The Associated Press

Hitting the road changed the fortunes of the struggling New York Yankees.

Tuesday, June 20, 2000

Hitting the road changed the fortunes of the struggling New York Yankees.

The streaking Chicago White Sox didn’t slow down a bit after coming home from their most successful road trip in years.

The Yankees handed Boston its most lopsided home loss ever, breaking loose for five home runs Monday night in a 22-1 romp that snapped a four-game skid.

”You just can’t figure this game,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. ”You never want to beat somebody up like that, but you can’t control it.”

The White Sox won their eighth straight game, getting a homer from Herbert Perry and 6 2-3 scoreless innings from Kip Wells to beat Cleveland 6-1.

The White Sox, who won three games in Cleveland and four at Yankee Stadium to complete a perfect seven-game road trip, moved 8 1/2 games ahead of the Indians in the AL Central.

”Baseball is a momentum sport,” Perry said. ”Right now, this team is in a giant vacuum and we’re just letting things go. We’re not thinking about anything else. We’re just playing baseball.”

At Fenway Park, Shane Spencer hit a three-run shot in a nine-run eighth inning and Scott Brosius added a three-run drive in a seven-run ninth for the Yankees.

”It was embarrassing. It doesn’t matter if it’s the hometown Little League,” Boston catcher Jason Varitek said. ”It’s embarrassing for every one of us.”

It was New York’s highest-scoring game since Aug. 12, 1953, when it beat Washington by the same 22-1 margin. Only the Yankees’ 25-2 win over Philadelphia on May 24, 1936, was by a bigger score in team history.

Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Felix Jose also homered as the Yankees bounced back in a big way from a humiliating four-game sweep at home by the White Sox.

”You’re not going to see us get 22 runs very often, just like you probably won’t see Boston give up 22 runs again,” Jeter said.

A standing room only crowd of 43,062, the fifth sellout of the season, gave the major league-leading White Sox (45-24) a standing ovation as they took the field to start the game.

”That was very moving,” manager Jerry Manuel said.

Chicago’s eight-game win streak is its longest since the White Sox won eight in a row May 17-26, 1996. It was the Indians’ seventh loss in their last eight games.

Athletics 13, Orioles 12

Jeremy Giambi’s RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning capped Oakland’s seven-run comeback and gave the Athletics their sixth straight win.

Jason Giambi singled off Mike Timlin (2-2) with one out in the 10th. One out later, John Jaha walked. Jeremy Giambi then pinch-hit, singling to left to drive in his older brother.

Combined with the 21 runs they scored Sunday at Kansas City, the A’s tied an Oakland record with 34 runs in a two-game span.

Devil Rays 10, Mariners 3

Fred McGriff drove in four runs and hit his 13th homer, and reliever-turned-starter Albie Lopez (4-4) pitched six strong innings as Tampa Bay won at Seattle.

Jose Guillen and Bobby Smith also homered for the Devil Rays, who won for the fifth time in six games.