Redman Does Enough as Twins Win Their 20th

Mark Redman pitched just well enough to win.

Redman managed to wiggle his way out of trouble long enough to gain his second victory of the season as the Minnesota Twins defeated Kansas City, 6-2, Friday night at Kansas City, Mo., the Royals’ fourth consecutive loss.

“About all you can say is that he battled,” Twin Manager Tom Kelly said. “He kept battling. That’s it. He got through it and got into the sixth inning, which is good. But, it was a battle.”

Redman (2-3) gave up one run and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.

“I battled everything out there,” he said. “The situations I was in, the tight strike zone, trying not give up those early runs. If a pitcher tells you he’s not out there battling every time out, he’s lying.”

David Ortiz was three for four for the AL Central-leading Twins, who at 20-7 are off to their best start.

Ortiz left early with a strained right wrist he injured while trying to score from second on Jacque Jones’ two-out single in the fourth. Ortiz homered in the fifth, then went to a hospital for X-rays.

Kansas City stranded two runners in each of the first three innings and left a total of 12, including eight in scoring position.

Minnesota went ahead in the third when Cristian Guzman singled with two outs, stole second and came around on a double down the right-field line by Luis Rivas, a ball just out of the reach of first baseman Dave McCarty.

Jacque Jones’ run-scoring single made it 2-0 in the fourth, with Ortiz getting thrown out by right fielder Jermaine Dye on the hit. It was Jones’ first RBI since April 7, his sixth overall.

Matt Lawton hit an RBI double in the fifth and Ortiz hit a two-run homer.

Toronto 8, Seattle 3--Former Dodger Raul Mondesi matched his career-high with six runs batted in, going four for four with two homers and two doubles for the Blue Jays at Seattle.

Mondesi had a solo homer in the fifth and a three-run drive into the upper deck in left in the sixth inning.

The second, Mondesi’s eighth homer of the season, put Toronto ahead 4-3 and followed walks to Shannon Stewart and Carlos Delgado by Paul Abbott (0-1).

Toronto, which overcame a 3-0 deficit and sent Seattle to just its second loss in 13 games, added four runs in the seventh. Stewart had an RBI single off Jose Paniagua, Alex Gonzalez had a run-scoring double and Mondesi hit a two-run double.

New York 6, Baltimore 5--Scott Brosius hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning at Baltimore

Paul O’Neill had a single, double and triple for the Yankees, who have won six of eight.

New York trailed 5-3 before scoring twice in the seventh, and Brosius capped the comeback with a home run off Chad Paronto (1-2).

Cleveland 8, Tampa Bay 6--Ellis Burks drove in four runs with a homer and double at St. Petersburg, Fla., as the Indians won their sixth in a row.

Bartolo Colon (4-2) won for the third time in as many starts on the road this season, giving up two runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out seven.

Oakland 7, Boston 3--Eric Chavez hit a two-run homer and had four RBIs at Oakland as the Athletics put together their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Gil Heredia (2-4), who won his last start after dropping his first four, gave up three runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. Jeff Tam pitched the final 2 1/3 innings for his first save.

Chicago at Texas, ppd.--The Rangers fell behind 6-0 to the White Sox in the fourth inning at Arlington, Texas, before rain forced postponement. Because this is Chicago’s only trip to Texas, the game will be made up Monday, which was a scheduled off day for both teams.