Melky Cabrera drove in four runs and become the first New York Yankee to hit for the cycle in 14 years in an 8-5 win over the Chicago White Sox. Cabrera had a home run, triple, double and single as the Yankees ended a three-game skid to the White Sox and hung on to first place in the American League East, a half-game in front of the Boston Red Sox. Chicago remain a game and a half behind leaders Detroit in the Central Division.
Cabrera launched his cycle with a three-run homer in the second inning and added a run-scoring single in the fifth. He had a double in the fourth and a triple in the ninth. I feel really happy, but I'm more happy because we won the game," Cabrera said. No Yankee had hit for the cycle since Tony Fernandez in 1995, and the feat, which involves a combination of power and speed, has been accomplished only 287 times in the major leagues, including Cabrera.
"He got us started with that three-run homer, and to be able to end it with that cycle is really special," said the Yankees manager, Joe Girardi. Cabrera had to dive head first into third base to beat Gordon Beckham's tag for his triple. "It's great," the Yankees closer Mariano Rivera said. "I don't remember seeing one...I was telling him, 'Go! Go! Don't stop at second base. Whatever happens, go'."
Cabrera's teammates cheered wildly in the dugout after the hit that completed the cycle. "Everyone was jumping up and down, clapping, cheering," Nick Swisher said. "We're just really happy for him. Not many people get a chance to do that. That's the first time I've ever seen [a cycle] in person. It's just an awesome thing." In other American League action, the Boston Red Sox out-slugged the Baltimore Orioles 18-10, with five hits from newcomer Victor Martinez and homers from Josh Reddick and Rocco Baldelli. It was the fourth victory in a row for the Sox, whose 23-hit attack included three each from Mike Lowell, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia.
At Cleveland, Carl Pavano tossed eight tough innings to lead the Indians to an 11-1 rout of Detroit Tigers. In the National League, Bud Norris pitched seven sharp innings in his first major league start to lead the Houston Astros to a 2-0 victory over the St Louis Cardinals, while at Cincinnati Dexter Fowler's two-out RBI triple in the 11th helped Colorado Rockies beat the Reds 6-4 to complete a three-game sweep.
* Agencies