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NEW YORK // Chone Figgins singled in the winning run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to a 4-3 victory and a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees. Francisco Rodriguez (2-2) threw a perfect ninth for the win, while Mark Teixeira and Erik Aybar each drove in runs for the Angels (75-43), who have the sport's best record.
This weekend marked the first time the Yankees have been swept by the Angels in Anaheim since before the Joe Torre era, dating to May 1995. At Safeco Field, Rocco Baldelli drove in a run in his season debut and Edwin Jackson pitched six solid innings to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to an 11-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Jackson (9-7) allowed seven hits and one run while walking two and striking out a pair to win his fourth straight start.
Following a third straight victory, the Rays opened up a four-and-a-half game lead over Boston at the top of the East Division after the Red Sox lost 6-5 against the Central leading Chicago White Sox. After falling behind in the first inning, the White Sox, who lead the major leagues in home runs, used blasts from Jermaine Dye, Carlos Quentin and Jim Thome to beat the Red Sox. The White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd (12-6) went just over five innings, allowing seven hits while striking out six and walking one to earn the win. In Baltimore, Ian Kinsler had a career-high five hits, drove in three runs and scored three times to lead the Texas Rangers to a 15-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Marlon Byrd recorded four hits and four RBIs for the Rangers, who broke a four-game losing streak and matched a season high with 20 hits.
In Kansas City, Tony Pena Jr ripped a walk-off single in the 12th inning to help the Royals avoid a three-game sweep with a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Jose Guillen drove in a run for Kansas City, who twice rallied from a two-run deficit. Finally, Cliff Lee scattered eight hits in eight innings to record his 16th victory as the Cleveland Indians blanked the Toronto Blue Jays 4-0 to complete a sweep of the three-game series, while Nate Robertson tossed seven-plus strong innings to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 6-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
* Agencies