Giambi homers again to power Yankees past Indians

CLEVELAND – Andy Pettitte didn’t have much trouble with Cleveland’s lame lineup and Jason Giambi homered for the second straight day as the New York Yankees beat the Indians 5-3 to complete a series and season sweep on Sunday.

Pettitte (9-7) carried a shutout into the seventh and allowed seven singles in 7 1-3 innings.

The rock-steady 35-year-old, again pitching for the Yankees after three seasons with the Houston Astros, also used his renowned pickoff move to snuff out Cleveland’s rally in the seventh inning.

Giambi connected for a two-run homer off Jake Westbrook (3-7) in the fourth and Melky Cabrera added a solo shot for the surging Yankees, who one month ago looked as if they might miss the AL playoffs.

Now, they’re playing as though they want to win another World Series title.

Asleep offensively most of the weekend, the Indians trailed 4-0 before scoring once in the seventh, eighth and ninth.

Mariano Rivera, called on to work out of a jam in the eighth, gave up three hits in the ninth as the Indians pulled to 5-3. But with runners at second and third, Rivera struck out Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore before getting Casey Blake on a routine fly to right for his 19th straight save.

The Yankees have won eight of nine, and with an offense mashing like no other, are a baseball-best 23-8 since the All-Star break. After trailing Boston by 141/2 games in late May, the Yanks began the day within five.

Angels 6, Twins 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Jered Weaver pitched effectively into the eighth inning and the Los Angeles Angels got home runs from Chone Figgins and Jeff Mathis to complete a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 6-2 victory.

Weaver (8-5) gave up two runs and five hits in 7 1-3 innings, striking out four and walking none in his second impressive outing against the Twins this season. He held them to a run and five hits over seven innings in a 16-3 rout on June 4 at Angel Stadium.

Tigers 11, Athletics 6

DETROIT – Magglio Ordonez hit two homers in an eight-run second inning and the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics 11-6 to win consecutive games for only the second time since mid-July.

Ordonez also surpassed 100 RBIs for the second straight season, helping the Tigers move back into first place in the AL Central by a half-game over slumping Cleveland.

The All-Star slugger joined Hall of Famer Al Kaline as the only Tigers to homer twice in one inning. Kaline did it in 1955 against the Kansas City Athletics. Now a special assistant to Detroit president Dave Dombrowski, Kaline watched Ordonez match his accomplishment from a suite behind home plate.

Mariners 6, White Sox 0

CHICAGO – Jeff Weaver pitched his second shutout of the season and Adrian Beltre hit a two-run homer to lead the Seattle Mariners past the Chicago White Sox 6-0.

Jose Guillen and Richie Sexson also homered for the Mariners, who have won 11 of their last 15 games and continue to lead the American League wild-card standings.

Bobby Jenks pitched a perfect ninth for Chicago, breaking David Wells’ American League record and tying the major league record of 41 straight batters retired. Jim Barr also set down 41 straight for San Francisco in 1972.

Weaver (4-10) had a season-high eight strikeouts and retired 11 in a row between the first and fourth innings. He allowed five hits and didn’t walk a batter.

Mets 10, Marlins 4

NEW YORK – Moises Alou homered twice and drove in four runs, helping the New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins 10-4 to avoid a three-game sweep.

Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado also connected for the first-place Mets, who snapped a three-game skid and finished a disappointing homestand with a 2-4 record against NL East rivals Atlanta and Florida.

Hanley Ramirez hit a leadoff homer for the Marlins, who had won three straight.

Alou, who had three hits, erased a 1-0 deficit in the second with a three-run shot off Rick Vandenhurk. In the sixth, Alou lined his second home run to left off Lee Gardner (3-3) to break a 4-all tie.

Padres 10, Reds 4

CINCINNATI – Brian Giles hit two home runs for the second consecutive day and Jake Peavy remained unbeaten against Cincinnati as the San Diego Padres routed the Reds 10-4.

Giles, who also homered on Friday, has hit five of his seven home runs in the past three days.

It’s the third time in his career he has homered in three consecutive games and the first time he has hit five in that span.

Khalil Greene had four hits – his fourth four-hit game this season – and a career-high three doubles. He drove in three runs in support of Peavy, who improved to 5-0 in eight starts against the Reds.

Cardinals 12, Dodgers 2

ST. LOUIS – Hard luck Anthony Reyes won his second game of the season and Ryan Ludwick homered and drove in four runs, helping the surging St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-2.

Reyes (2-11) worked six innings and got his first career hit and RBI during a five-run third for St. Louis, which took two of three from the sagging Dodgers to complete a 5-2 homestand.

Rockies 6, Cubs 3

DENVER – Troy Tulowitzki homered and also hit a go-ahead two-run double against Kerry Wood in the sixth to lead the Colorado Rockies to a 6-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Wood (0-1), who hadn’t given up a run in three relief appearances since coming off the DL on Aug. 3, took over for Sean Marshall to start the sixth with the game tied 3-3.

Pirates 5, Giants 0

SAN FRANCISCO – Tom Gorzelanny allowed five hits in his first career shutout, and the Pittsburgh Pirates finished off their first road sweep since early April with a 5-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Josh Phelps hit a two-run homer off Barry Zito and a two-run triple for the Pirates, who won their sixth straight game at San Francisco’s waterfront ballpark.

It was easy with another quality start from Gorzelanny (11-6), who finished his first complete game by retiring the Giants’ final 16 batters.