Giambi, Cano snap out of offensive funk, lead Yankees

From Call wire services

May 9, 2008

Jason Giambi and the sluggish New York Yankees suddenly turned sluggerish.

The Yankees played home run derby Thursday, with Giambi, Johnny Damon, Robinson Cano and Wilson Betemit connecting in a 6-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians that prevented a three-game sweep.

A day after Damon called the Yankees' recent output ''pitiful,'' a lineup missing injured Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada matched a season high for homers.

Giambi, Cano and Betemit each began the day hitting well under .180. Damon has done better from the leadoff spot, and he homered for the Yankees' first run in the fourth inning and hit a go-ahead double in the fifth.

Giambi has spent the whole season searching for a groove. Along with the home run, the former AL MVP seemed equally pleased by a sharp lineout to center in his next at-bat.

Mike Mussina (5-3) won his fourth consecutive start and earned his 255th career victory, holding on for five innings. Joba Chamberlain won his rematch with David Dellucci and Mariano Rivera closed for his ninth save.

Cano's homer finished Paul Byrd (1-3) in the seventh and Betemit, subbing for Rodriguez, met reliever Masa Kobayashi with a drive over the center-field fence.

The only drama after that came in the eighth when Chamberlain faced Dellucci. On Tuesday night, Dellucci rocked the hard-throwing reliever with a pinch-hit, three-run homer.

Girardi later talked to Chamberlain about his penchant for shaking off his catcher's signs. This time, Chamberlain again shook off Jose Molina, then got Dellucci to swing over a slider for strike three.

Red Sox 5, Tigers 1: At Detroit, Josh Beckett got eight strikeouts, including the 1,000th of his career and Kevin Youkilis hit another home run at Comerica Park to lead Boston.

Beckett (4-2) gave up six hits and a run in seven innings and Youkilis hit his third home run in two games, giving him eight in Detroit.

Orioles 4, Royals 1: At Kansas City, Mo., Daniel Cabrera threw a three-hitter to remain perfect against the Royals and Nick Markakis backed him with a three-run home run, and the Orioles snapped a five-game losing streak.

Cabrera (3-1) struck out seven and walked one in his fifth career complete game and first since Sept. 28, 2006 against the Yankees.

White Sox 6, Twins 2: At Chicago, Jermaine Dye homered for the third consecutive game and Juan Uribe added a go-ahead two-run drive to help the struggling White Sox. John Danks (3-3) made it through five innings, giving up six hits and two runs, and Chicago won for just the second time in nine games.

Rays 8, Blue Jays 3, 13 innings: At Toronto, Dioner Navarro hit a grand slam in the 13th after Carl Crawford drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly for Tampa Bay.

Facing Toronto's seventh pitcher, Shawn Camp (0-1), Jason Bartlett singled off the glove of second baseman Aaron Hill to begin the inning and went to third on Akinori Iwamura's base hit. Carl Crawford lifted a sacrifice fly to right and Bartlett artfully skirted catcher Gregg Zaun, who had ranged up the line to catch Alex Rios' throw.

B.J. Upton singled and Carlos Pena was intentionally walked before Navarro put the game out of reach with his second career grand slam.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Braves 5, Padres 4: At Atlanta, the Braves finally won a one-run game when Matt Diaz hit a bases-loaded single in the ninth.

Atlanta was the first team since the 2000 Houston Astros to lose its first nine one-run games. The Braves were the only team in the major leagues without a one-run victory.

Atlanta, which trailed 4-1 after five innings, has won six consecutive games, all at home.

Pirates 5, Giants 4: At Pittsburgh, Adam LaRoche hit a go-ahead single in a three-run seventh to lead the Pirates to a three-game sweep. Pittsburgh has won 13 of its last 15 games against San Francisco and swept three-game series from the Giants in three consecutive seasons, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Rockies 9, Cardinals 3: At Denver, Matt Holliday had four singles, Jorge De La Rosa scattered five hits over 52/3 innings and the Colorado salvaged a split in the four-game series. It's the 11th time Holliday has tied his career high of four hits. He also scored three runs. Omar Quintanilla added a career-high three hits and Garrett Atkins finished 2-for-3 with a double, triple and two RBIs.

Marlins 7, Brewers 2: At Miami, Matt Treanor achieved a career high in RBIs with one swing Thursday, hitting a three-run homer to help Florida complete a three-game sweep.

Jorge Cantu also homered for the first-place Marlins, who won their fourth game in a row and matched their best start after 34 games (20-14).

Nationals 8, Astros 3: At Houston, Willie Harris and Rob Mackowiak homered to help Washington end the Astros' five-game winning streak. John Lannan (3-3) allowed seven hits in six innings and Austin Kearns had a two-run single off Brandon Backe (2-4) as the Nationals won for the third time in their last 15 road games.