Cincinnati Reds Dmitri Greene slides across home plate as Houston Astros catcher Brad Ausmus waits for the ball in the second inning of the Astros 9-8 win Saturday, June 20, 1998 in Houston.ASSOCIATED PRESS

Baseball roundup: Wells pitches Yankees to best mark

Web posted June 21, 1998

Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- David Wells struck out nine in eight strong innings, and Scott Brosius homered for the second straight game as the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 5-3 on Saturday.

The Yankees have taken three of four from Cleveland in the past week after getting knocked out of the AL division series by the Indians last fall. New York improved to a major league-leading 50-17.

TIGERS 4, ROYALS 3: Bobby Higginson and Luis Gonzalez hit first-inning homers and Brian Moehler continued his strong pitching at home.

The win was just Detroit's third in their last 11 home games, and ended Kansas City's three-game winning streak.

ORIOLES 11, BLUE JAYS 3: Lenny Webster hit the first of three homers off Woody Williams and Baltimore's Scott Erickson pitched his fifth complete game.

Webster's three-run drive in the second inning put Baltimore ahead to stay. Eric Davis and Rafael Palmeiro added two-run homers.

DEVIL RAYS 8, RED SOX 5: Paul Sorrento hit a two-run homer and Dave Martinez doubled with the bases loaded to drive in two runs as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays stopped Boston's four-game winning streak.

Julio Santana (2-0) allowed seven hits over 5 2/3 innings to get his first victory as a starter.

ANGELS 8, RANGERS 3: Steve Sparks overcame Juan Gonzalez's two-run homer in the first inning as the Anaheim Angels beat the Texas Rangers to retain their lead in the AL West.

Sparks (2-0) rebounded from a three-run first to blank the Rangers on three hits over the next 5 1/3 innings as the Angels won for the 17th time in 20 games to increase their lead over Texas to 1 1/2 games.

Gonzalez hit his 23rd homer to increase his major league-RBI total to 88.

ATHLETICS 6, MARINERS 2: Jimmy Haynes pitched shutout ball for 7 1/3 innings before being knocked out of the game by a line drive and A.J. Hinch and Jason Giambi hit home runs.

Haynes (5-3) allowed four singles, walked two and struck out six to give the third-place A's a four-game lead over the last-place Mariners in the AL West.

He left the game after being hit in the right forearm by Joey Cora's line drive to open the eighth. The ball ricocheted to first baseman Jack Voight who made the putout.

A preliminary report from the A's clubhouse said Haynes' forearm was bruised.

GIANTS 5, PADRES 2: The San Diego Padres came up one short in their bid to surpass the longest winning streak in the club's 30-year history.

Shawn Estes and Robb Nen combined on a six-hitter and Rich Aurilia doubled and singled to drive in three runs as the San Francisco Giants stopped the Padres' 11-game winning streak.

MARLINS 8, METS 3: Livan Hernandez pitched a complete game and Todd Zeile hit a two-run homer as the Florida Marlins won for their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Hernandez (5-4) allowed eight hits, struck out four and walked two in the fourth complete game of his career. Derrek Lee was 4-for-5 with two RBI for the Marlins.

Mets starter Hideo Nomo (2-8), winless since April 28 with Los Angeles, lasted five-plus innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and six walks.

ASTROS 9, REDS 8: Carl Everett's two-out, bases-loaded double capped a four-run eighth inning.

Jeff Bagwell added a three-run homer as Houston handed Cincinnati its season-high seventh consecutive loss.

Astros starter Scott Elarton, making his major league debut, allowed five hits and three runs in 6 1/3 innings, striking out nine.

PIRATES 4, BREWERS 2: Jon Lieber surrendered four hits in eight innings and hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates.

ROCKIES 7, DODGERS 6: Ellis Burks homered and drove in four runs and the Colorado Rockies snapped a four-game losing streak.