Pettitte Notches 21st Win As Yankees Keep Rolling

Andy Pettitte tied for the major league lead with his 21st victory, and Tim Raines broke a scoreless tie with a two-run double in the fifth inning as the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 Friday night at Toronto.

The victory was the fourth straight for the Yankees, who maintained their 3-1/2-game lead over Baltimore in the A.L. East.

Pettitte (21-8), who joined Atlanta’s John Smoltz as a 21-game winner, was hit in the left leg by a line drive from Tomas Perez in the third inning. After being checked by trainers, he threw several warm-up pitches, stayed in the game and retired nine of the next 10 Blue Jays batters.

Pettitte gave up one run and seven hits before leaving with two outs in the eighth and runners on first and second. Jeff Nelson relieved and got Joe Carter on a comebacker to end the threat.

John Wetteland pitched the ninth for his league-leading 40th save. He and Dave Righetti, who had 46 in 1986, are the only Yankees to reach 40 saves.

Orioles 7, Tigers 4

Detroit

Rafael Palmeiro and Bobby Bonilla homered on consecutive pitches in the third inning as Baltimore kept pace in the A.L. East by defeating Detroit.

Brady Anderson hit his 45th homer for the Orioles, who won for the seventh time in nine games. Baltimore remained 3-1/2 games behind first-place New York.

The Tigers, who’ve lost seven straight, have allowed 228 home runs this season, breaking the major-league mark of 226 given up by the 1987 Orioles.

Brewers 6, Rangers 3

Arlington, Texas

Former Spokane Indians shortstop Jose Valentin’s sixth-inning homer snapped a tie and rookie Jeff D’Amico pitched six strong innings as Milwaukee beat Texas.

The Rangers, who lead the A.L. West by seven games over Seattle, have lost three straight games for the first time since Aug. 1-3.

Royals 8, Angels 2

Kansas City, Mo.

Tim Belcher, who just signed a new contract with Kansas City, overcame a shaky start to beat California and earn his 14th victory.

Belcher (14-9), who agreed to a two-year, $4 million contract Thursday, allowed 10 hits in seven innings to come within one victory of his career high.

Red Sox 9, White Sox 5

Boston

Roger Clemens pitched seven strong innings and Nomar Garciaparra delivered a two-run triple in a six-run third inning that allowed Boston to defeat Chicago.

Clemens (9-12) is 6-0 in his last nine home starts against Chicago, and hasn’t lost to the White Sox at Fenway Park since 1988.

Athletics vs. Indians, ppd.

Cleveland

After a 2-hour, 10-minute rain delay, the game between Oakland and Cleveland was postponed and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader today.

National League

Mets 6, Braves 4

New York

Rey Ordonez’s one-out RBI double in the eighth inning sent New York to its victory over slumping Atlanta, which lost its fifth consecutive game.

The Braves have lost 10 of their last 12 and are in their second five-game losing slide in two weeks.

The game was delayed 53 minutes by rain after Carl Everett of the Mets beat out an infield single to open the eighth.

Rockies 6, Astros 3

Denver

Dante Bichette hit a record-setting home run and Colorado got clutch relief pitching to beat Houston and extend its winning streak to five games.

Bichette joined left fielder Ellis Burks (38), first baseman Andres Galarraga (43) and third baseman Vinny Castilla (37) in making Colorado the first team to have four players with 30 or more home runs in two seasons.

Cardinals 2, Dodgers 0

Los Angeles

Pinch-runner Miguel Mejia scored a disputed run on a home-plate collision in the ninth inning, giving N.L. Central leader St. Louis an important victory over West Division leader Los Angeles.

Reds 3, Padres 1

San Diego

Mike Morgan pitched six shutout innings and Hal Morris had two RBIs as Cincinnati beat San Diego for the seventh consecutive time.

Jeff Brantley pitched the ninth for his 39th save, tying the Reds’ record set by John Franco in 1988.

Expos 3, Marlins 2

Montreal

Henry Rodriguez and Shane Andrews, who had been in an 0-for-26 slump, homered and Rondell White hit a tie-breaking single in the sixth inning, leading Montreal past Florida.

Cubs 4, Phillies 2

Chicago

Steve Trachsel picked up his first victory in nearly a month and Chicago made the most of five hits to beat Philadelphia.

Pirates 9, Giants 0

San Francisco

Jeff King hit his third grand slam this season and Esteban Loaiza pitched his first career shutout for his first win in over a year, leading Pittsburgh past San Francisco.

Clearing the bases

Frank Thomas hit his 32nd homer to become the career home-run leader for the White Sox with 214, one more than retired Carlton Fisk… . White Sox starter Jason Bere had successful surgery on his right elbow, but will require a lengthy rehabilitation… . The Orioles need three more homers to match the season-record of 240 hit by the 1961 Yankees.

Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane said if he and Harris County can’t agree on a stadium deal this weekend he will ask other owners for permission to negotiate with potential buyers who would move the team… . Mark Grace’s first-inning single for the Cubs was his 1,500th career hit… . Cincinnati acquired left-hander Pedro A. Martinez, who pitched for Spokane in 1987-88, from the Mets… . Another former Spokane Indians pitcher, Rockies reliever Lance Painter, underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a small tear in his left (throwing) shoulder.