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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, July 19, 2008

Anderson's 5 RBIs propel Angels, 11-3

 •  Reds end Mets' win streak at 10 games

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Garret Anderson

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ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Boston Red Sox came out flat in their first game after the All-Star break and Garret Anderson went 4 for 4 and drove in five runs to lead the Los Angeles Angels to an 11-3 victory last night.

"I've been seeing the ball pretty good for a while now," said Anderson, who is hitting .300 lifetime against Boston with 14 homers and 77 RBIs. "It's time I'm getting some results for it. It was good to throw some runs on the board and apply some pressure to them."

Manny Ramirez, whose defensive play in left field has always been a cause for concern for the Red Sox, misplayed what appeared to be a bloop RBI single by Maicer Izturis into a triple during a three-run sixth that extended the Angels' lead to 11-3.

The 12-time All-Star made a futile dive for a ball he had no chance of catching, then stumbled as he went to retrieve it — and ended up rolling over onto the baseball. Ramirez finally relayed it back to the infield a few seconds later and broke into a huge grin that didn't exactly mirror the pained expression on manager Terry Francona's face.

"It's not an error, but I think I made the bloopers for life," Ramirez said. "I had a bad jump, but I still went for it. I missed the ball and that was it. I felt like I was swimming in a swamp right there."

The Angels, going for their fourth AL West title in five years, bumped their division lead over Oakland to a season-best seven games with their major league-leading 58th victory. They are 20 games over .500 for the first time this year.

John Lackey (7-2) allowed three runs and five hits over seven innings and struck out six. The right-hander recorded his 1,000th strikeout when he fanned Kevin Youkilis in the fourth.

Youkilis and Ramirez homered for the Red Sox, who dropped into second place in the AL East with their eighth loss in 10 road games and Tampa Bay's 2-1 win over Toronto.

Clay Buchholz (2-5) was charged with eight runs (four earned) and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings in his second start since returning from the minors. He is 0-3 with a 10.00 ERA in his last four starts.

RAYS 2, BLUE JAYS 1

Ben Zobrist hit a two-run homer off A.J. Burnett (10-9) in the seventh and James Shields (8-6) gave up a run and four hits over seven innings as host Tampa Bay defeated Toronto to snap a seven-game losing streak and move one-half game ahead of Boston atop the AL East.

YANKEES 7, ATHLETICS 1

Robinson Cano hit a three-run homer, Alex Rodriguez also connected and Richie Sexson had an RBI single in his first at-bat with his new team to back Mike Mussina (12-6) as host New York beat Oakland.

ORIOLES 7, TIGERS 4

Luke Scott homered twice, Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff also went deep and Jeremy Guthrie (6-7) won his third straight decision despite giving up four runs and 12 hits in six-plus innings as host Baltimore beat Detroit.

TWINS 6, RANGERS 0

Glen Perkins (7-2) spaced three hits over six innings, three relievers finished the three-hitter, and host Minnesota used a four-run seventh to hand Texas its first shutout this season, while ending Ian Kinsler's 25-game hitting streak.

WHITE SOX 9, ROYALS 5

Jermaine Dye's two-run single highlighted a six-run bottom of the first inning that featured seven hits and Mark Buehrle (7-8) gave up four runs and four hits over seven innings as Chicago beat Kansas City.

MARINERS 8, INDIANS 2

Raul Ibanez hit a grand slam and Felix Hernandez (7-6) struck out eight and allowed four hits and two runs in six innings, helping host Seattle end Cleveland's five-game winning streak.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

PHILLIES 4, MARLINS 2

Jamie Moyer (9-6) beat Florida for the 10th time in as many career starts, allowing two runs and four hits in six innings, Ryan Howard hit his 29th homer, most in the majors, and Geoff Jenkins added his eighth homer and singled home a run for visiting Philadelphia.

DODGERS 8, DIAMONDBACKS 7

Nomar Garciaparra had his first multihomer game in nearly six years, Matt Kemp also homered, and James Loney went deep leading off the top of the 11th inning to lift Los Angeles over Arizona and into a first-place tie with the Diamondbacks in the NL West.

BRAVES 7, NATIONALS 6

Tim Hudson (10-7) gave up nine hits and five runs in 6 2/3 innings and Brian McCann's three-run double gave host Atlanta a 6-2 lead in the third inning, before Washington closed to within a run and left the tying run at third in the ninth.

ASTROS 2, CUBS 1

Miguel Tejada led off the bottom of the ninth with a ground-rule double and Hunter Pence lined the first pitch he saw from Bob Howry (3-3) to the gap in left center, lifting Houston, which has won four of its last five games.

CARDINALS 11, PADRES 7

Yadier Molina's two-run single with the bases loaded broke an eighth-inning tie, and pinch-hitter Chris Duncan and Aaron Miles added two-out RBI singles to cap the four-run outburst as visiting St. Louis beat San Diego.

ROCKIES 5, PIRATES 2

Matt Holliday, Brad Hawpe and Seth Smith hit homers, and Glendon Rusch (2-1) gave up two runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings to win his second straight start since being recalled from Triple-A on July 5, leading host Colorado.

BREWERS 9, GIANTS 1

CC Sabathia (3-0) pitched a four-hitter to win his third straight start since joining Milwaukee, and Prince Fielder hit a three-run homer in the seventh and Mike Cameron added a three-run shot in the ninth in beating host San Francisco.

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