Erickson Gets His Groove Back and Wins

Not only did the Baltimore Orioles beat Tampa Bay on Wednesday to help their wild-card hopes, they got the kind of pitching performance they’re accustomed to from Scott Erickson.

Bouncing back from three subpar outings, Erickson yielded five hits to stop a personal two-game losing streak with a 7-0 victory over the Devil Rays.

“I went through a little slump and hopefully straightened things out,” said Erickson, who walked one and struck out five. “It’s one game. I can’t get too excited about it.”

The victory was the seventh in nine games for Baltimore, which improved baseball’s best record since the All-Star break to 24-7. The surge has moved the Orioles back into wild-card contention with Boston and the Angels.

“We’ve got two teams ahead of us, so every game is critical,” Manager Ray Miller said.

Eric Davis doubled to extend his club-record hitting streak to 27 games, Mike Bordick had three RBIs and Rafael Palmeiro hit his 36th homer to help Erickson (12-9) get his second shutout and league-leading eighth complete game this season.

Davis has the longest ongoing streak in the major leagues. He went one for four and is tied with Kansas City’s Jose Offerman for the second longest streak this season. Garret Anderson of the Angels hit safely in 28 consecutive games.

Tampa Bay, which has scored six runs in its last eight games, was shut out for a major league-leading 15th time.

New York 11, Minnesota 2--The Yankees set a modern major league record by taking a lead for the 41st consecutive game, rallying from a two-run deficit to beat the Twins at New York.

The previous record of 40 consecutive games with leads was set by the Yankees in 1932.

Scott Brosius had five RBIs and Joe Girardi hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the fourth inning as the Yankees (87-29) won their seventh game in a row and reached .750 for the first time since July 16.

David Cone recovered from early wildness to become the first 17-game winner in the majors.

New York, which has swept 18 of 43 series this season, has won 10 of its last 11 games, outscoring opponents, 101-27. The Yankees are on pace to win 122 games, which would smash the record of 116 set by the 1906 Chicago Cubs.

Bernie Williams and Brosius hit seventh-inning homers for the Yankees, who matched their season high with 18 hits and extended their streak of games with homers to 14, their longest since a 16-gamer in 1994.

Cone (17-4) improved to 11-0 at home, beating the Twins for the eighth time in 10 overall decisions. Minnesota loaded the bases in each of the first two innings, Cone throwing 11 consecutive balls to start of the second.

Chicago 2, Oakland 0--Scott Eyre has two reasons to pass out cigars.

He didn’t give up a hit for five innings in a rare start and combined with three relievers on a two-hitter, leading the White Sox at Chicago.

Today, Eyre and his wife, Laura, have an appointment to induce labor for the their first child.

Eyre (2-7) was making his first start since June 17. He walked one and struck out four before being pulled after 67 pitches.

Keith Foulke pitched two no-hit innings before Jason Giambi led off the eighth with a single off Bob Howry for Oakland’s first hit. Bill Simas gave up a hit in the ninth and walked the potential tying run before getting a fly ball and a double play for his 14th save.

Eyre started because a recent rainout had prompted Manager Jerry Manuel to use Mike Sirotka and Jaime Navarro in a doubleheader Saturday.

Two months ago, Eyre was switched to the bullpen and had compiled a 3.65 earned-run average in 11 relief appearances. The left-hander had made 21 appearances since his only win, on April 25, an 8-1 decision against Toronto.

Cleveland 6, Texas 3--Bartolo Colon, pitching at Jacobs Field after six days of resting a “dead arm,” won his third game since the All-Star break.

Kenny Lofton sparked two offensive bursts with a double and a single, and the Indians improved to 16-17 since the All-Star break and 28-28 since June 9.

The Rangers’ lead in the AL West was trimmed to half a game by the Angels’ 3-2 victory over Detroit.

Colon (12-6) yielded three runs--two earned--and seven hits in six innings, walking two and striking out six. The Indians are giving Colon and Jaret Wright six or seven days rest between starts because they believe their arms are tired.

Kansas City 8, Boston 4--Jose Rosado and two relievers combined on a five-hitter at Boston as the Royals ended a five-game losing streak.

Scott Service (5-3) struck out five in three hitless innings, and the Royals equaled a season high with 16 hits. Matt Whisenant yielded two runs and three hits in the ninth inning before retiring the side as the Royals beat Boston for the first time in eight games.