
Baseball roundup: Sunday's action on the diamonds
Published Monday June 29th, 2009

Mariano Rivera has 500 saves - and one precious RBI.
Guess which feat he was most excited about. On a New York night that belonged to baseball's most unflappable closer, Rivera became the second reliever to reach the 500-save milestone when the Yankees held off the punchless Mets 4-2 Sunday for a Subway Series sweep. He joined Milwaukee's Trevor Hoffman, who has 571 saves, as the only major leaguers with 500. The biggest surprise, though: Rivera drew a bases-loaded walk to add a ninth-inning insurance run.
"I had one thing in mind - just try to do something," Rivera said, before expounding on his save. "Don't get me wrong, it's definitely special."
Chien-Ming Wang won for the first time in more than a year and Rivera got four outs, securing the Yankees' fifth consecutive victory, all on the road.
In a fun twist, the 39-year-old closer even contributed offensively. The Mets walked Derek Jeter intentionally to get to Rivera with two outs, but he's proved to be no pushover at the plate. He fouled off a 2-2 pitch from Francisco Rodriguez before working out a walk for his first career RBI.
Elsewhere in interleague play it was, Philadelphia 5 Toronto 4; Atlanta 2 Boston 1; Detroit 4 Houston 3; Kansas City 3 Pittsburgh 2; Tampa Bay 5 Florida 2; Cincinnati 8 Cleveland 1; Washington 5 Baltimore 3; Chicago White Sox 6 Chicago Cubs 0; Minnesota 6 St. Louis 2; Seattle 4 Los Angeles Dodgers 2; Colorado 3 Oakland 1; Los Angeles Angels 12 Arizona 8; And San Diego 2 Texas 0. In the National Leauge, San Francisco blanked Milwaukee 7-0.
At New York, it was the third regular-season plate appearance for Rivera - and second in five days. With his teammates yucking it up in the dugout, he flied out against Atlanta on Wednesday, when he got save No. 498.
"He looks good up there," longtime teammate Andy Pettitte said. "I think in Atlanta they gave him a take sign and he swung anyway."
Mark Teixeira hit a two-run double off Livan Hernandez (5-3) in a three-run first, when the Yankees had two of their four hits.
The injury-depleted Mets managed five, their best offensive output of the three-game series. The Yankees took five of six games from their crosstown rivals this season, handing the Mets their first sweep in 13 series at their new home, Citi Field.
"He's one of the premier closers in my time," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said about Rivera. "I wasn't applauding him tonight, but you do have to applaud that."
Rivera entered with two on in the eighth and went to a full count on Omir Santos before throwing a called third strike. The right-hander pitched a one-hit ninth for his 18th save in 19 chances this season.
"He's the definition of consistency," Jeter said.
After the final out, Teixeira handed Rivera the game ball and the Yankees poured out of the dugout to hug him near first base.
It was the 110th time Rivera has gone more than one inning for a save. And he's done all this with one pitch for the most part - that searing cut fastball.
"I told him he's the best ever. The best I've seen. Nobody can even compare," Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said.
The Yankees (43-32) matched a season high at 11 games over .500.
Still struggling with his command, Wang (1-6) allowed four hits and three walks in a season-high 5 1-3 innings. He was pulled with a runner on second, but Phil Coke and Phil Hughes got the Yankees out of the sixth unscathed.
Hughes worked around a leadoff walk in a hitless seventh. Brian Bruney got two outs but walked two batters before manager Joe Girardi called on Rivera, whose first save came on May 17, 1996, against the California Angels when he got Garret Anderson to ground into a game-ending double play, closing out an 8-5 victory for Andy Pettitte and the Yankees.
Phillies 5 Blue Jays 4
At Toronto, Chase Utley hit a two-run triple, Jamie Moyer won back-to-back starts for the first time in more than two months and Philadelphia held on to beat the Blue Jays.
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Braves 2 Red Sox 1
At Atlanta, rookie Tommy Hanson threw six scoreless innings despite a bout with the flu, and homers by Chipper Jones and Garret Anderson carried Atlanta past Boston to prevent a Red Sox sweep.
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Tigers 4 Astros 3
At Houston, Brandon Inge hit a two-run homer off Jose Valverde with two outs in the ninth inning and Detroit averted a sweep with a win over the Astros.
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Royals 3 Pirates 2
At Pittsburgh, Zack Greinke didn't allow a run until making his final pitch before a rain delay in the seventh inning, and Kansas City kept the Pirates from sweeping an interleague series for the first time since 2001.
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Rays 5 Marlins 2
At St. Petersburgh, Fla., David Price allowed one run over 6 1-3 innings and Tampe Bay beat Florida to complete a three-game sweep.
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Reds 8 Indians 1
At Cleveland, Brandon Phillips celebrated his 28th birthday with another big game against the Indians, leading the Reds over his former team.
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Nationals 5 Orioles 3
At Baltimore, John Lannan took a four-hitter into the eighth inning, Adam Dunn hit a colossal home run, and Washington defeated the Orioles to avoid a three-game sweep.
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White Sox 6 Cubs 0
At Chicago, John Danks pitched seven shutout innings, Chris Getz stole home against Carlos Zambrano and the White Sox got another run on a bases-loaded infield fly rule to beat the Cubs.
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Twins 6 Cardinals 2
At St. Louis, Francisco Liriano pitched seven strong innings, Justin Morneau of New Westminster, B.C., hit a three-run home run and Minnesota beat the Cardinals.
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Mariners 4 Dodgers 2
At Los Angeles, Jose Lopez had three hits including a two-run double, Adrian Beltre singled home a run in his last game before undergoing shoulder surgery, and Seattle beat the Dodgers.
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Rockies 3 Athletics 1
At Oakland, Aaron Cook took a shutout into the ninth inning and won his fifth consecutive start as Colorado defeated the Athletics.
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Angels 12 Diamondbacks 8
At Phoenix, Gary Matthews Jr. stole home and hit a three-run double, Juan Rivera, Jeff Mathis and Maicer Izturis homered and Los Angeles beat Arizona.
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Padres 2 Rangers 0
At Arlington, Texas, Chad Gaudin (4-6) allowed one hit over eight scoreless innings and Scott Hairston snapped an 0-for-17 slide with a homer for San Diego as they won their first series in a month.
National League
Giants 7 Brewers 0
At Milwaukee, Ryan Sadowski scattered four hits over six scoreless innings in his major league debut and San Francisco avoided a three-game sweep with a win over the Brewers.


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