Manny shines brightly in LA
It didn't take long for Manny Ramirez to become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
The sometimes moody, sometimes goofy — almost always entertaining — slugger went 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBI Sunday, wrapping up a stellar first weekend in Los Angeles by helping the Dodgers to a 9-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The 12-time All-Star, who came over in Thursday's three-way trade with Pittsburgh and Boston, was 8-for-13 with five RBI in the three games he played at Chavez Ravine.
Ramirez hit an RBI single in the first inning, doubled in a run in the second and went deep in the fifth for career homer No. 512, passing Mel Ott and moving into a tie with Eddie Mathews and Ernie Banks for 20th place.
His second home run with the Dodgers traveled an estimated 436 feet into the pavilion seats in left field on a 1-2 pitch from reliever Billy Buckner. Ramirez capped his first four-hit game since June 1, 2007, with an infield single in the ninth.
Astros 4, Mets 0
Ty Wigginton homered to back a strong start from Randy Wolf (7-10), and host Houston completed its first three-game sweep of the Mets since September 1993.
Rockies 3, Marlins 2
At Miami, pinch-hitter Seth Smith drove in Cory Sullivan with the winning run with a single off Joe Nelson (2-1) in the ninth inning.
Braves 5, Brewers 0
Jorge Campillo (6-4) shut out visiting Milwaukee for seven innings and Atlanta beat Ben Sheets and the Brewers to avoid a series sweep.
Nationals 4, Reds 2
At Washington, rookie Collin Balester (2-3) allowed one run in 5Z\c innings to complete the Nationals' second sweep of the year.
Padres 4, Giants 1
At San Diego, Greg Maddux (5-8) drove in a run and pitched six strong innings for his 352nd career victory.
Phillies 5, Cardinals 4
At St. Louis, Shane Victorino's three-run home run capped a four-run eighth inning against a vulnerable Cardinals bullpen, and Philadelphia's Brad Lidge survived a shaky ninth to improve to 28-for-28 in save situations.
Twins 6, Indians 2
At Minneapolis, Francisco Liriano, who missed all of last season after Tommy John surgery and struggled in three starts earlier this year, threw six scoreless innings to help Minnesota reclaim first place in the AL Central with a victory over Cleveland.
Rays 6, Tigers 5
Carl Crawford hit a tying RBI single in the 10th inning and Carlos Pena drew a game-ending, bases-loaded walk to give AL East-leading Tampa Bay a victory over visiting Detroit.
Yankees 14, Angels 9
Xavier Nady homered and had a career-high six RBI, rallying host New York in a wild, back-and-forth game.
Royals 14, White Sox 3
Mike Aviles went 4-for-4 with a home run, Zack Greinke pitched well into the seventh inning, and host Kansas City defeated Chicago in a game featuring five ejections.
Red Sox 5, Athletics 2
Jed Lowrie's two-run triple highlighted a three-run fourth inning that helped Daisuke Matsuzaka to his 12th win and host Boston completed a three-game sweep.
Mariners 8, Orioles 4
Raul Ibanez's two-run single off reliever Jamie Walker capped a three-run seventh inning to help host Seattle snap a seven-game home losing streak.
Rangers 8, Blue Jays 4
Gerald Laird homered twice and drove in four runs as host Texas beat Toronto.
