New York Mets

Randy Johnson’s encouraging outing ended abruptly when he was ejected for throwing inside, and the New York Yankees beat the slumping Cleveland Indians 6-1 in a testy game Wednesday night. Johnny Damon and Andy Phillips homered for New York, which won its second straight after dropping four in a row. Bernie Williams added a key RBI double and Robinson Cano had three hits, sending Cleveland to its 14th loss in 16 games at Yankee Stadium since the start of 2002. Indians starter Jason Johnson couldn’t equal The Big Unit in a matchup of Johnson vs. Johnson, and Cleveland’s dangerous lineup was shut down for the second consecutive night. The Indians have lost five of six and eight of 11 overall. Jorge Posada and Jason Johnson (3-7) exchanged words after the New York catcher was hit by a pitch in the sixth, and both benches were warned. With Randy Johnson (8-5) nursing a 6-1 lead the following inning, longtime nemesis Eduardo Perez came to the plate with one out and nobody on. The Big Unit threw his first pitch way inside, and Perez pointed his bat at the mound and took a few steps toward the pitcher. Posada stepped in front of Perez as both benches emptied — but no punches were thrown. Randy Johnson and Yankees manager Joe Torre were ejected as the crowd of 53,448 chanted ‘‘Randy! Randy!’’ with delight. That completed one of the best starts of a disappointing season for Randy Johnson, who has been struggling with his mechanics. He allowed one run and four hits in 6 1-3 innings, striking out six and walking none. Scott Proctor and Ron Villone finished up with scoreless relief. Phillips made a courageous play to end the game, lunging into the first-base stands to catch a popup. Blue Jays 6, Orioles 3 Alex Rios, Frank Catalanotto and Vernon Wells homered to lead the Blue Jays over Baltimore. Rios and Catalanotto hit back-to-back homers in the first off Rodrigo Lopez (4-8) — the first two batters the right-hander faced. It was the seventh time this season Toronto has hit consecutive home runs. Wells hit a solo shot off Lopez in the third for the Blue Jays, who have won two straight following a three-game losing skid. Vinny Chulk (1-0) pitched an inning for the win. B.J. Ryan pitched two hitless innings for his 16th save in 17 chances. Ryan signed a five-year, $47 million contract — the richest ever for a reliever — in the offseason. Rangers 8, White Sox 0 Getting a turn as the Texas designated hitter, Hank Blalock snapped out of his offensive slump with a homer and an RBI double in the Rangers’ victory over Chicago. Vicente Padilla (6-4) struck out seven and allowed only three singles over eight shutout innings. After allowing runners in each of the first four innings, the right-hander retired 14 of the last 16 batters he faced. He walked three and twice hit A.J. Pierzynski with pitches while throwing 109 pitches. Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth to wrap up the Rangers’ fifth shutout of the season. Blalock led off the second with his 10th homer — a 416-foot blast into the second deck of seats in right field — that put the Rangers ahead to stay. His double an inning later was part of a four-run outburst in which they batted around to go up 5-0. Javier Vazquez (7-4) struck out seven over six innings, but allowed six runs and 10 hits to end his three-game winning streak. Devil Rays 5, Tigers 1, 12 innings Jorge Cantu hit a three-run double in the 12th inning to help the Devil Rays get the win. Toby Hall and Travis Lee both singled off Todd Jones (1-5) with no outs in the 12th. Jones got Julio Lugo to bunt into a force at third and Carl Crawford to pop out but then hit Rocco Baldelli to load the bases. Cantu followed Baldelli with a bases-clearing liner into right-center field. Damon Hollins added an RBI double to give Tampa Bay a four-run lead. Brian Meadows (2-1) threw two scoreless innings to get the win for Tampa Bay, which snapped Detroit’s four-game winning streak.

The New York Mets have been streaking to a level of success rarely matched by the franchise in recent years. Closing a 10-game road trip, the Mets look for their eighth consecutive victory Thursday when they attempt to finish a sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies. New York is seeking its first eight-game road winning streak since May-June, 1988, which would be its longest overall streak since a nine-game stretch in April 2000. Carlos Delgado drove in three runs and Jose Reyes recorded his second game of at least four hits this season as the Mets overcame a 65-minute rain delay in the fourth inning Wednesday and posted a 9-3 victory over the Phillies. Steve Trachsel (3-4, 4.70 ERA) faces Philadelphia for the third time this season. He took the loss May 11 after allowing two runs and six hits in four innings. He did not get a decision against the Phillies 12 days later. Philadelphia counters with Cory Lidle (4-5, 4.68), who is 4-1 with a 2.15 lifetime ERA against his former team. He lasted just two innings in a loss to New York on May 10, yielding eight runs and seven hits. Jimmy Rollins belted his ninth homer of the season and Bobby Abreu added a run-scoring single in the fourth on Wednesday for the Phillies, who have dropped five of six.