Sojo’s Single Breaks 0-0 Tie As Yanks Beat Braves In 10th

Interleague roundup

Luis Sojo singled home Joe Girardi from second base with two outs in the 10th inning Monday night as New York defeated Atlanta 1-0 at Yankee Stadium in a rematch of last year’s World Series teams.

Blanked by Tom Glavine for nine innings, the Yankees finally pushed a run across in the 10th to beat the Braves for the fifth straight time, including their four wins to recover from a 2-0 deficit in the Series.

Chad Curtis singled with one out in the ninth off Mike Bielecki (3-4), but was thrown out by center fielder Andruw Jones trying to take third on Girardi’s single. Derek Jeter then singled and Sojo grounded a single through the middle.

Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte was forced to leave the game with a bruised left calf after he was struck by a hard grounder in the fifth inning.

Cubs 8, Royals 7 Chicago

Dave Clark’s three-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the eighth capped a five-run inning and lifted Chicago to a win.

Tigers 14, Mets 0 Detroit

Bobby Higginson hit three home runs and drove in seven runs and Justin Thompson allowed three hits in eight innings as Detroit routed New York.

Higginson hit a two-run homer in the first inning, a three-run shot in the sixth, and another two-run homer in the seventh. The three home runs tied a team record shared by 16 other players.

Marlins 8, Red Sox 5 Boston

Aided by five unearned runs from four Red Sox errors, Alex Fernandez and the Marlins beat Boston, earning a victory in their first visit to Fenway Park.

Pirates 3, White Sox 1 Pittsburgh

Jon Lieber held Frank Thomas and Albert Belle hitless while striking out 10 and Pittsburgh beat Chicago.

The bargain-basement Pirates’ starting lineup will make $4.065 million this season, compared to the White Sox’s $23.49 million. Belle’s $10 million salary is more than the entire Pittsburgh payroll.

Orioles 8, Phillies 1 Baltimore

Cal Ripken’s second grand slam of the season highlighted a six-run third inning and Mike Mussina won his 100th game as Baltimore ended its four-game losing streak.

It was the seventh straight loss for the Phillies, who own the worst record in baseball.

Expos 2, Blue Jays 1 Toronto

Pedro Martinez pitched a three-hitter and Vladimir Guerrero homered in his first interleague at-bat as Montreal beat Toronto in the first regular-season game between the Canadian teams.

Martinez (10-3) retired the first 12 batters he faced before walking Carlos Delgado in the fifth. The right-hander, who struck out 10, lost his no-hitter in the sixth on Alex Gonzalez’s leadoff single.

Reds 4, Brewers 3 Cincinnati

Joe Oliver drove in Cincinnati’s first three runs and Bret Boone knocked in the go-ahead run with a groundout, giving the Reds a win.

The Reds offered reserved seats at half price for the series, but sold only 19,866 - 2,885 below average.

Cardinals 2, Twins 1 St. Louis

Gary Gaetti, Minnesota’s big RBI man a decade ago, drove in the winning run with a third-inning single as St. Louis beat the Twins in the opener of a series matching 1987 World Series opponents.

Indians 6, Astros 4 Houston

Kevin Seitzer hit a two-run, pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a win over Houston.

Indians catcher Sandy Alomar Jr., sporting a 26-game hitting streak, was given the night off.

Rangers 3, Dodgers 2 Los Angeles

Bobby Witt scattered five hits in eight innings and became the first A.L. pitcher to hit a home run in nearly 25 years, leading Texas to a 3-2 victory over Los Angeles.

Roric Harrison of the Baltimore Orioles was the last A.L. pitcher to hit a home run in the regular season. He did it at Cleveland on Oct. 3, 1972. The designated hitter rule took effect the following season.

Padres 15, Athletics 6 Oakland, Calif.

Tony Gwynn, Chris Jones and Greg Vaughn all hit three-run homers as San Diego defeated Oakland before one of the smallest crowds in interleague play.

Only 15,274 attended the game, more than 1,300 below the A’s home average this season. The smallest crowd at an interleague game was 13,351 for Florida at Detroit on June 17.

Rockies 11, Angels 7 Denver

Dante Bichette had three hits and drove in three runs against his former team as Colorado beat Anaheim.

Players of the week named

New York Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez and San Diego Padres outfielder Steve Finley were named the American and National league players of the week.

Martinez, 29, had a league-leading batting average of .545 in six games to win his second weekly award this season. He also led the league with six home runs, 13 runs batted in, 33 total bases and a slugging percentage of 1.500.

Finley, 32, batted .481 with six home runs and nine RBIs over seven games for the week. He also scored 11 runs, recorded five walks and one stolen base and had a 1.148 slugging percentage.

Clearing the bases

Boston placed outfielder Wilfredo Cordero on waivers. If he is claimed before the deadline of 2 p.m. Thursday, the Red Sox could still pull Cordero back, then work out a trade with the claiming team. … Boston pitcher Steve Avery appeared for Triple-A Pawtucket in a rehab start, going five shutout innings and allowing five hits, three walks with one strikeout. … Yankees’ Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu allowed eight hits with seven strikeouts in five innings of a minor-league start for Triple-A Columbus in Rochester, N.Y. Irabu is scheduled to make his major-league debut July 10. … Cardinals outfielder Brian Jordan, who’s on the disabled list with a back injury for the second time, will visit a specialist in St. Louis today. He’s hinted at sitting out the rest of the season.

The Orioles agreed to terms with third-round draft pick Ntema Ndungidi, an outfielder who will become the first African-born player to play in a major league organization. Born in Zaire, he and his family moved to Montreal when he was 3.