Griffey goes long to lift Mariners

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), May 11, 2009 | by Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS -- Ken Griffey Jr. hit a tying, two-run homer in the eighth inning Sunday to rouse the Seattle Mariners in a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins that stopped their six-game losing streak.

Wladimir Balentien added an RBI double in that breakthrough eighth, ruining seven shutout innings by Nick Blackburn and helping the Mariners bring their record back to .500.

Brendan Morrow, making his first appearance since April 23 after sitting out with biceps tendinitis, picked up his sixth save with a shaky ninth. Miguel Batista (2-0) got one out for the win.

Jose Mijares walked Jose Lopez in front of Griffey's 614th career homer.

Jesse Crain (1-1) took the loss.

ANGELS 4, ROYALS 3: At Anaheim, Calif., Torii Hunter made a leaping catch above the left-center field fence to rob Miguel Olivo of a tying homer in the ninth inning, and Los Angeles held off Kansas City.

Jeff Mathis delivered a two-run single during a three-run seventh inning for the Angels, who completed a three-game sweep.

Scot Shields (1-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the win and Brian Fuentes got his ninth save, with a huge assist to Hunter.

BLUE JAYS 5, ATHLETICS 0: At Oakland, Calif., Brett Cecil yielded five hits over eight impressive innings to earn his first major league victory, Alex Rios drove in three runs and Toronto beat Oakland for its seventh win in 10 games. Rios hit a solo homer, a sacrifice fly and a ninth-inning RBI single to back Cecil (1-0).

RED SOX 4, RAYS3: At Boston, Jonathon Papelbon struck out the side with runners in scoring position in the ninth inning to preserve a 4-3 Red Sox win over Tampa Bay. Jason Bay drove in David Ortiz in the eighth for the go-ahead run with a double.

TIGERS 5, INDIANS 3: At Cleveland, Rick Porcello extended Detroit's streak of strong pitching, and the Tigers completed a three-game sweep of the struggling Indians.

The Indians, losers of seven of nine, have the worst record in baseball at 11-21. They turned four double plays but the offense sputtered again following consecutive Tigers shutouts the previous two days.

Cleveland held a long players-only meeting after a 4-0 loss Saturday night, but it didn't seem to help much.

YANKEES 5, ORIOLES 3: At Baltimore, Johnny Damon hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning, the biggest blow in a long-ball surge that carried New York past Baltimore.

Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano also connected for the Yankees, who received a gritty pitching performance from Joba Chamberlain (2- 1) to capture the decisive matchup of the three-game series.

Mariano Rivera worked the ninth for his sixth save in seven opportunities.

Damon connected off Jim Johnson (2-1). It was his ninth homer, the sixth in 10 games, and it marked the seventh straight game in which Damon got at least one extra-base hit.

RANGERS 7, WHITE SOX 1: At Chicago, Hank Blalock homered twice, Vicente Padilla allowed one hit in seven innings and the Texas Rangers ended Bartolo Colon's dominance against them.

Padilla (2-2) pitched around four walks in his second consecutive impressive outing. In his previous start against Seattle, the right- hander yielded only one hit and an unearned run in eight innings.