After losing the first eight contests between the two teams this year, the Yankees beat their heated rivals, the Red Sox, 13 – 6, before a capacity crowd at New Yankee Stadium. The Bronx Bombers feast off John Smoltz, still struggling to regain his form after missing all of the 2008 season, and Billy Traber, recalled earlier in the day from AAA Pawtucket, lighting up the two pitchers for 13 runs on 18 hits in 7 combined innings. Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada, Melky Cabrera and Mark Teixeira all go deep for the Yankees, while Boston fails to take full advantage of 12 walks issued by five New York pitchers.

ByThis Day in Baseball

After losing the first eight contests between the two teams this year, the Yankees beat their heated rivals, the Red Sox, 13 – 6, before a capacity crowd at New Yankee Stadium. The Bronx Bombers feast off John Smoltz, still struggling to regain his form after missing all of the 2008 season, and Billy Traber, recalled earlier in the day from AAA Pawtucket, lighting up the two pitchers for 13 runs on 18 hits in 7 combined innings. Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada, Melky Cabrera and Mark Teixeira all go deep for the Yankees, while Boston fails to take full advantage of 12 walks issued by five New York pitchers.

Andre Ethier hits a three-run home run in the bottom of the 9th off Braves closer Rafael Soriano to lead the Dodgers to a 5 – 4 win. It is Ethier’s fifth walk-off hit of the year.

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Andre Ethier hits a three-run home run in the bottom of the 9th off Braves closer Rafael Soriano to lead the Dodgers to a 5 – 4 win. It is Ethier’s fifth walk-off hit of the year.

Mets rookie P Jonathon Niese sustains a season-ending groin injury covering first base in the 2nd inning of a start against St. Louis. His replacement, Nelson Figueroa, pitches 4 2/3 scoreless innings and hits a two-run triple in a 9 – 0 win.

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Mets rookie P Jonathon Niese sustains a season-ending groin injury covering first base in the 2nd inning of a start against St. Louis. His replacement, Nelson Figueroa, pitches 4 2/3 scoreless innings and hits a two-run triple in a 9 – 0 win.

Jim Thome hits two homers, including a three-run blast off Darren Oliver in the 6th, to pace the White Sox to a 6 – 2 win over the Angels. It is the 44th multi-homer game of Thome’s career; with 561 round-trippers, he is only two behind Reggie Jackson for 12th place on the all-time list.

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Jim Thome hits two homers, including a three-run blast off Darren Oliver in the 6th, to pace the White Sox to a 6 – 2 win over the Angels. It is the 44th multi-homer game of Thome’s career; with 561 round-trippers, he is only two behind Reggie Jackson for 12th place on the all-time list.

Yusmeiro Petit takes a no-hitter into the 8th inning, before combining with Leonel Rosales on a one-hitter for a 6 – 0 Diamondbacks win over Pittsburgh. The win snaps a personal seven-game losing streak for Petit and is the longest outing of his career so far.

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Yusmeiro Petit takes a no-hitter into the 8th inning, before combining with Leonel Rosales on a one-hitter for a 6 – 0 Diamondbacks win over Pittsburgh. The win snaps a personal seven-game losing streak for Petit and is the longest outing of his career so far.

Albert Pujols ends a brief slump with two home runs, including a 10th-inning grand slam, as the Cardinals beat the Mets, 12 – 7. The extra-inning blast comes after Mark DeRosa is plunked by Sean Green with the bases loaded to drive in the go-ahead run; it ties Ernie Banks’s National League record of 5 slams in a season, set in 1955, and is his League-leading 36th homer of the year.

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Albert Pujols ends a brief slump with two home runs, including a 10th-inning grand slam, as the Cardinals beat the Mets, 12 – 7. The extra-inning blast comes after Mark DeRosa is plunked by Sean Green with the bases loaded to drive in the go-ahead run; it ties Ernie Banks’s National League record of 5 slams in a season, set in 1955, and is his League-leading 36th homer of the year.

Justin Verlander of the Tigers gives up 5 runs to the Orioles in the 1st inning, before settling down. Brian Roberts leads off the game with a home run, and four more runs score before the second out is recorded. Detroit scores three in the bottom of the inning, on doubles by Placido Polanco and Miguel Cabrera, who then homers to tie the game in the 5th. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Clete Thomas homers to deepest center field off Danys Baez to give Detroit the comeback 6 – 5 win, which extends its lead over the idle White Sox to 2 games in the AL Central.

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Justin Verlander of the Tigers gives up 5 runs to the Orioles in the 1st inning, before settling down. Brian Roberts leads off the game with a home run, and four more runs score before the second out is recorded. Detroit scores three in the bottom of the inning, on doubles by Placido Polanco and Miguel Cabrera, who then homers to tie the game in the 5th. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Clete Thomas homers to deepest center field off Danys Baez to give Detroit the comeback 6 – 5 win, which extends its lead over the idle White Sox to 2 games in the AL Central.

Melky Cabrera completes a cycle with a ninth-inning triple during an 8-5 victory in Chicago to become the first Yankee in 14 years to accomplish the feat. Tony Fernandez had been the last Bronx Bomber to collect a single, double, triple, and a home run in the same game with his four hits against Oakland on September 3rd, 1995.

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Melky Cabrera completes a cycle with a ninth-inning triple during an 8-5 victory in Chicago to become the first Yankee in 14 years to accomplish the feat. Tony Fernandez had been the last Bronx Bomber to collect a single, double, triple, and a home run in the same game with his four hits against Oakland on September 3rd, 1995.

Two days after being acquired from Cleveland, Victor Martinez makes his presence felt in the Red Sox line-up, banging out 5 hits and collecting 4 RBI in an 18 – 10 thrashing of Baltimore. For his part, Kevin Youkilis goes 10 for 12 in the BoSox three-game sweep of the Birds at Camden Yards.

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Two days after being acquired from Cleveland, Victor Martinez makes his presence felt in the Red Sox line-up, banging out 5 hits and collecting 4 RBI in an 18 – 10 thrashing of Baltimore. For his part, Kevin Youkilis goes 10 for 12 in the BoSox three-game sweep of the Birds at Camden Yards.

Rookie Andrew McCutchen homers three times and drives in 6 runs to lead the new-look Pirates to an 11 – 6 win over Washington. Pittsburgh has traded away 6 regulars over the last week and won their first two games since the deals. McCutchen is the first Pirate rookie ever to go deep three times in a contest.

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Rookie Andrew McCutchen homers three times and drives in 6 runs to lead the new-look Pirates to an 11 – 6 win over Washington. Pittsburgh has traded away 6 regulars over the last week and won their first two games since the deals. McCutchen is the first Pirate rookie ever to go deep three times in a contest.