Yankees Defeat Rockies but Might Lose Brown

Derek Jeter’s return was a stroke of good luck for the New York Yankees. Now, they’re hoping to catch a break with Kevin Brown.

Jeter came back from a three-game absence to hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, and the Yankees overcame Brown’s injury by rallying past the Colorado Rockies, 7-5, Wednesday night at New York.

Brown was forced to leave after only two innings because of stiffness in his lower back. A six-time All-Star, the 39-year-old right-hander has been beset by back problems and surgery, going on the disabled list six times in the last five years.

“Obviously, you come out at that point in the game, you have to have some doubt about what you’ll be able to do,” Brown said. “Maybe this is coming to a head, and we’ll be able to get it straightened out.”

Brown said he slipped on a pitch in the first inning, and likened the sensation to having a “steel rod” in his back. He’ll report to Yankee Stadium today and see how he’s doing, and that will determine whether he needs further tests.

The Yankees won their 12th consecutive interleague game, the longest streak in the majors since AL-NL regular-season play began in 1997.

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Philadelphia 13, Chicago White Sox 10 -- Bobby Abreu homered twice at Chicago and Eric Milton won his third consecutive start.

Abreu hit a solo home run in the first and a two-run shot in a seven-run fourth for the Phillies, who had lost six of eight. Jim Thome added his third homer in two games for Philadelphia.

The teams combined to hit eight home runs a game after combining for nine in the White Sox’s 14-11 victory Tuesday. The 17 home runs over a two-game span set a U.S. Cellular Field record.

Aaron Rowand, Paul Konerko, who homered twice on Tuesday, Miguel Olivo, Jose Valentin and Joe Crede homered for Chicago.

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Oakland 17, Cincinnati 8 -- Jose Acevedo became the third Reds’ starter to be rocked in as many nights at Oakland.

The A’s, who scored their most runs this season, set a franchise record for runs in a three-game series with 40.

Acevedo (3-5) was roughed up for eight runs and 10 hits in three innings.

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Tampa Bay 4, San Francisco 3 -- Jose Cruz Jr. hit a two-out, bases-loaded single in the 10th inning at St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Devil Rays loaded the bases against right-hander Tyler Walker (4-1) on three walks. Cruz worked the reliever to a 3-and-2 count and singled over first base on the 11th pitch of the at-bat.

Barry Bonds went one for five with a single. He will miss the finale of the three-game series tonight to attend a funeral for the mother of a childhood friend in the San Francisco area.

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Houston 3, Seattle 0 -- Wade Miller pitched the Astros to their second consecutive shutout of the Mariners, combining with three relievers at Seattle.

Jeff Kent blooped a single to center in the eighth inning, extending his career-best hitting streak to 24 games and tying the Astro record set by Tony Eusebio in 2000. The Mariners were blanked for the seventh time, most in the AL.

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Detroit 4, Atlanta 2 -- Eric Munson and Carlos Guillen homered for the Tigers at Detroit.

Craig Dingman got his first major league win, pitching three scoreless innings of relief in a game delayed by rain for 2 hours, 24 minutes in the second inning.

Chipper Jones and Eli Marrero homered for Atlanta.

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Minnesota 5, New York Mets 3 -- Johan Santana pitched seven strong innings to end his four-game losing streak and Jacque Jones hit a three-run homer at Minneapolis. Gerald Williams hit his first major league homer in more than three years and Mike Piazza drove in two runs for the Mets, who have dropped four of five.

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Baltimore 8, Arizona 2 -- Miguel Tejada hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the seventh inning and Luis Matos added a two-run shot for the Orioles at Baltimore.

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Cleveland 8, Florida 1 -- Jake Westbrook pitched eight impressive innings and Casey Blake homered to help the Indians at Cleveland.

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Pittsburgh at Texas, ppd. -- The Pirates and Rangers were rained out for the second day in a row. Both games will be made up as part of a doubleheader today, which was supposed to be a day off for both teams.

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Montreal at Kansas City, ppd. -- The game was postponed by rain and will be made up as part of a doubleheader today.