In a Pinch, Martinez Does Job for Yankees

Tino Martinez hit the first pinch-hit homer of his career Monday night, a two-run shot in the seventh inning that lifted the New York Yankees to an 8-7 win over the Cleveland Indians at New York.

The Yankees jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the fourth inning against Chuck Finley, but had to rally after Cleveland scored seven runs in the sixth against Randy Keisler and newcomer Jay Witasick.

Shane Spencer led off the seventh with a single against Jake Westbrook and stole second as Jorge Posada struck out. Martinez, who didn’t start against the left-handed Finley, pinch-hit for Todd Greene.

Indian Manager Charlie Manuel countered by bringing in lefty Ricardo Rincon (1-1), but the plan backfired. Martinez, eight for 39 in his career as a pinch-hitter, hit a 2-and-1 pitch into the first row of the upper deck in right field to give the Yankees the lead.

Martinez has struggled in what could be his last season with the Yankees, entering the game in a six-for-51 slump that dropped his average to .246.

Boston 12, Tampa Bay 8--Dante Bichette hit a grand slam and drove in another run with a double for the Red Sox, who survived a bad start by David Cone at Boston to improve to 10-0 against the Devil Rays this season.

Boston took advantage of Tampa Bay’s visit to end a three-game losing streak--tied for its longest of the season. The Red Sox, 14-14 against the rest of the American League East, have outscored the Devil Rays, 79-28.

Greg Vaughn, Randy Winn, Mike DiFelice and Brent Abernathy homered for the Devil Rays, the last two consecutively in the sixth. For Abernathy, making his major league debut after being recalled earlier in the day, it was the first hit of his career.

Cone (3-1) gave up five runs on six hits and five walks, striking out three in five innings. Derek Lowe, the fifth Red Sox pitcher, got the last six outs for his 13th save as Boston emptied its bullpen in advance of Pedro Martinez’s scheduled start today.

Minnesota 6, Detroit 3--Corey Koskie returned to the lineup with a home run and four runs batted in for the Twins at Detroit.

Koskie was given a day off Sunday after struggling against the Tigers’ Jeff Weaver the day before. The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the first on Koskie’s run-scoring double, then added three runs in the third.

Matt Lawton led off with a walk and took second on Cristian Guzman’s single. One out later, Koskie lined an 0-and-1 pitch into the right-field bullpen for his first homer since May 25.

Joe Mays (9-5) gave up two runs on six hits and no walks in seven innings, ending his two-game losing streak. Mays held the Tigers to two hits in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Bob Wells pitched 1 1/3 innings and LaTroy Hawkins got the last two outs for his 17th save.

Baltimore 8, Toronto 2--Jay Gibbons hit a three-run home run to lead the Orioles at Toronto.

Gibbons, a former Cal State Los Angeles player and Blue Jays’ farmhand, has homered in each of the four games he’s played against his former organization.

The 24-year-old rookie, selected from Toronto in last December’s Rule 5 draft, hit his seventh home run, giving Baltimore a 4-0 lead in the first inning.

Melvin Mora and Jeff Conine each had three hits for the Orioles, who ended Toronto’s four-game winning streak.