Gagne, Jenks Post Saves in Doubleheaders

Eric Gagne and Bobby Jenks shut the door on their opponents _ twice in one day. The star closers saved both ends of doubleheaders Tuesday for the first time in their careers. <br/><br/>Gagne got the last

Wednesday, July 25th 2007, 7:38 am

By: News On 6

Eric Gagne and Bobby Jenks shut the door on their opponents _ twice in one day. The star closers saved both ends of doubleheaders Tuesday for the first time in their careers.

Gagne got the last three outs after a leadoff hit each time as the Texas Rangers swept the Seattle Mariners. Texas won the nightcap 4-3 after a 2-1 victory in the opener.

Limited to 15 1-3 innings the last two seasons for the Los Angeles Dodgers because of three operations (two elbow, one back), Gagne pitched in three games in a 24-hour span. It was a strong indication that he's indeed healthy.

``You can talk about it, but until you prove it, that's all that matters,'' said Gagne, who has 16 saves in 17 chances. ``Going back-to-back days and back-to-back games on the same day, it's just good to prove it.''

Jenks got three outs for his 28th save in 33 chances as the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 8-7 for a sweep of the day-night doubleheader. Chicago won the first game 5-3, with Jenks retiring the side in order in that one, too.

In other AL games, it was: Boston 1, Cleveland 0; New York 9, Kansas City 4; Toronto 7, Minnesota 0; Baltimore 3, Tampa Bay 0; and Oakland 4, Los Angeles 3.

At Texas, Travis Metcalf was 4-for-4 in the night game, his last hit an RBI double in the eighth.

The two saves for Gagne came after he gave up three runs in the ninth inning of the Rangers' 8-7 victory in the series opener Monday night.

``Every time you give up runs, you want to get back on the mound and get the negative thoughts out of your mind,'' Gagne said.

Gerald Laird led off the eighth in Game 2 with a single before a sacrifice bunt by Ramon Vazquez. Metcalf then doubled off the left-field wall off Chris Reitsma (0-2).

C.J. Wilson (2-1) struck out three in 1 1-3 innings in relief of Kameron Loe.

In the opener, John Rheinecker didn't allow an earned run in seven innings and Marlon Byrd drove in a run with his third triple in four games for the Rangers.

Rheinecker (1-0), recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma a day earlier and making only his second start this season, limited the Mariners to six hits.

Ryan Feierabend (1-4), recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to start for Seattle, gave up two runs and six hits over five innings.

At Chicago, Carlos Guillen misplayed A.J. Pierzynski's one-hopper, allowing the go-ahead run to score in the eighth inning of the nightcap as the White Sox swept a doubleheader.

The White Sox trailed 7-1 in the night game before getting two runs in the sixth, then closed to 7-6 when Jim Thome hit a three-run homer off Chad Durbin in the seventh.

Matt Thornton (3-3) got the final out of the top of the eighth for the win, with some help from Jenks. Zach Miner (1-2) took the loss.

In the day game, Javier Vazquez (8-5) allowed four hits over eight innings to win his fifth straight decision, and Paul Konerko's two-run homer off Jeremy Bonderman led the White Sox to the win.

Bonderman (10-2) gave up five runs and eight hits in seven innings.

Red Sox 1, Indians 0

At Cleveland, rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka worked seven innings and outpitched C.C. Sabathia, denying the Indians' ace his 14th win as the Red Sox won their fifth straight.

Matsuzaka (12-7), tagged for a season-high 12 hits in his first start against Cleveland on May 30, gave up four hits before turning it over to the majors' best bullpen. He was only slightly better than Sabathia (13-5), who gave up five singles, struck out seven and didn't allow a walk in seven strong innings. The left-hander was trying to become baseball's first 14-game winner.

Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his 23rd save as the Red Sox reached the 100-game mark a major league-best 61-39.

Yankees 9, Royals 4

Derek Jeter had four hits, New York batted around in both the first and second innings and the visiting Yankees extended their winning streak to five.

Chien-Ming Wang (11-5) won for the eighth time in nine decisions. The Yankees have scored 63 runs in a five-game span for the first time since July 26-29, 1931, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. New York put a runner on base in 24 consecutive innings before Joel Peralta pitched a perfect eighth. New York (53-46), a season-best seven games over .500, has won 10 of 12.

Scott Elarton (2-4) gave up seven runs and six hits in 1 2-3 innings.

Blue Jays 7, Twins 0

At Toronto, Vernon Wells drove in four runs, Dustin McGowan (7-5) won consecutive starts for the first time since early June and the Blue Jays matched their longest winning streak of the season at four.

Wells homered in the fourth off Scott Baker (4-4), his 14th of the season but first since July 6, and added a two-run double in the eighth against Pat Neshek.

Orioles 3, Devil Rays 0

Daniel Cabrera (7-10) pitched seven innings of one-hit ball and earned his first win since June 22, improving to 5-0 lifetime against the visiting Devil Rays.

Scott Kazmir (7-7) struck out eight, but gave up three runs, seven hits and three walks in 6 2-3 innings. Tampa Bay has lost seven in a row in Baltimore, and is 5-21 overall since June 25.

Athletics 4, Angels 3

At Los Angeles, converted reliever Lenny DiNardo (5-6) held the Angels to three hits while pitching into the seventh inning, and Travis Buck had four hits, including a homer, and drove in three runs for Oakland.

Kelvim Escobar (11-4) gave up three runs on eight hits over seven innings.