The Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves have traded lopsided victories in a Major League Baseball doubleheader.
In the first game Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka earned his sixth win of the season - a 13-3 victory for host Boston. He was helped by four Boston home runs.
Atlanta pitcher John Smoltz then tossed seven shutout innings in the second game, as the Braves routed Boston, 14-0, handing the Red Sox their worst shutout in 17 years.
Boston has the best record in the majors (29-13).
In other interleague games Saturday, the Mets downed the Yankees, 10-7, in a battle of New York teams. The Chicago Cubs scored six runs in the eighth inning, led by Derrek Lee's grand slam home run to beat their cross-town rivals, the White Sox, 11-6. The Detroit Tigers edged the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-7, in a rematch of last year's World Series.
The Minnesota Twins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-2. The Florida Marlins tripped up the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 7-2. The Toronto Blue Jays crushed the Philadelphia Phillies, 13-2, boosted by Matt Stairs' grand slam. The Houston Astros defeated the Texas Rangers, 6-1. The Cincinnati Reds doubled the Cleveland Indians, 10-5. The Baltimore Orioles rallied to beat the Washington Nationals in 11 innings, 3-2.
The Colorado Rockies beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-4. The Los Angeles Angels got by the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-2. The Oakland Athletics downed the San Francisco Giants, 4-2. The Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres, 7-4. And in a National League matchup, the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied from six runs down to edge the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-8, highlighted by Tony Clarks' pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh inning.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
