Twins’ Rookie Comes Through Like Veteran

Glenn Williams took 11 years to get to the big leagues. He’s playing as if he doesn’t plan on going back to the minors.

Williams drove in his first major league run with a bases-loaded single in the 11th inning Friday to lift the Minnesota Twins to a 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres at Minneapolis.

Williams began his professional career in 1994 and played in two Olympics for Australia. He didn’t make his major league debut until the Twins called him up from triple-A Rochester on June 7.

Lew Ford led off the 11th with a walk against Dennys Reyes (3-1), and Justin Morneau doubled down the third base line. After Michael Cuddyer was walked intentionally, Williams chopped a single over a drawn-in infield.

“I was just looking for a pitch over the plate, something I could put in play,” said Williams, who is batting .462 in 13 at-bats. “I knew he wasn’t going to mess around with me.”

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Texas 8, Washington 1 -- Kenny Rogers (9-2) pitched out of trouble repeatedly at Arlington, Texas, to win his career-best ninth consecutive decision.

Hank Blalock hit a solo homer and two run-scoring singles for the Rangers, who from 1961 to 1971 were the Washington Senators -- the last team to play in the nation’s capital until the Nationals this year.

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New York Yankees 9, Chicago Cubs 6 -- Hideki Matsui hit a go-ahead homer and drove in five runs, and the Cubs remained winless at Yankee Stadium.

The Cubs fell to 0-5 in the ballpark, having been swept in the World Series in 1932 and 1938.

Matsui drove a pitch from Will Ohman (2-1) into the stands in the seventh to cap a three-run rally.

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Boston 6, Pittsburgh 5 -- Johnny Damon’s single with the bases loaded through a drawn-in infield in the bottom of the ninth inning sent the Pirates to their fifth loss in a row.

It was the first game between the teams since the first World Series, in 1903.

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San Francisco 4, Detroit 0 -- Jason Schmidt (4-3) gave up seven hits in eight innings and Tyler Walker got out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth by striking out three consecutive batters.

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Colorado 2, Baltimore 1 -- Todd Helton hit his first home run since May 14 and Jason Jennings (4-7) gave up six hits in seven innings, and the Rockies earned their fifth road victory this season.

Former Oriole farmhand Eddy Garabito and Jorge Piedra each had three hits for the Rockies, who had lost six consecutive road games.

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St. Louis 6, Tampa Bay 4 -- Mark Mulder gave up three runs in seven innings at St. Petersburg, Fla., for his first victory in more than three weeks.

Mulder (8-4) gave up four hits, two of them home runs to Jorge Cantu, and improved to 7-0 in eight career starts against the Devil Rays.

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Cleveland 13, Arizona 6 -- Jhonny Peralta and Grady Sizemore hit consecutive homers during a 10-run third inning and the host Indians won their seventh game in a row.

Arizona became the first team since the 1969 New York Mets to give up 10 runs in an inning in consecutive games.

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Toronto 9, Milwaukee 5 -- Frank Menechino hit his first two homers this season, and Eric Hinske hit a three-run drive to lead the host Blue Jays, who had scored 14 runs in their previous seven games.

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Philadelphia 6, Oakland 1 -- Robinson Tejeda got his first major league win and Todd Pratt drove in three runs at Oakland as the Phillies improved to 22-8 since May 15.

The A’s played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, were in Kansas City from 1955 to 1967 and moved to Oakland for the 1968 season.

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Seattle 5, New York Mets 0 -- Ichiro Suzuki hit a three-run homer and Jamie Moyer pitched into the eighth inning at Seattle.

Facing Japanese countryman Kazuhisa Ishii for the first time in a regular-season major league game, Suzuki homered in the second inning.

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NATIONAL LEAGUE

Atlanta 10, Cincinnati 5 -- Rookie Kelly Johnson hit a grand slam and a two-run homer for a career-high six runs batted in, and Andruw Jones also homered twice for the Braves at Cincinnati.

Johnson hit a two-run homer in the first inning against Ramon Ortiz (2-5) and a grand slam in the sixth against Randy Keisler. Wilson Betemit homered for the Braves, who tied their season high of five home runs.