DENVER (AP) -Roger Clemens couldn’t hold on for his 350th win and the Colorado Rockies completed a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees with a 4-3 victory Thursday.
Matt Holliday’s RBI single with one out in the fifth broke a 2-2 tie and chased the Rocket, who failed to hold a 2-0 lead and allowed four earned runs and seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
Rodrigo Lopez (4-0) survived Hideki Matsui’s 428-foot, two-run home run into the rock pile in center field and lasted 5 2-3 innings against the Yankees, who fell 10 1/2 games behind Boston in the AL East.
The last time the Bronx Bombers visited Blake Street, in 2002, they set a stadium record by scoring 41 times in a three-game slugfest at Denver’s downtown ballpark. Since then, the humidor has taken full effect as has Colorado’s retooled pitching staff.
The Rockies, a major league-best 20-7 since May 22, cooled off the surging Yankees, who had won 14 of 17 coming into Coors Field. They outscored New York 13-5 in the series, compared to their 41-29 deficit in the 2002 set.
Garrett Atkins and Troy Tulowitzki homered off Clemens (1-2), who was trying to become the first major leaguer to win 350 games since Warren Spahn did it for Milwaukee on Sept. 29, 1963.
Brian Fuentes pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save in 22 chances.
Rangers 6, Cubs 5
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Pinch-hitters Kenny Lofton and Frank Catalanotto singled off the gloves of diving Cubs outfielders in the bottom of the ninth inning, producing the winning run in the Rangers’ victory.
Catalanotto hit a one-out liner down the right-field line that Angel Pagan nearly caught, sending Lofton home with the game winner.
Lofton started the rally off Bob Howry (3-4) with a leadoff pinch-hit single, a sinking liner to left that Alfonso Soriano hauled in after a diving attempt but couldn’t hold onto when he hit the ground. Adam Melhuse, who had homered earlier, then had a sacrifice bunt.
Eric Gagne (2-0), the fifth Texas pitcher, walked one in his scoreless inning.
Orioles 6, Padres 3
SAN DIEGO (AP) – Alberto Castillo hit his first home run in more than two years, leading Erik Bedard and the Orioles to the win.
The Orioles took two of three from the NL West-leading Padres. The two wins came after a nine-game losing streak by Baltimore, which fired manager Sam Perlozzo on Monday and replaced him with Dave Trembley on an interim basis.
Castillo’s solo homer, off David Wells (3-5), was literally a money shot. Shortly before his at-bat in the sixth inning, a few dozen dollar bills came wafting from high in the seats, with several landing in the outfield and foul territory, and some reaching the Orioles dugout.
Padres spokesman George Stieren said the bills were thrown by a fan in a suite on the third-base side of the downtown ballpark. The fan was ejected.
Castillo’s drive gave the Orioles a 3-1 lead.
Bedard (5-4) gave up two runs and five hits in six innings. He struck out nine and walked none, and left after straining his left hamstring.
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