutaro. RLSP: Los Angeles 2 (Napoli, E.Aybar); Toronto 8 (Bautista 2, A.Hill 3, Overbay, Rios 2). RA: E.Aybar, K.Morales, A.Hill, Millar 2, Overbay. GIDP: E.Aybar, A.Hill. DP: Los Angeles 1 (Kendrick, E.Aybar, K.Morales); Toronto 1 (A.Hill, Scutaro, Overbay).

Los Angeles walks (3): Figgins, K.Morales, Kendrick.

Toronto walks (5): Scutaro, Millar, Bautista 2, Inglett.

Los Angeles strikeouts (9): Figgins, E.Aybar 2, Guerrero, Tor.Hunter 2, Napoli 2, Quinlan.

Toronto strikeouts (10): A.Hill, Rios 5, Overbay, Bautista 3.

Los Angeles IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Lackey 7   7   2   2   3   6   113   5.13

Oliver 0   3   3   3   0   0   15   3.18

J.Speier (W) 1   1   0   0   1   1   21   5.06

Fuentes (S) 1   1   0   0   1   3   22   5.03

Toronto IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Tallet 6   6   5   5   3   6   109   4.54

Hayhurst 1   2   0   0   0   2   12   0.00

League (L) 2   2   1   1   0   1   21   4.01

W: Speier, 2-1. L: League, 1-2. S: Fuentes, 14. BS: Speier, 1.

Oliver pitched to 3 batters in the 8th. IR-S: J.Speier 1-1. WP: Lackey, Oliver. Umpires: Home, Bill Welke; First, Tim Welke; Second, Jim Reynolds; Third, Angel Hernandez. T: 3:00. A: 31,163 (49,539).

Yankees 8, Rangers 6

NEW YORK - Melky Cabrera broke a 6-6 tie with a two-run homer in the eighth inning, helping New York overcome another poor start by Chien-Ming Wang to beat Texas.

The Yankees rallied from a 5-1 deficit and took two of three from the Western Division leaders.

Johnny Damon hit a leadoff home run for New York, Nelson Cruz finished Wang in the fifth with a long homer, and Ian Kinsler's solo shot for Texas made it 6-all in the sixth. Texas tagged Wang for five runs and seven hits in 42/3 innings.

Texas 002 211 000–6 11 1

New York 100 050 02x–8 10 1

Texas AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      New York AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

Kinsler 2b 4   2   1   1   .282      Damon lf 3   2   1   1   .297

M.Young 3b 5   0   3   0   .338      Swisher rf 3   1   2   1   .251

Blalock dh 5   0   2   1   .262      1-Gardner pr-cf 0   0   0   0   .265

N.Cruz rf 5   1   1   1   .295      Teixeira 1b 4   1   2   3   .284

Dav.Murphy lf 4   1   1   0   .240      A.Rodriguez 3b 4   0   1   1   .250

Byrd cf 3   1   1   0   .296      Cano 2b 3   1   1   0   .305

C.Davis 1b 4   1   2   2   .198      H.Matsui dh 3   0   0   0   .256

Teagarden c 3   0   0   0   .239      Me.C'brera cf-rf 4   1   1   2   .311

Andrus ss 4   0   0   0   .277      Cervelli c 4   1   1   0   .283

Totals 37   6   11   5         R.Pena ss 3   1   1   0   .243

Totals 31   8   10   8      

1-ran for Swisher in the 7th. E: Dav.Murphy (1), Cervelli (1). LOB: Texas 8, New York 4. 2B: M.Young (20), Byrd (19), C.Davis 2 (6), Swisher (13), Teixeira 2 (14). HR: N.Cruz (16), off Wang; Kinsler (14), off Aceves; Damon (11), off McCarthy; Me.Cabrera (6), off C.Wilson. RBIs: Kinsler (41), Blalock (29), N.Cruz (41), C.Davis 2 (26), Damon (33), Swisher (32), Teixeira 3 (47), A.Rodriguez (22), Me.Cabrera 2 (22). SB: Dav.Murphy (4), Cano (3). CS: R.Pena (1). S: Teagarden. RLSP: Texas 4 (N.Cruz, Kinsler, C.Davis, Dav.Murphy); New York 3 (Cano, Me.Cabrera 2). RA: Andrus, A.Rodriguez, Cano. GIDP: Teixeira. DP: Texas 3 (N.Cruz, N.Cruz, Andrus), (Kinsler, Andrus), (Kinsler, Andrus, C.Davis).

Texas walks (3): Kinsler, Dav.Murphy, Byrd.

New York walks (5): Damon, Swisher, Cano, H.Matsui, R.Pena.

Texas strikeouts (11): Kinsler 2, Blalock, N.Cruz 3, Dav.Murphy, Byrd, C.Davis, Teagarden, Andrus.

New York strikeouts (4): Swisher, Me.Cabrera, Cervelli, R.Pena.

Texas IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

McCarthy 4   6   6   6   3   3   79   4.92

Jennings 3   3   0   0   1   0   41   3.12

C.Wilson (L) 1   1   2   2   1   1   16   3.47

New York IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Wang 42/3   7   5   5   1   5   69   14.46

Aceves 12/3   2   1   1   2   2   34   2.95

Coke 11/3   0   0   0   0   2   19   4.50

D.Robertson (W) 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   1   2.08

Ma.Rivera (S) 1   2   0   0   0   2   24   2.38

W: Robertson, 1-0. L: Wilson, 3-3. S: Rivera, 12.

McCarthy pitched to 5 batters in the 5th. IR-S: Jennings 1-1. WP: Wang. Umpires: Home, Brian Knight; First, Dana DeMuth; Second, Doug Eddings; Third, Hunter Wendelstedt. T: 2:58. A: 45,713 (52,325).

Athletics 7, White Sox 0

CHICAGO - Jason Giambi hit a three-run homer and Brett Anderson pitched seven impressive innings, sending Oakland past Chicago.

Aaron Cunningham added a two-run shot in the ninth for Oakland, which won the final three games of the four-game series.

With top prospect Gordon Beckham making his major-league debut at third base, the White Sox were shut out for the major-league-worst eighth time this season. Beckham was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Anderson (3-5) won for third time in four starts, giving up six hits and striking out four.

Oakland 000 103 003–7 8 0

Chicago 000 000 000–0 7 1

Oakland AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      Chicago AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

O.Cabrera ss 3   1   0   1   .225      Podsednik lf 4   0   1   0   .284

Kennedy 2b 4   0   0   0   .333      Al.Ramirez ss 4   0   2   0   .254

Holliday lf 3   2   2   0   .280      Dye rf 4   0   0   0   .278

Giambi dh 4   1   1   3   .220      Konerko 1b 4   0   2   0   .302

K.Suzuki c 3   0   1   1   .284      Pierzynski c 4   0   1   0   .297

Crosby 1b 4   1   1   0   .207      Fields dh 4   0   0   0   .239

Cunningham rf 3   1   1   2   .143      Wise cf 2   0   1   0   .182

R.Davis cf 4   1   1   0   .188      Beckham 3b 3   0   0   0   .000

G.Petit 3b 3   0   1   0   .269      J.Nix 2b 3   0   0   0   .214

Hannahan 3b 0   0   0   0   .179      Totals 32   0   7   0      

Totals 31   7   8   7      

E: Dye (2). LOB: Oakland 4, Chicago 6. 2B: Holliday (9), R.Davis (1), Konerko (13). HR: Giambi (8), off Buehrle; Cunningham (1), off Dotel. RBIs: O.Cabrera (17), Giambi 3 (27), K.Suzuki (18), Cunningham 2 (4). SB: Crosby (2), Podsednik (5). S: Kennedy. SF: O.Cabrera, K.Suzuki. RLSP: Oakland 1 (Cunningham); Chicago 5 (Konerko, J.Nix, Podsednik, Pierzynski, Fields). RA: Giambi. GIDP: O.Cabrera, Dye, Pierzynski. DP: Oakland 2 (Bre.Anderson, O.Cabrera, Crosby), (Kennedy, O.Cabrera, Crosby); Chicago 2 (Buehrle, Konerko), (Buehrle, Al.Ramirez, Konerko).

Oakland walks (4): O.Cabrera, Holliday, Cunningham, Hannahan.

Oakland strikeouts (4): Holliday, Cunningham, R.Davis, G.Petit.

Chicago strikeouts (7): Podsednik, Al.Ramirez, Dye, Fields, Wise, Beckham, J.Nix.

Oakland IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Bre.Anderson (W) 7   6   0   0   0   4   109   4.97

Wuertz 1   0   0   0   0   2   14   2.42

S.Casilla 1   1   0   0   0   1   13   5.75

Chicago IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Buehrle (L) 8   5   4   4   3   4   101   2.91

Dotel 2/3   3   3   3   1   0   21   2.41

Whisler 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   3   0.00

W: Anderson, 3-5. L: Buehrle, 6-2. .

IR-S: Whisler 1-0. IBB: off Buehrle (Holliday). HBP: by Bre.Anderson (Wise). WP: Buehrle, Dotel. Balk: Bre.Anderson. Umpires: Home, Dan Bellino; First, Phil Cuzzi; Second, Tom Hallion; Third, Jerry Crawford. T: 2:15. A: 18,219 (40,615).

Rays 3, Royals 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - B.J. Upton hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth and James Shields allowed two runs in eight innings as Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep of Kansas City.

Upton's two-out shot off Jamey Wright (0-2) made it 3-2. The homer helped the Rays overcome an 0-for-13 performance with runners in scoring position.

Shields (5-4) gave up six hits and had eight strikeouts.

Carl Crawford also homered for the Rays, who have won five of six following a season-high five-game losing streak.

Kansas City 002 000 000–2 6 0

Tampa Bay 000 000 12x–3 8 0

Kansas City AB   R   H   BI   Avg.      Tampa Bay AB   R   H   BI   Avg.   

Crisp cf 4   1   0   0   .228      B.Upton cf 4   1   1   2   .218

Callaspo 2b 4   0   1   0   .298      Crawford lf 4   1   2   1   .327

Pena Jr. ss 0   0   0   0   .059      W.Aybar 3b 3   0   0   0   .252

Butler 1b 4   0   3   2   .288      C.Pena 1b 2   0   0   0   .226

Jacobs dh 4   0   0   0   .232      Zobrist 2b 3   0   0   0   .296

J.Guillen rf 4   0   0   0   .255      Joyce rf 4   0   0   0   .240

Teahen 3b 3   0   0   0   .277      Dillon dh 4   0   3   0   .333

Olivo c 3   0   0   0   .239      M.Hernandez c 4   1   1   0   .286

DeJesus lf 3   0   1   0   .237      Brignac ss 4   0   1   0   .233

Bl'mquist ss-2b 3   1   1   0   .286      Totals 32   3   8   3      

Totals 32   2   6   2      

LOB: Kansas City 3, Tampa Bay 11. 2B: Butler (16), DeJesus (10). 3B: Brignac (1). HR: Crawford (4), off Meche; B.Upton (3), off J.Wright. RBIs: Butler 2 (25), B.Upton 2 (13), Crawford (26). SB: Crawford (34), Zobrist (6). RLSP: Kansas City 1 (Jacobs); Tampa Bay 7 (Zobrist, B.Upton 2, Joyce 3, Crawford). RA: W.Aybar, C.Pena, Zobrist, M.Hernandez. GIDP: Callaspo, J.Guillen. DP: Tampa Bay 2 (J.Shields, M.Hernandez, C.Pena), (W.Aybar, C.Pena).

Tampa Bay walks (6): B.Upton, Crawford, W.Aybar, C.Pena 2, Zobrist.

Kansas City strikeouts (9): Crisp, Callaspo, Jacobs 2, J.Guillen 2, Olivo 3.

Tampa Bay strikeouts (5): B.Upton, Crawford, C.Pena, Joyce, Brignac.

Kansas City IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Meche 6   6   1   1   5   2   110   4.08

Bale (H) 1   0   0   0   1   2   19   6.23

J.Wright (L) 1   2   2   2   0   1   20   4.05

Tampa Bay IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

J.Shields (W) 8   6   2   2   0   8   107   3.40

Howell (S) 1   0   0   0   0   1   7   2.28

W: Shields, 5-4. L: Wright, 0-2. S: Howell, 2. H: Bale, 2. BS: Wright, 3.

Meche pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. WP: Meche. Umpires: Home, Dan Iassogna; First, Sam Holbrook; Second, Charlie Reliford; Third, Larry Vanover.

T: 2:41. A: 16,103 (36,973).