In major league baseball, Boston's Pedro Martinez pitched seven strong innings to lead the Red Sox to a 5-1 win Saturday over the Seattle Mariners, the top team in the American League's West division.
Martinez, who allowed three hits, remained undefeated against the Mariners, with a career record of 11 wins and no losses. Kevin Millar hit a solo home run and drove in two runs for the Red Sox.
New York's Jason Giambi belted a 12th-inning homer in Baltimore to give the Yankees a 5-4 win over the Orioles. It was Giambi's 35th homer of the season.
The Orioles had tied the game in the ninth with a home run against the Yankees' top closer, Mariano Rivera. The Birds almost clawed back to a tie in the 12th, but a rookie base-runner fell down and was tagged out just three meters from home plate, which the Yankees had left uncovered during a run-down play.
In other AL games Saturday, the Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-4, the Minnesota Twins embarrassed the Kansas City Royals, 14-5, and the Texas Rangers pulled out a 12-8 win over the Chicago White Sox. Also, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays topped the Cleveland Indians, 5-3, and the Anaheim Angels rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers, 11-7.
In the National League, the Houston Astros ended a four-game skid with a 5-2 road win over the Cincinnati Reds. Lance Berkman and Jeff Kent both homered.
Adrian Beltre of Los Angeles homered and drove in a season-high four runs as the Dodgers trounced the Chicago Cubs, 10-5. Jeromy Burnitz also homered for the visiting Dodgers, who snapped the Cubs' four-game win streak.
In Atlanta, the Braves scored five times in the fifth inning to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 10-6. The victory was Atlanta's 80th of the season, tops in the majors.
In other NL contests, the Milwaukee Brewers' Scott Podsednik hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-4. The Florida Marlins pulled out a 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres, and the Philadelphia Phillies edged the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4. The Montreal Expos powered past the San Francisco Giants, 4-1, and the New York Mets extended their win streak to four games with a 13-4 shellacking of the Colorado Rockies.