Angels' victory overshadowed by prospect of strike

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- In the majors' final game before the strike deadline, fans threw foul balls back onto the field and urged players not to walk out as the Anaheim Angels beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6-1 Thursday night.

Scattered boos were heard from the usually laid-back Southern California crowd, and some of 18,820 fans threw debris on the field after Aubrey Huff grounded out to end the game at 9:44 p.m. PDT.

The players' union had set a strike date for Friday if no agreement was reached with the owners. While the Angels and Devil Rays finished up, negotiations continued in the morning hours in New York.

Mariners 2, Twins 0

MINNEAPOLIS -- Desi Relaford ruined Rick Reed's masterpiece with a leadoff homer in the eighth inning, helping Jamie Moyer and Seattle salvage a disappointing week with a win over Minnesota.

Moyer, who struck out seven, gave up five hits and one walk in seven scoreless innings in Seattle's last game before Friday's strike deadline.

Moyer (13-6), winning for the first time in four starts, improved to 10-5 in his career against the Twins. He gave up an infield single to Denny Hocking leading off the eighth before yielding to Arthur Rhodes.

Blue Jays 7, Yankees 4

TORONTO -- Josh Phelps homered twice off Roger Clemens, leading Esteban Loaiza (7-7) and Toronto over New York.

Phelps and Carlos Delgado both hit long shots against Clemens (11-5), helping prevent The Rocket from earning his 292nd career victory.

A crowd of 32,679, including many Yankees fans, watched the final game at SkyDome before Friday's strike deadline.

Rangers 9, Orioles 6

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Ivan Rodriguez hit his fifth career grand slam to complete a big Texas comeback and the Rangers beat Baltimore to complete a three-game sweep.

Rodriguez's grand slam came in the sixth inning off reliever Rick Bauer (6-6), who had struck out the first two batters of the inning.

Baltimore had led 6-0 in the third inning. The Orioles have a six-game losing streak, matching their season high from the first week of the season.

National League

Giants 10, Rockies 6

DENVER -- Barry Bonds hit his 40th homer of the season and Jeff Kent went deep twice, powering the San Francisco Giants past the Colorado Rockies Thursday.

After a 38-minute delay in the bottom of the ninth because of a power outage and a subsequent thunderstorm, the game was called. A tornado warning also was posted in the area.

Cubs 13, Brewers 10

MILWAUKEE -- Mark Bellhorn became the first player in National League history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning as the Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers.

Bellhorn ignited a 10-run burst in the fourth inning with a two-run shot off left-hander Andrew Lorraine that traveled 410 feet to center field at Miller Park.

Pirates 4, Braves 1

PITTSBURGH -- Tom Glavine's wildness led to Pittsburgh's first two runs and the Pirates, helped by Bronson Arroyo's effective start and Aramis Ramirez's homer, shut down Atlanta's offense again to beat the Braves.

On the final game for both teams before a possible strike, the Pirates' two runs against Glavine -- the NL player representative -- were driven in by Kevin Young, their own player rep, and Keith Osik, who doesn't belong to the players' union.

Reds 7, Cardinals 0

CINCINNATI -- Jimmy Haynes drove in three runs and pitched eight shutout innings as the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals in their final game before the players' strike deadline.

Astros 5, Padres 0

HOUSTON -- Orlando Merced hit an RBI double and made two outstanding throws from right field and Lance Berkman hit his 37th homer, leading the Houston Astros over the San Diego Padres.

Pete Munro (5-2) and three relievers combined on a four-hitter. It was the Astros' ninth shutout of the season, all at Minute Maid Park.

The victory moved the Astros within 2 1/2 games of the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals.

There were few reminders in the crowd of 22,485 that a possible player strike loomed before Friday night's home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Phillies 2, Expos 1

PHILADELPHIA -- Brandon Duckworth pitched seven strong innings and Bobby Abreu hit a two-run homer off Bartolo Colon (7-3) to lead Philadelphia over Montreal.

The Phillies have won seven of eight and moved back to .500 in the final game before Friday's strike deadline.

Duckworth (6-8) allowed one run, two hits and struck out eight to win for the first time since July 1. He was 0-3 in his eight previous starts.

Terry Adams pitched a perfect eighth, and Jose Mesa worked the ninth for his 38th save in 47 chances.