Red Sox Prevail, but Not Quite All Is Well

All the joy that was felt throughout Fenway Park at the sight of Nomar Garciaparra on the field for the first time in eight games Saturday was sucked out of it when Boston Red Sox relief ace Tom Gordon walked off the mound with a strained right elbow.

Gordon was trying to extend his major league record of 46 consecutive save conversions when things unraveled in the ninth inning of an 8-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

“It just didn’t feel right,” Gordon said through a team spokesman. “We’ll just have to wait and see how it is.”

Gordon had trouble with his elbow in spring training and was rested for several days. According to pitching coach Joe Kerrigan, Gordon has recently been feeling irritation.

The Red Sox said they will wait until today before reevaluating Gordon’s elbow to see if further tests will be necessary.

“He won’t be back tomorrow,” Boston Manager Jimy Williams said. “That wouldn’t make a lot of sense.”

Gordon struck out Bobby Smith to start the ninth, and threw two strikes to Dave Martinez. But the reliever then motioned to catcher Jason Varitek to visit him, and Gordon knelt down on the mound, as if to stretch.

“I noticed it the second pitch to [Smith],” Kerrigan said. “He started to grab his arm. This is something we’ve been dealing with for a little over a month. In spring training, we shut him down for four or five days and gave him some medication.”

Up until that moment, Boston’s day had been brightened by Garciaparra’s return to the cleanup spot. The star shortstop had missed the past seven games because of a pulled hamstring.

Garciaparra looked fine, going one for four with a run-scoring single and two runs scored. He also drew a walk.

“It felt good,” Garciaparra said. “It was nice to be out there. My leg felt all right and I didn’t think about it too much.”

Mark Portugal defeated the Devil Rays for the second time this season, pitching five innings and giving up four runs. Tony Saunders took the loss.

Cleveland 5-8, Minnesota 1-13--Matt Lawton drove in a career-high six runs with a grand slam and a two-run double as the Twins defeated the Indians in 11 innings, ending the Indians’ eight-game winning streak and giving the Twins a split of the day-night doubleheader.

Cleveland won the first game behind four runs batted in by Manny Ramirez.

The Indians had not lost since a season-opening defeat at Anaheim and appeared well on their way to a ninth consecutive victory after taking a 7-1 lead in the nightcap.

But Lawton hit a first-pitch, pinch-hit grand slam to key a seven-run eighth inning that put Minnesota ahead, 8-7.

David Justice tied it in the bottom of the ninth with a pinch-hit homer off Minnesota closer Rick Aguilera.

Chad Allen drew a one-out walk in the Twins’ 11th off Mike Jackson and stole second. Corey Koskie was intentionally walked and Torii Hunter singled to left to break the tie and begin the onslaught.

In the first game, Ramirez hit a two-run homer and a two-run triple that barely missed being his fourth homer of the season. Each came off Brad Radke.

Charles Nagy, pitching for the first time in a week because of rainouts Thursday and Friday nights, gave up four hits and one run in 7 2/3 innings for the Indians. He struck out four and walked one.

Omar Vizquel singled in the Indians’ other run in the opener.

Oakland 11, Texas 3--Jason Giambi homered twice and drove in four runs, and three teammates had two RBIs apiece as the Athletics won at Oakland.

Giambi, who went four for five with an RBI in Friday night’s 8-2 victory over Texas, homered in the first and fifth innings. He had an RBI single in the sixth as the A’s won for the fourth time in their last five games.

Giambi started the season five for 28, but is nine for 16 over the last four games to improve his average from .179 to .318.

Jimmy Haynes gave up three runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings to break a three-game losing streak that extended back to last September and matched the longest of his career.

Giambi hit a two-run homer and Mike Macfarlane added a two-run double in the first off Mark Clark, who gave up five runs on six hits in five innings.

Giambi hit his third homer of the season in the fifth off Clark and the A’s added three runs in the sixth off Mike Munoz on Scott Spiezio’s two-run double and Giambi’s RBI single. Tony Phillips had a two-run single in the seventh, his third hit of the game. Matt Stairs hit his second homer of the season in the eighth.

Detroit 3, New York 1--Andy Pettitte pitched six shutout innings in his first start of the year at Detroit, but a bullpen breakdown sent the Yankees to their third consecutive loss for the first time since last Sept. 11-13.

Pettitte, out since April 4 because of a strained left elbow, gave up five hits with three strikeouts and one walk in six innings. He threw 74 pitches, including 47 strikes, and left with a 1-0 lead.

Jeff Nelson relieved Pettitte, and his throwing error on Damion Easley’s infield single led to the tying run in the seventh. Easley took third on the play and scored on Juan Encarnacion’s single.

Encarnacion stole second and third and, after a walk to Bill Haselman, Brad Ausmus hit an RBI single off Mike Stanton to put the Tigers ahead.

Chicago 6, Kansas City 5--Magglio Ordonez hit a two-run single and another run scored on rookie center fielder Carlos Beltran’s error as the White Sox, down to their last out in the ninth, rallied at Kansas City.

After three scoreless innings of relief by Don Wengert and Scott Service, Jeff Montgomery took over in the ninth with a 5-3 lead.

Jeff Liefer hit a leadoff single, and Montgomery retired the next two batters. But pinch-hitter Mike Caruso singled and Frank Thomas drew the 1,000th walk of his career, loading the bases.

Ordonez hit a sharp single to center, his third hit of the game. The ball got past Beltran, and Ordonez wound up at third as three runs scored.