Hernandez Leads Mariners Past Yankees

Roger Clemens' elbow forced him out of the opener of the New York Yankees' big three-game series against the Seattle Mariners. <br/><br/>Ichiro Suzuki had three hits to equal another record, Clemens

Tuesday, September 4th 2007, 7:21 am

By: News On 6

Roger Clemens' elbow forced him out of the opener of the New York Yankees' big three-game series against the Seattle Mariners.

Ichiro Suzuki had three hits to equal another record, Clemens left early and the Mariners beat the Yankees 7-1 Monday.

Clemens (6-6) allowed five runs and eight hits in four innings, then went for an MRI exam.

``First three innings it was a manageable situation for him and then it started to tighten up,'' Yankees manager Joe Torre said. ``Hopefully it's just something that needs a little rest.''

Suzuki homered in the third inning to reach 200 hits for the seventh consecutive season, tying the AL mark held by Wade Boggs (1983-89) and moving within one of the major league record held by Willie Keeler (1894-01).

Seattle ended a nine-game losing streak and trimmed New York's wild-card lead to one game. The Mariners won for the first time since beating Texas 4-2 on Aug. 24.

``I can sleep tonight,'' manager John McLaren said. ``That's a start.''

In other games, it was Boston 13, Toronto 10; Los Angeles 9, Oakland 5; Cleveland 5, Minnesota 0; Tampa Bay 9, Baltimore 7; and Kansas City 8, Texas 1.

Felix Hernandez (11-7) allowed five hits over seven innings, improving to 5-1 in his last eight starts. The age difference between Clemens (45) and Hernandez (21) was the largest between opposing starters since Florida's Charlie Hough (46) matched up against San Francisco's Salomon Torres (22) on April 16, 1994.

New York's Mike Mussina pitched 3 2-3 innings in his first relief appearance in 499 regular-season games, setting the major league record for most starts to begin a career before a relief appearance.

``I might be pitching Roger's turn the next time,'' Mussina said, ``but we'll wait and see.''

Red Sox 13, Blue Jays 10

Daisuke Matsuzaka (14-11) nearly gave away a 10-1 lead at Fenway Park, allowing seven runs _ which matched his major league high _ and 10 hits in 5 1-3 innings.

Mike Lowell hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs for the Red Sox, who opened a seven-game lead over the second-place Yankees. Lowell is 10-for-16 with eight RBIs in his last four games.

After the Blue Jays scored eight times in the sixth, Boston bounced back with three runs in the bottom half on Jason Varitek's RBI single, Coco Crisp's run-scoring sacrifice bunt and Jason Frasor's balk. Jonathan Papelbon got his 32nd save.

Jesse Litsch (5-7) gave up seven runs and seven hits in 3 1-3 innings.

Angels 9, Athletics 5

Ervin Santana (6-2) pitched two-hit ball over 6 1-3 scoreless innings for his first win since June 9. He had been 0-6 with an 8.28 ERA in his prior nine starts

Gary Matthews Jr., Jeff Mathis and Garret Anderson homered for the Angels, who maintained a 6 1/2-game lead over second-place Seattle in the AL West.

Chad Gaudin (10-10) allowed seven runs _ six earned _ and eight hits in five innings. The visiting A's are 14 games out of first, matching their largest deficit this season.

Indians 5, Twins 0

C.C. Sabathia (16-7) gave up six hits in eight innings to help visiting Cleveland extend its AL Central lead over the defending division champs to 10 1/2 games.

That's the biggest deficit for third-place Minnesota during this disappointing year in which Johan Santana (14-11) lost all five starts against Cleveland.

Ryan Garko homered, and each of the three batters walked by Santana scored.

Sabathia, who bested Santana for the second time in a week, gave up six hits and one walk while striking out six. Minnesota has been blanked a big-league high 13 times.

Devil Rays 9, Orioles 7

Carlos Pena hit his team-record 35th homer, a tiebreaking two-run drive in a three-run seventh that helped Tampa Bay overcome a 4-0 deficit.

Pena's drive off Jim Hoey (1-4) struck an overhanging catwalk and gave Tampa Bay a 6-4 lead. Pena's total is one more than Jose Canseco (1999) and current Orioles designated hitter Aubrey Huff (2003) hit for the Devil Rays.

James Shields (11-8) gave up four runs _ one earned _ and seven hits in seven innings for the Devil Rays, who have won nine of 11. Visiting Baltimore has lost 12 of 13 _ getting outscored 128-56.

Royals 8, Rangers 1

Zack Greinke (6-5) allowed five hits in five shutout innings for his first win as a starter since April 10.

Ross Gload homered, and Alex Gordon had three hits and four RBIs for the visiting Royals, who matched a season high with 16 hits. With one more win, the Royals would avoid their fourth straight 100-loss season.

Kameron Loe (6-11) left after three innings due to a sore right elbow. He allowed two runs, five hits and four walks.