Indians Outslug Yankees in Sloppy Game

The first few innings looked like beer league softball in Central Park, not major league baseball at Yankee Stadium.

Manny Ramirez drove in three more runs Wednesday night and the Cleveland Indians overcame another poor performance by Jaret Wright, outscoring the New York Yankees, 10-7, at New York.

The matchup between two of the best teams in baseball produced one of the majors’ most messy games of the season. The Yankees led, 5-4, after the first inning and Cleveland took a 9-7 edge in the third--at that point, there had been 15 hits, seven walks and three errors.

“Things were getting a bit hectic out there on both sides,” winning pitcher Steve Karsay said.

Omar Vizquel went four for six with two doubles, scoring three runs and driving in two. Ramirez had seven runs batted in as Cleveland won twice in the three-game set, and leads the majors with 67.

Derek Jeter singled, walked and scored twice, and now has reached base in all 51 Yankee games. Paul O’Neill made up for two early misplays in right field with a two-run homer and an RBI double for the Yankees.

“This is the wrong team to get into a slugfest with,” O’Neill said. “Sometimes when they get going, you can’t stop them.”

Chuck Knoblauch left in the fifth because of bruised ribs, shortly after being hit by Wright’s fastball.

The Yankees don’t play today, but Manager Joe Torre was not sure whether the All-Star second baseman would be ready Friday when they begin an interleague series at home against the New York Mets. Torre said the team might have to call up an infielder from the minors as protection.

Wright lasted only 3 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs on six hits and four walks. In his previous outing, which came after American League President Gene Budig announced he wanted to talk to the right-hander about inside pitching, a timid Wright was tagged for eight runs in 3 2/3 innings by the Red Sox.

Budig met with Wright on Tuesday. The pitcher also spoke with Budig’s assistant, Hall of Fame ace Bob Gibson, who was notorious for intimidating hitters with head-high fastballs.

Wright clearly looked more at ease, and was not afraid to throw inside. He drew boos from the crowd of 36,955 by coming close to several hitters in the early innings, and got razzed when he drilled Knoblauch in the fourth.

Knoblauch stayed in a squat for about a minute after being hit, then walked to first base.

Tampa Bay 7, Oakland 6--Jose Canseco hit his 20th homer and Paul Sorrento’s RBI single broke an eighth-inning tie at Oakland.

Canseco, who is tied with the Seattle Mariners’ Ken Griffey Jr. for the major league lead with 20 homers, hit a three-run shot in the third inning and an RBI triple in the seventh to tie the score at 6-6.

Canseco went three for five with four RBIs as the Devil Rays won for only the second time in 11 games despite blowing a 5-1 lead.

Oakland’s T.J. Mathews (5-2) issued a leadoff walk to Herbert Perry to start the eighth. Perry moved to second on a sacrifice and scored on Sorrento’s single off first baseman Jason Giambi’s outstretched glove.

Esteban Yan (2-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. Roberto Hernandez pitched the ninth for 16th save in 17 chances.

Tampa Bay’s Wilson Alvarez carried a one-hitter and 5-1 lead into the sixth before giving up five runs.

Detroit 4, Boston 2--Justin Thompson ended his four-game losing streak by picking on the Boston Red Sox again as the Tigers salvaged the finale of a three-game series at Boston.

Thompson (5-6), who improved his lifetime record against Boston to 4-1, lost his shutout in the ninth when he gave up a two-run homer to Mike Stanley with no outs. He was then relieved by Todd Jones, who got the final three outs for his ninth save.

Thompson gave up six hits, struck out four and walked one. In his previous best start this season, Thompson shut out the Red Sox on two hits in eight innings in a 1-0 victory April 22.

Boston, which came from behind for one-run victories in the first two games of the series, ended a five-game winning streak with only its sixth loss in 26 games.

Detroit won for the third time in 11 games.

Toronto 9, Chicago 7--Darrin Fletcher hit two home runs for the Blue Jays in his first game back from an eye injury.

Fletcher, hit in the right eye by a ricocheting baseball while he was in a batting cage on May 1 at Seattle, hit the first pitch he saw in the second inning for a home run.

Fletcher, who went three for five, gave Toronto a 7-4 lead in the seventh with a two-run homer.

“This will go done in my memory forever,” Fletcher said. “I don’t want to sound mushy but this was special to me.”

The 32-year-old catcher, who originally feared the injury might end his career, had been reluctant to return because his eye wasn’t quite 100%. An eye specialist cleared him to play twice in the last two weeks, but it was only after the second meeting that he believed he was ready to go.

“The first thing I thought of when it happened was not baseball,” he said. “It was pitching to my son with one eye, going through life with one eye and not being able to see my kids as I use to.

“After my first home run I looked at my teammates and said, ‘Did that just happen? My first swing back I hit a home run?’ ”

Seattle 4, Baltimore 2--A two-run double by Ken Griffey Jr. highlighted a three-run rally by the Mariners in the bottom of the eighth inning at Seattle.

Griffey’s double with out scored David Bell and Alex Rodriguez, giving the Mariners a 3-2 lead. Griffey then scored on a single by Butch Huskey.