Thursday’s games
American League
Yankees 8, Red Sox 6: Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees got the best of Curt Schilling this time. With the bloody-ankled hero of Boston’s 2004 World Series victory debuting in his new job as a reliever, Rodriguez hit a two-run homer to break a ninth-inning tie and the Yankees beat the Red Sox, at Boston, to close within 1 1/2 games of first place in the East. Jason Giambi, Bernie Williams and Sheffield also hit home runs for the Yankees.
Athletics 6, Rangers 0: Rich Harden carried a perfect game into the eighth inning at Oakland, Calif., and finished with a masterful two-hitter in the Athletics’ victory over Texas.
Devil Rays 3, Blue Jays 0: Casey Fossum and Danys Baez combined on a six-hitter for Tampa Bay’s first shutout of the season, over the Blue Jays at Toronto.
White Sox 1, Indians 0: Jose Contreras pitched three-hit ball for seven innings to lead Chicago to a victory over Kevin Millwood and the Indians at Cleveland.
Royals 12, Tigers 9: Matt Stairs hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in six runs and Zack Greinke won for the first time since May 31, as Kansas City beat the Tigers at Detroit.
Angels 3, Twins 2: Steve Finley, Maicer Izturis and Adam Kennedy each had two hits and an RBI to lead Los Angeles over Minnesota at Minneapolis, snapping the Angels’ season-high four-game losing streak.
National League
Giants 4, Dodgers 3: Light-hitting Omar Vizquel’s three-run homer in the seventh inning drove in the go-ahead runs, and San Francisco took advantage of the early ejection of Los Angeles starter Brad Penny to beat the Dodgers at Los Angeles. Penny was thrown out in the third inning by plate umpire Rob Drake after tossing his helmet in protest of a call at first base. Jason Schmidt pitched six solid innings to snap a two-game losing streak. Tyler Walker, the fourth Giants pitcher, worked the ninth for his 14th save in 16 chances. The loss was the fifth straight and 12th in 17 games for the Dodgers, who fell a season-worst nine games below .500 (40-49).
Cubs 5, Pirates 1: Mark Prior allowed two hits in eight strong innings and helped himself with a pair of singles, and the Cubs beat visiting Pittsburgh for their fourth straight win.
Brewers 4, Nationals 2: Damian Miller atoned for a baserunning blunder with a two-run double off Gary Majewski in the eighth inning that gave the Brewers a win over Washington at Milwaukee.
Mets 6, Braves 3: Mike Piazza hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the eighth inning and David Wright connected twice to lead the Mets over Atlanta at New York.
Phillies 13, Marlins 7: Mike Lieberthal and Pat Burrell each hit two home runs to lead the Phillies to a victory over Florida at Philadelphia.
Diamondbacks 6, Padres 0: Javier Vazquez was brilliant, pitching eight sharp innings while getting two hits and scoring a run as Arizona beat the Padres at San Diego. Shawn Green had three hits for the Diamondbacks, who pulled within 4 1/2 games of the West-leading Padres in baseball’s weakest division.