Johnson Falters, Rangers Win in 11th

For the second time in three games, Luis Alicea finished what a string of Texas pinch-hitters started as the Rangers rallied to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-5, in 11 innings Saturday at Phoenix.

Alicea’s game-winning RBI triple was an encore of what he did in a 6-4 victory Thursday, when he capped a ninth-inning rally from a 4-1 deficit with a two-run single.

This time, the Rangers trailed Randy Johnson 5-1 after six innings, but found a way to win for the seventh time in nine games.

“I think this was a bigger win, because we were facing a guy that’s very hard to beat,” Alicea said.

Two other Texas pinch-hitters, Rusty Greer and Mike Lamb, also drove in runs.

Bill Haselman, making only his 11th start at catcher in place of Ivan Rodriguez, also had two RBI doubles off Johnson, who struck out 12 to pass the 200-strikeout mark for the ninth time in 10 years. Johnson gave up five runs and seven hits in 7 1/3 innings.

Philadelphia 7, Toronto 3--David Wells lost for the first time in almost two months, and newly acquired Bruce Chen pitched five scoreless innings for the Phillies at Toronto.

Wells (15-3) a winner of his previous eight decisions--gave up six runs, tying a season high, and eight hits in seven innings.

Chen (5-0) acquired from Atlanta with pitcher Jim Osting for Andy Ashby on Wednesday, gave up only three hits in his first start since last Oct. 2.

Atlanta 7, Baltimore 3--Tom Glavine gave up one earned run, seven hits and did not walk a batter as the Braves completed a three-game sweep at Baltimore. Glavine (10-5) attributed his success to the knowledge he gained during the first two games of the series. The Orioles claimed it was a generous strike zone.

Home plate umpire Paul Emmel called only 30 of Glavine’s 99 pitches balls, and Oriole Manager Mike Hargrove said, “The umpire was consistently giving him four to six inches off the plate.”

Emmel ejected Oriole designated hitter Brady Anderson in the fifth inning after he questioned a called third strike. “The last two pitches were both outside, and he just made it worse by throwing me out of the game,” Anderson said.

Backup second baseman Rafael Furcal filled in for Quilvio Veras, who is out for the season, and drove in two runs in the Braves’ four-run fourth inning.

Oakland 6, San Francisco 2--Gil Heredia (10-7) pitched 6 2/3 innings at San Francisco as the Athletics avoided a sweep and ended a losing streak at three games. The Bay Area teams split the six games they played this season.

San Diego 4, Seattle 1--Woody Williams won for the first time since returning from surgery on an aneurysm under his right armpit, giving up one run and four hits in seven innings at San Diego. Williams (4-2) was making only his third start since sitting out nearly two months.

Chicago White Sox 15, St. Louis 7--Frank Thomas hit a three-run homer in the first and a bases-loaded double in the seventh at Chicago to match his career high with six RBIs. Thomas’ homer was his 28th and his double down the third-base line cleared the bases and gave him 83 RBIs.

Detroit 11, Houston 6--Brad Ausmus went three for three and hit a two-run single in a seven-run seventh as the Tigers rallied past the Astros at Detroit.

Cleveland 6, Pittsburgh 4--Travis Fryman drove in three runs to help the Indians complete a three-game sweep of the Pirates at Cleveland.

Chicago Cubs 8, Minnesota 4--Sammy Sosa tied Joe DiMaggio for 50th place on the career home run list, hitting No. 361 as the Cubs won at Minneapolis. Sosa connected in the second inning against Joe Mays for his 25th homer. He had a homer for the second consecutive game, and has hit four in eight games.

Montreal 4, Tampa Bay 1--Dustin Hermanson shut out the Devil Rays on five hits before giving up a run in the eighth at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Kansas City 7, Milwaukee 4--Joe Randa and Todd Dunwoody drove in two runs apiece at Kansas City, enabling Jeff Suppan to get his first win since May 24. Suppan (3-6) was winless in a span of seven starts.

Florida at New York Yankees--The game was rained out and will be made up only if it is necessary to determine a playoff spot.