THREE UP
The Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki became the third-fastest player in history to reach 1,500 hits when he singled off the A’s Lenny DiNardo. Suzuki got his 1,500th hit in his 1,060th game. Only Al Simmons (1,040) and George Sisler (1,048) reached the mark faster.
Johnny Damon scored four runs and had three hits and two RBIs in the Yankees’ 10-6 win over the Orioles. The left fielder also had a defensive gem. The Orioles had runners at the corners when Damon sprinted to snare a liner by Brian Roberts to end the threat.
Leo Nunez pitched six scoreless innings in his second major-league start in a 10-0 win over the Rangers. Nunez gave up three singles, walked one and struck one. The Royals nearly dealt him for Milton Bradley but backed out when Bradley was injured.
THREE DOWN
The Brewers, who led the NL Central by 8 1/2 games June 24, are just a half-game ahead of the Cubs after losing to the Cardinals 9-5. Milwaukee completed a 2-6 trip and has lost 11 of its last 14 road games, dropping to 21-32 away from Miller Park.
Josh Barfield made two errors on one play to help the Twins rally in the eighth. Barfield kicked Joe Mauer’s grounder for an error and threw wildly to first for another, allowing a run in. Justin Morneau followed with an RBI double in the Indians’ 4-1 loss.
Ian Snell, who was 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA against the Phillies in his previous two starts, allowed three runs on six hits over six innings to lose for the fourth straight time. He struck out seven, including six in a row at one point, but walked three in the 5-1 loss.
