Mussina and Yankees do just enough for 5-2 victory
CLEVELAND: Mike Mussina earned his 253rd win, tying Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell on the majors' career list, and the New York Yankees made the most of their five hits in a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Monday.
Mussina (3-3) allowed two runs and seven hits in five innings, just long enough to catch Hubbell for 41st place.
Mussina was followed by Jonathan Albaladejo, Kyle Farnsworth, Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera, who worked the ninth for his eighth save in eight tries.
Hideki Matsui had two RBIs as New York earned a split of the four-game series after losing the first two. The club will now head back to the comforts of Yankee Stadium after playing 18 games on the road in April - the most by any team in the month.
Held without a hit for five innings by Aaron Laffey (0-1), who was called up to make his season debut for Cleveland, the Yankees strung together four hits - three of them didn't leave the infield - two groundouts and a hit batter to score four times in the sixth and take a 4-2 lead.
Earlier, the Yankees placed durable catcher Jorge Posada (shoulder) on the disabled list for the first time in his career.
In Chicago, rain forced Baltimore and Chicago to start two hours late and stop late without a winner.
The game will resume at the beginning of the 12th later this season, but no date was set. All the statistics count.
Baltimore tied the game at 2-2 in the ninth off Chicago's Bobby Jenks on Melvin Mora's RBI single following a leadoff double and stolen base by Brian Roberts.
Ramon Hernandez homered off Scott Linebrink in the top of the 11th to give the Orioles a 3-2 lead.
But Juan Uribe hit a solo homer in the 11th off Baltimore closer George Sherrill, his first blown save in 10 chances this year.
A daylong rain puddled the muddy infield, so umpires called for the tarp after the inning and moments later came an announcement that the game was suspended.
In Anaheim, California, Frank Thomas tripled for the first time in six years, Daric Barton hit a three-run homer and Oakland took over the American League West lead from Los Angeles by routing the defending division champions 14-2 in the opener of a four-game series.
Jack Hannahan and Emil Brown also homered for the Athletics, who have won eight of 10. They came into this series with just 12 home runs through their first 26 games.
Chad Gaudin (3-1) breezed to his third straight victory, allowing two runs - one earned - and five hits over six innings.
Jon Garland (3-3) yielded seven runs, 10 hits and three walks in six-plus innings. The right-hander is 0-5 in his last seven starts against Oakland, and 3-9 with a 5.01 ERA in 14 career starts against the A's.
Agencies
(China Daily 04/30/2008 page22)
