Mariners’ Stock Continues to Rise

Paul Abbott won his career-best sixth consecutive decision, and Bret Boone and David Bell each hit home runs Tuesday to lead the Seattle Mariners over the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-1, at Seattle.

Abbott (8-2) gave up one run and six hits in 6 1/3 innings, struck out seven and walked three. He won five in a row in 1999 with Minnesota.

Bell hit a solo homer off Brian Anderson (2-6) for a 3-0 lead in the seventh, and Boone hit a two-run shot off Erik Sabel in a three-run eighth. Boone had three runs batted in and leads the American League with 88.

Seattle’s bullpen pitched 2 2/3 innings, extending its scoreless streak to 19 since the All-Star break.

Seattle took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Ichiro Suzuki singled to end an 0-for-18 slump, took third on Carlos Guillen’s double and scored on Boone’s single. Mike Cameron added a sacrifice fly.

New York Yankees 4, Philadelphia 1--Tino Martinez’s run-scoring single in the 12th inning drove in the go-ahead run, and Jorge Posada added a two-run home run as the Yankees took two of three at Philadelphia.

New York won its second in a row in extra innings after losing three of its first four after the All-Star break. The Yankees lead the American League East by 1 1/2 games over Boston.

Chicago Cubs 7, Kansas City 4--The Cubs found their offense just in time, rallying for five runs in the seventh inning at Chicago.

Ricky Gutierrez hit a two-run single, Sammy Sosa and Gary Matthews Jr. each drove in a run, and the Cubs scored another on an error as they ended their offensive slump (seven runs in their previous four games).

Cleveland 10, Houston 4--Bartolo Colon gave up one hit through five innings before being ejected, and Jim Thome, Marty Cordova and Travis Fryman each had two RBIs as the Indians won at Houston.

Home plate umpire Andy Fletcher ejected Colon (8-7) after the first pitch of the sixth inning sailed behind Scott Servais’ head and hit his bat. Houston reliever Jim Mann hit Juan Gonzalez and Marty Cordova in the top of the sixth.

Oakland 3, Colorado 2--After consecutive shutouts, Mark Mulder gave up seven hits over seven innings to win his third start in a row, and the Athletics finished off a three-game sweep at Oakland.

San Francisco 10, Texas 2--Eric Davis had a two-run home run and drove in five runs, and Kirk Rueter won his fifth in a row as the Giants routed the Rangers at Arlington, Texas.

Atlanta 4, Tampa Bay 0--Greg Maddux won his sixth consecutive start, pitching a six-hitter in just over two hours for his 34th career shutout to help the Braves avoid a three-game sweep at Atlanta.

Florida 8, Baltimore 3--A.J. Burnett gave up a home run to Cal Ripken but only four other hits in 7 2/3 innings as the Marlins completed a sweep of the Orioles at Miami.

Montreal 11, Boston 7--In a game that saw Expo coach Ozzie Guillen and Red Sox Manager Jimy Williams ejected, Vladimir Guerrero and Lee Stevens hit two-run home runs to power the Expos at Montreal.

New York Mets 1, Toronto 0--Al Leiter gave the Mets another sharp pitching performance and their first series sweep of the year, pitching seven strong innings in a victory over the slumping Blue Jays at New York.

Detroit 3, Cincinnati 1--Jeff Weaver retired 18 in a row after escaping a bases-loaded threat and pitched into the eighth inning on a hot, muggy night at Cincinnati.

Chicago White Sox 8, Milwaukee 4--Backed by four home runs at Milwaukee, Kip Wells struck out a career-high eight in six innings as the White Sox won their fifth in a row.

St. Louis 4, Minnesota 2--Darryl Kile (10-7) gave up one run in 6 1/3 innings, helping the Cardinals sweep the Twins at St. Louis.