NEW YORK (AP) -Oliver Perez outdueled Roger Clemens, giving the New York Mets a badly needed 2-0 victory Friday night and stopping the Yankees’ winning streak at nine.
Perez allowed five hits in 7 1-3 innings, Jose Reyes homered and Carlos Gomez leapt to prevent a three-run homer to lead the Mets at Yankee Stadium in the opener of the season’s second Subway Series.
The NL East-leading Mets had lost nine of their previous 10 games, including five straight, while the Yankees were on their longest winning streak in two years. But the Mets beat the Yankees for the third time in four meetings this year.
Making his second start, the 44-year-old Clemens (1-1) allowed two runs, seven hits and one walk, and with eight strikeouts.
Perez (7-5) struck out six and walked three. He combined with three relievers on a five-hitter, with Billy Wagner getting three outs for his 15th save.
Reyes hit an RBI single in the third, homered in the fifth and had three of the Mets’ five stolen bases.
Gomez made a spectacular play in left field to rob Miguel Cairo of a home run in the fourth inning.
Braves 5, Indians 4
CLEVELAND (AP) – Yunel Escobar’s two-run double in the ninth inning gave Atlanta the victory.
Casey Blake extended his hitting streak to 24 games with a tiebreaking homer in the eighth for Cleveland, but C.C. Sabathia (10-2) couldn’t make it stand up. He yielded a leadoff double to Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the ninth – Atlanta’s first extra-base hit after 10 singles. Three batters later, Escobar lined a shot over the head of left fielder David Dellucci.
Rafael Soriano (2-0) gave up Blake’s 10th homer in one inning of work, but got the win.
Bob Wickman allowed two baserunners in the ninth but survived for his 12th save.
The Braves won for the fourth time in 13 games, improving to 2-6 in interleague play this season and 13-23 over the last three years.
The Indians fell to 21-9 at home with the fifth loss in their last seven games at Jacobs Field.
Red Sox 10, Giants 2
BOSTON (AP) – Dustin Pedroia had career-highs of five hits and five RBIs, and J.D. Drew had three hits as Boston stopped a two-game losing streak.
Julian Tavarez (4-4) allowed two runs, six hits and two walks – including an intentional one to Barry Bonds – in seven innings.
Barry Zito (6-7) gave up seven runs and five hits in 5 1-3 innings. He had been 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA in his previous four starts.
Pedroia’s two-run homer made it 2-2 before Zito recorded his first out. Drew, who was hit by a pitch before Pedroia’s homer, singled and scored in the third and doubled in two runs in the fourth, then scored on Pedroia’s double to make it 6-2.
Dave Roberts went 2-for-4 for the Giants in his first game in Boston since his ninth-inning stolen base in Game 4 of the 2004 AL championship series sparked the Red Sox to an unprecedented comeback against the Yankees.
Tigers 12, Phillies 8
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Ivan Rodriguez drove in five runs and Sean Casey had four hits and three RBIs to help Detroit’s Jeremy Bonderman stay unbeaten.
Jimmy Rollins hit two solo homers and Ryan Howard, Greg Dobbs and Shane Victorino also connected for the Phillies.
Bonderman (7-0) allowed five runs and nine hits in six-plus innings. After getting a no-decision in his first five starts, the right-hander has won his last seven outings.
Bonderman also started the Tigers’ five-run fifth inning with his first hit in 21 career at-bats, an infield single to third base off Jon Lieber (3-5), who gave up seven runs and 10 hits in five innings.
Pirates 4, White Sox 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Paul Maholm allowed three hits over seven innings and Pittsburgh handed Chicago its ninth loss in 10 games.
Maholm (3-9) broke a personal five-game losing streak and Jose Bautista and Xavier Nady each drove in two runs for the Pirates, who have won three of four during a six-game interleague homestand. Matt Capps loaded the bases in the ninth, then walked in a run before getting the final out for his fourth save.
Josh Fields had two hits for Chicago, which has lost four in a row and 16 of 19.
Jon Garland (4-4) allowed four runs and 11 hits in six innings.
Diamondbacks 7, Orioles 3
BALTIMORE (AP) – Pinch-hitter Orlando Hudson homered with two on to cap a five-run eighth inning for Arizona, which ended a three-game losing streak.
Chris Snyder also homered in the eighth for the Diamondbacks, who started the inning trailing 3-0.
The last-place Orioles have lost a season-high six straight and 11 of 13.
Orioles starter Erik Bedard took a four-hitter into the eighth inning, but was replaced by Chad Bradford after yielding Snyder’s homer and a single to Augie Ojeda. Bradford allowed a single to Eric Byrnes, and got a groundout before Todd Williams gave up a run-scoring grounder to Conor Jackson. Williams (0-2) then walked Mark Reynolds and Hudson followed with Arizona’s seventh pinch-hit homer of the season.
Doug Slaten (3-0) pitched the seventh for the Diamondbacks, who bounced back from a three-game sweep by the Yankees.
Blue Jays 7, Nationals 2
TORONTO (AP) – Troy Glaus and Adam Lind homered and Toronto’s Roy Halladay won consecutive starts for the first time in more than a month.
Halladay (7-2) gave up two runs and seven hits over 7 1-3 innings, striking out six and walking one. He hadn’t won back-to-back starts since April 24 and 30.
Lind hit a two-run homer in the fourth, his seventh, off starter Mike Bacsik (1-4). Glaus followed three batters later with an RBI double that made it 3-0. Glaus hit his 11th homer in the sixth, a solo blast off reliever Winston Abreu.
Halladay left after giving up a two-run homer to Ryan Langerhans in the eighth.
Rangers 7, Reds 6
CINCINNATI (AP) – Sammy Sosa hit a grand slam for his 599th career homer to lead Texas.
The 38-year-old slugger is one homer away from a mark that only four others have reached – Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. He ended an 18-game homer drought with his first grand slam since Sept. 15, 2004.
His ninth career grand slam off Matt Belisle (5-5) was the most decisive of four homers in a game matching the AL’s worst starting rotation and the NL’s worst bullpen. Ramon Vazquez also homered for the Rangers, and David Ross and Adam Dunn homered off Vicente Padilla (3-8), who got his first road win.
Eric Gagne retired the side in the ninth and remained perfect in seven save chances this season.
Astros 5, Mariners 1
HOUSTON (AP) – Mike Lamb had four hits, including a home run and a double, and drove in three runs to lead Houston.
The Mariners lost their third straight after a season-high five-game winning streak.
Wandy Rodriguez (4-6) allowed a run and six hits in 7 2-3 innings, the longest outing of his career. Rodriguez has won four of his seven starts since May 13.
Felix Hernandez (3-4) allowed four runs and a career-high 12 hits in six innings.
The Astros tied a season high with 16 hits.
Lamb’s two-run homer in the sixth gave Houston a 4-1 lead. It was his fourth of the season.
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