A big smile on his face and a bottle of champagne and the game ball in his locker left no doubt about what Domingo Jean had just done.
Jean earned his first major league victory Friday night, pitching seven effective innings and helping the New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 7-2."Yes, it's big. I've got a ball now, and I want everybody on the team to sign it," he said. "But I can't think only about one game. I want to get a couple more."
The Yankees ensured this one with four runs in the seventh inning, two on Don Mattingly's single and two on Danny Tartabull's homer. New York stopped Kansas City's four-game winning streak.
The victory moved the Yankees to within one game of Toronto in the AL East.
Jean (1-0) gave up five hits, including home runs by Gary Gaetti and Felix Jose. The 24-year-old rookie walked one and struck out three in his third start in the majors.
Mariners 4, Blue Jays 1
At Toronto, Randy Johnson pitched a three-hitter as the Seattle Mariners beat Toronto to end the first-place Blue Jays' five-game winning streak.
Johnson (13-8) allowed one run, struck out 11 and walked one for his seventh complete game of the season. The left-hander leads the majors with 226 strikeouts.
The loss trimmed the Blue Jays' lead over second-place New York to one game in the AL East as the Yankees beat visiting Kansas City.
White Sox 4, Twins 2
At Minneapolis, Alex Fernandez pitched five-hit ball over eight innings for his 15th victory, leading Chicago past Minnesota.
Coupled with Kansas City's loss at New York, the victory increased the first-place White Sox's lead to three games over the Royals in the AL West. Fernandez (15-6) walked two and struck out four.
Orioles 10, Rangers 5
At Baltimore, Mike Mussina, back from a five-week stint on the disabled list, turned in a strong performance as Baltimore won itseighth straight home game by beating Texas.
Cal Ripken homered and drove in four runs for the Orioles, who have won two straight after an eight-game losing streak. Baltimore, returning from a 2-8 road trip, is unbeaten at Camden Yards since Aug. 1.
Indians 7, Red Sox 6
At Boston, Albert Belle's weak grounder under the gloves of two Boston infielders with two outs in the ninth inning resulted in a two-run error as Cleveland rallied.
Athletics 7, Tigers 6
At Detroit, Mike Aldrete keyed a five-run fourth inning with his first career grand slam, and Oakland then held on to beat Detroit. The Tigers rallied for four runs in the ninth.
Brewers 7, Angels 2
At Anaheim, Calif., John Jaha hit a tie-breaking solo homer in the 10th inning, and Cal Eldred pitched a six-hitter as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the California Angels and stopped a four-game losing streak.
National League
Cubs 6, Braves 3
At Chicago, Rick Wilkins drove in the decisive run, then Jose Vizcaino's two-run single capped a four-run seventh inning that led the Chicago Cubs to victory over the Atlanta Braves.
The Braves took a 3-2 lead in the top of the inning on Sid Bream's run-scoring pinch single off Mike Morgan (8-11). Randy Myers, the third Chicago pitcher, worked the ninth for his 36th save.
Reds 4, Expos 2
At Cincinnati, Tim Costo doubled home two runs in the eighth inning as Cincinnati beat Montreal for only its second victory in 10 games.
Phillies 6, Astros 4
At Houston, Kevin Stocker's three-run eighth-inning triple enabled Philadelphia to remain unbeaten this season in Houston.
The Phillies are 4-0 in the Astrodome and have won eight of their last 11 games. The loss snapped a three-game winning steak for Houston.
Dodgers 3, Cardinals 2
At St. Louis, Los Angeles, held to two hits in eight innings, got three runs on four hits - the key ones off relief ace Lee Smith - in the ninth.
Marlins 5, Giants 4
At San Francisco, rookie Jeff Conine's grand slam highlighted a five-run eighth inning, and the Florida Marlins beat the San Francisco Giants to end a four-game losing streak.
Pirates 7, Padres 6
At San Diego, Lonnie Smith's two-out RBI single broke a tie in the eighth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat San Diego to hand the Padres their sixth straight loss.
The defeat not only established the Padres' longest losing streak of the season, but marked their seventh setback in as many games with the Pirates.