NEW YORK (AP) -Darrell Rasner pitched the way Roger Clemens hopes to with the New York Yankees.
Before Clemens revealed that he’ll return to the Yankees this season, making a dramatic announcement from the owner’s box during the seventh-inning stretch, Rasner limited Seattle to three hits Sunday in a 5-0 victory over the Mariners.
Derek Jeter hit a go-ahead single and Hideki Matsui got his 2,000th professional hit as the Yankees won for the fifth time in six games after losing eight of nine.
The bigger news was the return of Clemens, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner. He left the Yankees after the 2003 season, saying he was retiring, but after Andy Pettitte signed with the Houston Astros, Clemens followed his friend to their hometown team.
Pettitte returned to the Yankees this year, and Clemens followed on Sunday.
At the end of the seventh-inning stretch, Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppard told fans to turn their attention to the box, where Clemens was standing with a microphone. As the video scoreboard in right-center showed Clemens, he made the announcement himself.
“Well, they came and got me out of Texas and I can tell you it’s a privilege to be back,” Clemens said. “I’ll be talking to y’all soon.”
Clemens agreed to a minor league contract and most likely will join the Yankees after spending several weeks getting into shape.
Rasner (1-1) worked 5 2-3 innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Jarrod Washburn (2-3) gave up three runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings for Seattle.
Red Sox 4, Twins 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Curt Schilling allowed three runs and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings to help the Red Sox get the win.
Schilling walked two and tied a season high with seven strikeouts. Dustin Pedroia went 3-for-4 with two doubles for Boston, which took two of three from a Twins team that scored just five runs in the series.
Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 10th save in 11 tries.
Minnesota starter Sidney Ponson (2-4) gave up four runs, three earned, and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings.
Torii Hunter extended his career-high hitting streak to 21 games with an infield single in the sixth for the Twins. Hunter went 2-for-4.
Minnesota also put catcher Joe Mauer on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left quadriceps muscle.
Indians 9, Orioles 6
BALTIMORE (AP) – Trot Nixon went 5-for-5 with four RBIs for Cleveland, and C.C. Sabathia remained unbeaten despite allowing nine hits.
The Indians finished with a season-high 16 hits. Cleveland has won 11 of 14 despite dropping the first two games of the series that concludes Monday.
Sabathia (5-0) allowed three runs, struck out nine and walked one in seven innings. The left-hander is 5-0 with a 2.39 ERA in nine career appearances against the Orioles.
Ramon Hernandez had four hits and four RBIs for the Orioles. He has driven in eight runs in his last two games and has 14 RBIs in nine games this season.
Joe Borowski got one out for his 11th save in 12 chances.
Making his first major league start, Baltimore’s Brian Burres (0-1) gave up five runs and seven hits in 3 2-3 innings.
White Sox 4, Angels 3, 10 innings
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – A.J. Pierzynski tied it with a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the eighth inning, then singled home the go-ahead run in the 10th for the White Sox.
Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez (0-2) was pitching his second inning when he allowed a two-out double by Ryan Sweeney. Pierzynski blooped the right-hander’s next pitch into short left field and just inside the line for the go-ahead run.
Matt Thornton (2-1) got two outs for the win and Bobby Jenks fanned three batters in the 10th for his 10th save in 11 chances.
Angels starter Bartolo Colon took a shutout into the eighth inning, allowing two hits in the eighth before leaving after 87 pitches with a mild strain in his right biceps. Colon allowed two runs and five hits in seven-plus innings.
Chicago’s Mark Buehrle gave up three runs and seven hits over six innings in his third start since pitching a no-hitter against Texas on April 18 at Comiskey Park.
Rangers 3, Blue Jays 2
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Michael Young, Mark Teixeira and Kenny Lofton homered against Blue Jays starter A.J. Burnett.
Young’s go-ahead homer in the eighth came on the first pitch from Burnett (2-3), just like the two other homers.
Burnett gave up seven hits and struck out nine, including Lofton three times. The right-hander walked one and hit a batter with a pitch in 7 2-3 innings.
Joaquin Benoit (1-1) got the win and Akinori Otsuka got the last three outs for his fourth save in five chances.
Toronto ended its six-game road trip without a victory, only the second time in club history the Blue Jays lost every game on a trip that lasted at least six games. The other was in September 1979.
Athletics 5, Devil Rays 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Nick Swisher hit a tiebreaking solo homer and Joe Blanton gave up three runs over 7 1-3 innings for Oakland.
Swisher chased Edwin Jackson (0-5) with a one-out homer to right in the seventh inning, giving Oakland a 4-3 lead. Swisher had two homers and six RBIs as the A’s won two of three in the series against the Devil Rays. It was Swisher’s first three starts since straining a left hamstring on April 24.
Blanton (3-1) allowed 11 hits, walked two and struck out six. Huston Street pitched the ninth for his ninth save in 11 chances.
Jack Cust’s first homer since 2003 extended the lead to 5-3 in the eighth.
B.J. Upton homered for the Devil Rays.
Tigers 13, Royals 4
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Craig Monroe, Curtis Granderson and Gary Sheffield hit two-run homers in the second inning and Detroit picked up its seventh straight win.
Monroe and Neifi Perez, who also homered, had four RBIs and Granderson drove in three runs. The Tigers won for the 14th time in their last 15 games at Kauffman Stadium.
The 13 runs and 17 hits were both season highs for the Tigers, who have not lost since April 28.
Detroit’s Chad Durbin (2-1) gave up six hits and two runs in 7 2-3 innings.
Zack Greinke (1-4) went four innings for Kansas City, allowing six runs and nine hits.
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