Rickey Henderson knew what was expected every time he batted. So, too, did Jim Rice.
Said Rice: “Believe me, I wasn’t paid to walk. I was paid to try to do some damage.”
“Some way, I was going to scratch to get on base to steal that base,” Henderson said. “I steal that base, my day was good. My pride and joy was coming across the plate.
The New York Yankees overcame a lengthy rain delay to rally to a 6-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics and win their seventh successive game on Thursday.
The start of the game was delayed for almost three hours, and once it started Oakland took an early 2-0 lead before Sabathia settled down and gave the Yankees over-worked bullpen some rest.
Miguel Montero doubled in the go-ahead run in a five-run seventh and pinch-hitter Chad Tracy capped the inning with a three-run home run, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to an 11-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night.
Mark Reynolds doubled to left field with one out in the seventh off reliever Evan Meek and Montero followed with a double to right-center for a 5-4 lead.
Cole Hamels pitched seven effective innings, Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz had three hits apiece and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Diego Padres 9-4 in a makeup game Thursday night.
Kyle Blanks hit a two-run homer for San Diego, which has the second-worst record in the majors (37-59).
One day after their 10-game winning streak ended, the NL East-leading Phillies moved 6 1/2 games up on Atlanta and Florida with their 15th win in 17 games.
Marco Scutaro hit two of Toronto’s season-high five home runs and matched a career-high with four RBIs, leading the Blue Jays to a 10-6 win over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.
Aaron Hill, Alex Rios and Vernon Wells all hit solo home runs, Toronto’s first five-homer game since July 23, 2006, against the New York Yankees, according to STATS LLC.
The Houston Astros know it’s a bit early to be too concerned about the standings.
Carlos Lee’s grand slam was one of three homers that led the Astros to their second straight win over the Cardinals and left them two games back in the division.
That won’t stop them from enjoying that they’re inching closer to the NL Central-leading St.
Michael Cuddyer fumed after being called out, sure that he had scored the tying run on a wild pitch. Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire thought so, too. Cuddyer came crashing into home and Oakland pitcher Michael Wuertz reached out and did all he could to make a play then got the favorable call as the Athletics rallied from 10 runs down for a 14-13 victory over the Twins on Monday night.
Down in Florida, Pedro Martinez is tuning up for a return to the major leagues.
Raul Ibanez hit a three-run homer, Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard each went deep to back Lopez, and the sizzling Phillies won their ninth straight game, 10-1 over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night.
Rodrigo Lopez is pitching his best to try and keep a spot in the rotation that’s all but slotted for the three-time Cy Young Award winner.
Matt Holliday hit a tying grand slam in the seventh inning and Jack Cust followed with another shot, helping the Oakland Athletics rally from a 10-run deficit to beat the Minnesota Twins 14-13 in a slugfest Monday night that featured eight home runs.
Craig Breslow got the win and Michael Wuertz finished the 3-hour, 32-minute game for his third save in four chances.
Manny Ramirez hit his 537th home run to pass Mickey Mantle into 15th place on the all-time list, Jason Schmidt won his first major league start in more than two years, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-5 on Monday night.
Ramirez, who tied Mantle on July 10, drove a 2-0 pitch from Micah Owings (6-10) into the left field pavilion in the second inning to give Los Angeles a 6-3 lead.