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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, August 21, 2008

Anderson's late RBI lifts Angels

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Garret Anderson's infield single drove in Mark Teixeira and put Los Angeles ahead 5-4 in the ninth against Tampa Bay.

CHRIS O'MEARA | Associated Press

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Given one more chance to extend his hitting streak to 23 games, Garret Anderson made sure he got his bat off his shoulder.

"I told myself as I was walking to the plate that if it's out over the plate, I'm going to swing at it, and that's what it was," he said last night after his ninth-inning infield single gave the Los Angeles Angels a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Anderson struck out with the bases loaded in the seventh — taking three called strikes — but wouldn't repeat the mistake against Chad Bradford after the Rays tied it 4-all on Carlos Pena's eighth-inning RBI double off Jose Arredondo (5-1).

Vladimir Guerrero was walked intentionally to load the bases with one out in the ninth. After Torii Hunter grounded into a force play at the plate, Anderson hit a sharp grounder that second baseman Akinori Iwamura was unable to backhand cleanly moving to his right. Mark Teixeira scored on the play.

The play initially was ruled an error. It was changed to a hit, keeping Anderson's streak alive, after the Angels asked the official scorer to review it.

"That's not a routine play because he did a good job to get in front of it and knock it down. That would have been a terrific play if he could have made it," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said.

The run was charged to Grant Balfour (3-2), who walked Chone Figgins to begin the inning before giving up a one-out single to Teixeira.

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 1: Derek Jeter hit a two-run homer for visiting New York and Andy Pettitte (13-9) pitched seven strong innings to snap a four-start winless streak. Jeter's homer in the fourth was his eighth of the season and 203rd of his career, moving him past Bill Dickey and into a tie with Roger Maris for 11th place on the Yankees' all-time list.

White Sox 15, Mariners 3: Ken Griffey Jr. hit one of host Chicago's four homers to move into a tie with Sammy Sosa for fifth on the career list. Griffey's two-run drive in the second inning was his first since Chicago acquired him from Cincinnati on July 31, and No. 609 for his career.

Orioles 11, Red Sox 6: Ramon Hernandez and Melvin Mora hit three-run homers, and host Baltimore avoided a three-game sweep. Hernandez put the Orioles up 6-4 with his third-inning drive, and Mora's 21st homer of the season made it 10-4 in the fourth.

Indians 8, Royals 5: Franklin Gutierrez hit a three-run homer off Joakim Soria (1-3) in host Cleveland's five-run eighth inning. The Indians' first four hits were home runs, two by Kelly Shoppach, as they won for the ninth time in 12 games.

Rangers 9, Tigers 1: Kevin Millwood scattered six hits in his second complete game of the season for host Texas. Millwood (7-7) struck out three and walked one in his 15th career complete game.

Twins 3, Athletics 1: Mike Redmond drove in two runs for host Minnesota. Francisco Liriano (4-3) allowed an unearned run and five hits in five innings.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rockies 4, Dodgers 3: Brad Hawpe had three RBIs, including singles that drove in the tying and go-ahead runs, and visiting Colorado capitalized on four errors by Los Angeles. Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton (3-5) hit Matt Holliday with an 0-1 pitch to open the ninth. Holliday stole second, continued to third on a throwing error by catcher Danny Ardoin and scored when Hawpe singled.

Reds 2, Cubs 1: Bronson Arroyo allowed three hits and a run in seven innings and visiting Cincinnati beat Chicago. Arroyo (11-10) tied a career high with five walks and struck out four. Cubs starter Ted Lilly (12-7) held the Reds hitless the first five innings.

METS 6, BRAVES 3: Mike Pelfrey pitched a three-hitter for his first career complete game and David Wright homered to lead host New York past Atlanta. Pelfrey (12-8) walked three and struck out three.

Phillies 4, Nationals 0: Brett Myers tossed a nine-hitter for his first shutout in four years and host Philadelphia handed Washington its 12th straight loss. Myers (6-10) struck out nine and walked one.

Cardinals 11, Pirates 2: Rick Ankiel and Jason LaRue hit two-run homers, and Todd Wellemeyer beat visiting Pittsburgh for the third time this season. Wellemeyer (11-4) allowed two runs in five innings.

Brewers 5, Astros 2: Manny Parra lasted five innings to earn his first victory in a month, and J.J. Hardy hit a two-run homer for host Milwaukee. Parra (10-6) allowed two runs and six hits.

Giants 6, Marlins 5: Bengie Molina's sacrifice fly with one out in the bottom of the ninth gave host San Francisco a victory over Florida. Pinch-hitter John Baker hit a three-run homer for Colorado in the top of the inning to tie it at 5.

Diamondbacks 8, Padres 6: Adam Dunn hit his NL-leading 34th home run, his second in as many games, for host Arizona. Chris Snyder also homered for the Diamondbacks.

NOTES

Replay: Baseball umpires and management signed an agreement yesterday that will allow the sport to start using instant replay to help determine calls on the field. Major League Baseball still hasn't determined when the use of replays will start. Officials have said they hoped to start using replay this month.

Royals: Mitch Maier of Kansas City suffered three broken bones when hit in the face by a pitch from Cleveland's Zach Jackson in the fifth inning last night.