Tigers’ Maroth absorbs 20th loss

Twins, White Sox win, remain tied atop Central

? Mike Maroth is determined to not let the label “20-game loser” hurt his career.

Maroth became the first major-league pitcher in 23 years to lose 20 games in a season as the Detroit Tigers lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-6, Friday night.

“I’m a strong person. I’m going to overcome this. I know that,” he said. “Hopefully, next year and the rest of this year I’ll be able to prove that.”

Maroth (6-20) allowed eight runs and nine hits in three-plus innings, becoming the first 20-game loser since Oakland’s Brian Kingman went 8-20 in 1980.

Before the game, Maroth learned that his grandmother died, but he insisted on pitching.

“I have no regrets about the way I pitched tonight,” he said. “I went out there with everything I had. I didn’t pitch well, but at least I can sleep good knowing that I gave it everything I had. Mentally, I was fine.”

Maroth said he appreciated the support of his family and teammates.

“It’s a tough time for me,” he said. “For them to be there and support me, that’s what a true teammate is.”

Teammate Dmitri Young felt he let Maroth down.

“I failed him,” Young said. “He’s dealing with a lot right now. I’m not going to mention it. He’s a better man than most of us. For him to come out here and forget about everything and pitch for the team, I felt I failed him.”

Kingman, who wanted to remain baseball’s last 20-game loser, attended the game and brought a voodoo doll with him. It’s the same doll he took to four other starts in which a major-league pitcher could have lost his 20th game but didn’t.

“I just don’t want Mike to lose,” Kingman said before the game.

White Sox 5, Indians 3

Chicago — Paul Konerko and Magglio Ordonez homered as Chicago held off Cleveland to stay tied with Minnesota atop the AL Central. Konerko hit a three-run homer in the second inning and Ordonez added a solo shot in the fifth off Billy Traber (6-8) as the White Sox built a five-run lead and survived Cleveland’s eighth-inning rally.

Jon Garland (11-10), who allowed five hits and two runs in 7 1/3 innings, improved to 2-7 against the Indians in his career. He escaped a potentially big first inning when Carlos Lee leaped and banged into the left field wall to pull down Ben Broussard’s long drive with a runner on second.

Twins 10, Rangers 7

Minneapolis — Cristian Guzman hit a three-run triple and Juan Rincon pitched three outstanding innings of relief as Minnesota defeated Texas. Rincon (4-6) threw three perfect innings after starter Johan Santana faltered for the first time in a month, nearly squandering an early 8-2 lead. But Guzman drove in a career-high four runs as the Twins stayed tied with the White Sox atop the AL Central. Michael Young hit his first career grand slam, and Alex Rodriguez hit his major-league-leading 41st homer for Texas.

The Rangers’ bullpen kept it close until the sixth, when the Twins scored two off Joaquin Benoit. Luis Rivas led off with a triple and came home on Doug Mientkiewicz’s second sacrifice fly of the game. Matthew LeCroy made it 10-7 with his 16th homer.

Mariners 6, Orioles 4 (13)

Baltimore — Kerry Ligtenberg hit Bret Boone with a pitch in the 13th inning, forcing in the tiebreaking run as Seattle beat Baltimore. Ichiro Suzuki hit a two-run homer and Carlos Guillen drove in three runs for the Mariners, who remained two games behind first-place Oakland in the AL West and a half-game behind Boston in the wild-card race.

Red Sox 9, Yankees 3

New York — Johnny Damon tripled with the bases loaded and Boston roughed up Andy Pettitte. Pedro Martinez (11-4) struck out nine in six easy innings, cruising to his first win in four starts against the Yankees this season. With an 8-0 lead by the third, Martinez even enjoyed a chuckle on the mound at the expense of absent-minded teammate Manny Ramirez. The left fielder, never known for his defense, made a terrific running catch at the wall in the fourth. Ramirez then threw the ball into the stands, thinking there were three outs.

Athletics 3, Devil Rays 1

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Ted Lilly pitched six solid innings and Mark Ellis had an RBI double as Oakland beat Tampa Bay. Lilly (9-9) allowed one run and four hits, struck out seven and walked two, improving to 4-0 against the Devil Rays. Jim Mecir, Chad Bradford and Keith Foulke completed the four-hitter.