Yankee star Chien-Ming Wang came within five outs of pitching Major League Baseball's 16th perfect game since 1900, leading New York to an 8-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
Wang did not allow anyone to reach base until the eighth inning Saturday in New York, when Ben Broussard hit a home run.
Wang, of Taiwan, was trying to become the first pitcher in three years to not allow anyone to reach base ,since Arizona's Randy Johnson at Atlanta.
In another American League contest, Tampa Bay's Brendan Harris drove in the game-ending run in the 12th inning, giving the Devil Rays a 3-2 win over the Oakland Athletics.
National League slugger Barry Bonds moved within 11 homers of Hank Aaron's record when Bonds hit number 744 in San Francisco, leading the Giants to a 9-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The National League Houston Astros crushed the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, 13-0. The Chicago Cubs used three bases-loaded walks to beat the Washington Nationals, 5-3. The Los Angeles Dodgers doubled the Atlanta Braves, 6-3. The National League-leading Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-3. The Colorado Rockies used two home runs by Matt Holliday to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-7. The New York Mets got by the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-2. And, the San Diego Padres scored in the 12th inning to beat the Florida Marlins, 7-6, in Miami.
The Minnesota Twins edged the American League-leading Boston Red Sox, 2-1. The Chicago White Sox snapped a five-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The Baltimore Orioles downed the Cleveland Indians, 8-2. The Detroit Tigers won their sixth straight game with an eighth-inning rally to get by the Kansas City Royals, 7-5. And, the Texas Rangers thumped the Toronto Blue Jays, 11-4, scoring six runs in the third inning off Toronto ace pitcher Roy Halladay.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
