Jeter and Yankees Are Again Flying High

Derek Jeter’s private plane was worth the money.

The New York Yankee shortstop, who chartered his own flight in order to get to the game, went three for four with a steal and a run-scoring single Saturday as the Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox, 8-3, at Yankee Stadium.

Jeter, who had been on the disabled list since May 11 because of a strained abdominal muscle, ended an 0-for-14 slide, his longest since April 1997, with a third-inning single. He had an RBI single in the sixth.

Jeter spent his rehabilitation time at the Yankees’ extended spring training base in Tampa, Fla., and played a minor league game there Friday night.

“It might have been a blessing in disguise to go to Tampa,” Jeter said.

“I was doing everything wrong. My hands were in the wrong place, I was too far back in the box, I was lunging.”

His team was also floundering, losing nine of 13 games in his absence.

“When a star player is out for a long time, it’s tough to cover for him,” said winning pitcher Mike Stanton.

The Yankees had planned to have Jeter take a commercial flight Saturday. Instead, he came back after the minor league game Friday night.

The Yankees will reimburse Jeter only for what the cost of a first-class commercial plane ticket would have been.

Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra also returned to the lineup. Garciaparra, on the DL since May 12 with a strained left hamstring, went one for three.

Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, who had been scheduled to start for New York, felt tightness in his upper back warming up before the game and was replaced by Jason Grimsley, who gave up three runs and five hits in five innings.

Oakland 4, Baltimore 0--Tim Hudson gave up one hit over 7 1/3 innings at Baltimore for his fifth consecutive victory as the Athletics ended the Orioles’ four-game winning streak.

The lone hit off Hudson was a fifth-inning single by Will Clark. The sinking liner to center popped out of the glove of a diving Terrence Long.

Hudson (6-2) walked four and struck out five. Oakland led early, going up 2-0 on a two-out, two-run double by Olmedo Saenz in the first inning.

Hudson retired the first 13 batters before walking Harold Baines in the fifth. A walk to Cal Ripken and Clark’s single loaded the bases before Greg Myers ended the threat by bouncing into a double play.

Hudson threw 112 pitches. It was only the second time in 47 games this season that the Orioles, who finished with only two singles, failed to get an extra-base hit.

Chicago 14, Cleveland 3--Jose Valentin drove in a career-high six runs and fell a single shy of becoming the first AL player to hit for the cycle twice in one season, leading the White Sox past the Indians at Chicago.

Valentin hit a two-run home run in the first inning, a bases-loaded triple in the second and a run-scoring double in the third.

Valentin, who hit for the cycle on April 27 against Baltimore, was walked in the fifth, grounded out in the seventh and was left on deck when Ray Durham bounced into an inning-ending double play in the eighth.

Babe Herman is the only player to hit for the cycle twice in a year, doing it for Brooklyn in 1931.

The White Sox opened a 2 1/2-game lead over the Indians in the AL Central. The Indians have lost four of five.

Minnesota 10, Texas 5--Corey Koskie hit a bases-loaded triple, and Butch Huskey added a two-run double as the Twins defeated the Rangers at Minneapolis.

The Twins, who lost all 12 games to Texas last season, have won four of the five games played between the teams this year.

Joe Mays won for the first time since May 3, and Midre Cummings and Cristian Guzman homered for Minnesota, which overcame a 4-1 deficit in the fourth inning to earn its 12th comeback victory of the season.

Detroit 4, Toronto 3--Deivi Cruz had a run-scoring single in the ninth inning to lift the Tigers past the Blue Jays at Detroit.

Doug Brocail pitched the last 1 2/3 innings for the victory, holding the Blue Jays hitless after relieving Hideo Nomo.

Paul Quantrill walked Brad Ausmus to start the Tigers’ ninth. Ausmus moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Jose Macias and scored on Cruz’s single to right.

Seattle 6, Tampa Bay 3--John Olerud’s two-run single broke a fifth-inning tie at St. Petersburg, Fla., and the Mariners handed the Devil Rays their 11th loss in 13 games.

Tampa Bay has dropped eight series in a row and, at 15-32, has the worst record in the major leagues.

Olerud broke a 1-1 tie with his two-run single, which was followed by the first of Mark McLemore’s two run-scoring singles.