Yankees’ Olerud haunts ex-mates

Indians turn back Twins, close to within one game of top spot in Central

? John Olerud wasn’t out for revenge against the Seattle Mariners.

Olerud hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the eighth inning against his former team, and the New York Yankees overcame another mediocre start by Esteban Loaiza to beat the Mariners, 6-4, Saturday.

“I always felt I would be able to get it turned around,” Olerud said. “Fortunately, I’ve been able to get some big hits here. But I’m just up there today trying to get a hit and score the run.”

After Loaiza wasted a three-run lead and fell behind 4-3, the Yankees tied the score in the seventh on consecutive doubles by Enrique Wilson and John Flaherty off Jamie Moyer.

Shigetoshi Hasegawa (4-5) hit Gary Sheffield with a pitch leading off the eighth, then allowed a double to deep center by Bernie Williams that put runners on second and third.

George Sherrill relieved and retired Hideki Matsui on a weak grounder to first, then intentionally walked Ruben Sierra to face Olerud, who singled to right field. Olerud, who batted .245 for Seattle with 22 RBIs in 78 games before he was released, is hitting .333 (11-for-33) with 11 RBIs in nine games with the Yankees.

Olerud, a native of Seattle who plans to make his home in the area after he retires, received a standing ovation from the Safeco Field crowd of 46,530 before his first at-bat in the second.

“I think any time you’re with a new club, you want to do well and help the team win,” he said. “It’s a good feeling. When they pitch around the guy in front of you to get to you, you definitely want to come through with a hit right there,” he said.

Mariners manager Bob Melvin thought walking Sierra was his only option.

New York's John Olerud connects for a tiebreaking, two-run single. The Yankees defeated the Mariners, 6-4, Saturday in Seattle.

“Believe me, we didn’t want it working out that way,” he said.

Indians 7, Twins 1

Cleveland — Cleveland pulled within one game of the AL Central lead, scoring four runs in the first inning and beating Minnesota behind home runs by Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez. Cleveland, which has not shared the division lead this late in the season since 2001, can tie the first-place Twins with a victory today, which would complete a three-game sweep.

The Indians have won six straight and 10 of 11, gaining seven games on the Twins in 10 days. Minnesota, which has lost eight of 10, had a season-high six-game lead over the Indians and Chicago White Sox after last Sunday’s games. Jake Westbrook (11-5) won for the fifth time in six starts, yielding one run in seven innings

Rangers 6, Devil Rays 5

Arlington, Texas — Kevin Mench hit a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning, and Gary Matthews Jr. added a solo shot to lead Texas over Tampa Bay. Doug Brocail (2-1) relieved starter Mike Bascik to the start the fifth inning and allowed two unearned runs that tied the score at 5 but got the win. Brian Shouse, Frank Francisco, Carlos Almanzar and Francisco Cordero combined for four innings of one-hit relief.

Red Sox 4, White Sox 3

Boston — David Ortiz’s second homer of the game broke an eighth-inning tie, Curt Schilling gained his first home win in seven weeks, and Boston beat Chicago. Manny Ramirez hit his 30th homer and is tied with Ortiz for the AL lead.

Schilling (14-6) gave up consecutive first-inning homers to Timo Perez and Carlos Lee but improved to 8-1 at Fenway Park, allowing three runs and five hits in eight innings. He had been 0-1 in three home starts since beating Philadelphia on June 27.

Angels 11, Tigers 8

Anaheim, Calif. — Chone Figgins hit a tiebreaking two-run homer and drove in four runs, leading Anaheim over Detroit. Manager Mike Scioscia revamped the lineup in an attempt to squeeze more runs out of his offense, and the Angels responded with 17 hits.

Blue Jays 7, Orioles 2

Toronto — Josh Towers beat his former team to win for the sixth time in seven starts, and Toronto defeated Baltimore to stop a four-game losing streak. Towers (8-4) allowed two runs and six hits in 62/3 innings, improving to 16-5 in 27 career games with Toronto.