New York pitcher C.C. Sabathia came close to a no-hitter as he steered the Yankees to a 10-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Saturday. Sabathia had not yielded a hit for 7 2-3 innings when his former batterymate Kelly Shoppach got a hit. There was no visible reaction from the exhausted Yankees ace. Manager Joe Girardi immediately removed Sabathia, who struck out five. The left-hander threw 69 of his 111 pitches for strikes and benefitted from some spectacular defensive plays in the field. Twins 2, White Sox 1: In Chicago, Jason Kubel's two-run homer in the seventh inning was enough for Minnesota to edge Chicago. Twins starter Scott Baker pitched seven sharp innings, having struggled on opening day. He allowed just one run, striking out three. Jesse Crain got two outs in the eighth and stranded Chicago's Mark Teahen at second, and Jon Rauch pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his fourth save. Tigers 4, Indians 2: In Detroit, Jeremy Bonderman gave up one hit in five innings to guide Detroit past Cleveland. Angels 4, Athletics 3: In Anaheim, California, Hideki Matsui singled home the winning run with one out in the ninth inning, giving Los Angeles victory over Oakland. Blue Jays 3, Orioles 0: In Baltimore, Dana Eveland pitched brilliantly into the eighth inning in his Toronto debut, directing the Blue Jays past Baltimore. Mariners 4, Rangers 3: In Arlington, Texas, Franklin Gutierrez drove in the go-ahead run to cap a three-run ninth inning that lifted Seattle over Texas. Red Sox 8, Royals 3: In Kansas City, Missouri, Jeremy Hermida and Jason Varitek homered on consecutive pitches to help Boston down Kansas City. Braves inflict Giants first defeat The Atlanta Braves inflicted San Francisco's first defeat of the season, beating the Giants 7-2 in the National Legue Saturday. Jason Heyward hit a solo home run in the sixth inning and added an RBI single to cap a four-run seventh. Braves starter Derek Lowe scattered four hits over six innings, taking a win despite issuing a career-worst seven walks. The Giants were charged with four wild pitches, tying the most in San Francisco history. They entered as the only unbeaten team in the majors but failed to take advantage of nine walks by Braves pitching. Cardinals 7, Brewers 1: In Milwaukee, Yadier Molina hit a three-run homer to boost St. Louis over Milwaukee. Pirates 6, Diamondbacks 3: In Phoenix, Akinori Iwamura and Jeff Clement homered in Pittsburgh's victory against Arizona. Marlins 7, Dodgers 6: In Miami, Jorge Cantu's sacrifice fly capped Florida's three-run rally in the ninth inning against Los Angeles. Nationals 4, Mets 3: In New York, Willie Harris made a game-ending diving catch to yet again thwart a Mets rally as Washington edged New York. Cubs 4, Reds 3: In Cincinnati, Carlos Zambrano recovered from his horrific opening day start by pitching seven solid innings to steer Chicago past Cincinnati. Phillies 9, Astros 6: In Houston, Philadelphia condemned winless Houston to its worst start in 27 years. The Astros are 0-5 for the first time since the 1983 team lost its first nine games. Padres 5, Rockies 4, 14 innings: In Denver, Adrian Gonzalez hit an RBI double in the 14th inning, sending San Diego to a victory over Colorado in the first extra-inning game for both teams this season. The game lasted 4 hours, 27 minutes.
