Crazy 8s: Yankees, White Sox Each Score 8 In 2nd

NEW YORK (AP) _ All these runs, all these hits, and not one single homer for Alex Rodriguez. <br/><br/>On a day of crazy 8s, the White Sox and New York Yankees scored eight runs each in the second-highest

Thursday, August 2nd 2007, 5:41 pm

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ All these runs, all these hits, and not one single homer for Alex Rodriguez.

On a day of crazy 8s, the White Sox and New York Yankees scored eight runs each in the second-highest scoring inning in major league history. Jermaine Dye homered twice and doubled twice, including a go-ahead drive that led Chicago to a 13-9 victory Thursday.

``You put up an 8-spot and they come right back and put up an 8-spot. Dye said. ``It's weird.''

New York had 33 in the series and 39 hits _ 15 of them homers. But there were no home runs by A-Rod, who ended a career-high hitless streak at 22 at-bats when he singled in the second. Rodriguez went 2-for-5 and keeps up his quest to become the youngest player to reach 500 homers on Friday against Kansas City _ the team that allowed No. 499 on July 25.

``I didn't try to do too much,'' Rodriguez said. ``Back to work tomorrow.''

After losing the first two games of the series 16-3 and 8-1, the White Sox took an 8-0 lead as Dye doubled twice in the second against Roger Clemens, who left after five outs in his shortest outing since June 14, 2000, when he got just three outs against Boston. Jon Garland didn't do much better, and the second inning dragged on for exactly 1 hour and 90 pitches.

``It's a funny thing because of who is on the mound,'' White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. ``You have a Hall of Famer and a guy who regularly wins like 17 games every year, and if you came to the ballpark today, you wouldn't expect to see that.''

It was only the second time in major league history both teams scored eight or more in an inning. The first was on May 8, 2004, when visiting Detroit got eight and Texas had 10 in the fifth inning of the Rangers' 16-15, 10-inning win. The 16 runs combined were a record for a second inning, two more than the previous mark.

``One of a kind, that's for sure,'' Rodriguez said. ``That was a long inning.''

Dye homered off Jeff Karstens (0-2) for a 10-8 lead in the fourth and hit a solo shot to center field in the eighth off Kyle Farnsworth. Paul Konerko also homered and had three hits for Chicago, which ended a three-game losing streak.

Designated hitter Jim Thome left the game because of back spasms and third baseman Alex Cintron left because of an upset stomach in the fifth inning. Then Darin Erstad fell down while flying out to center in the sixth and left because of cramps.

Guillen said Thome will rest Friday at Detroit, but Erstad and Cintron could possibly play.

Clemens was booed off the mound after allowing eight runs and nine hits in 1 2-3 innings. Garland gave up eight runs and nine hits in 1 1-3 innings. Five relievers allowed just six hits the rest of the way, and only Ryan Bukvich allowed a run, Bobby Abreu's solo shot leading off the sixth.

Only three of Chicago's runs off Clemens were earned thanks to the first of Robinson Cano's two errors. The second baseman mishandled Jerry Owens' grounder near the bag with one out before Clemens dove and flipped the ball to Jorge Posada at the plate after Cintron's dribbler to get Erstad. After that, the next four batters all got hits before manager Joe Torre replaced Clemens.

``Everything was flat out there, up in the zone a lot,'' Posada said.

Making his last start before turning 45, the Rocket pitched a perfect first inning before the White Sox got to him with a series of singles and doubles that eluded fielders. When Torre replaced him with left-hander Mike Myers, the fans at Yankee Stadium booed loudly, but the boos faded to polite applause by the time Clemens trudged to the dugout.

``When you can't stop the activity that's going on, it's disappointing,'' Clemens said. ``Robby plays his tail off. ... If you make a good pitch, you're going to get out of it.''

New York came back quickly, getting five straight hits off Garland, including Wilson Betemit's three-run homer and Rodriguez's RBI single. Betemit, acquired this week and making his first start for New York, received a curtain call.

After that, Garland was removed for Boone Logan (2-0), who allowed a tying, two-run double to Posada, but got a grounder from Cano that brought the inning to an end. Finally.

Notes: New York dropped three games back of Cleveland, the AL wild-card leader. ... Chicago activated RHP Mike MacDougal from the 15-day DL before the game. He pitched two innings of one-hit relief. ... Posada was hurt in a collision at the plate with Danny Richar to end the eighth. He was removed for Jose Molina in the bottom half, but said he was fine and would most likely play Friday. ... The White Sox wore their black alternate jerseys, despite a game-time temperature of 94 degrees. They wore grays the night before. ... There was a moment of silence before the game to remember the victims of Wednesday's bridge collapse in Minneapolis. ... Derek Jeter pinch hit for Betemit in the seventh. ... Clemens hadn't allowed that many runs since Aug. 29, 2003, when all nine runs he gave up against the White Sox were earned.