The Associated Press

George Steinbrenner was already grumpy about the New York Yankees’ inability to hit in the clutch.

Wednesday, June 13, 2001

George Steinbrenner was already grumpy about the New York Yankees’ inability to hit in the clutch.

What happened Tuesday night won’t brighten the Boss’ mood.

The Yankees had just six hits in 12 innings and lost 2-1 on a disputed home run down the left-field line by Montreal’s Mark Smith.

”That was kind of the exclamation point on a frustrating night,” said the Yankees’ Scott Brosius, whose line drive with runners at the corners in the 11th was caught by a leaping Mike Mordecai at second.

Michael Barrett hit a tying homer off Mariano Rivera in the top of the ninth, and Smith hit the go-ahead drive off Ramiro Mendoza (3-2). Replays appeared to show the ball hooking in front of the pole and landing on the foul side.

Ron Kulpa, the third-base umpire, signaled fair. Yankees manager Joe Torre came out and the entire umpire crew conferred for more than a minute before allowing the homer to stand.

”I looked at the replay and it might have cut below the pole there,” said plate umpire Mark Hirschbeck, the crew chief. ”We tried to get it right at the time and we thought we had it right.”

The two Montreal homers overshadowed rookie Ted Lilly’s best effort for the Yankees: seven shutout innings of three-hit ball. Expos starter Tony Armas Jr. allowed just three hits in seven innings and just four balls out of the infield. The Yankees’ run scored on Derek Jeter’s RBI grounder in the fifth.

New York dropped three games behind AL East-leading Boston and lost for the first time in 30 games this year in which it led after eight innings. The Yankees are 3-6 in extra-inning games.

Giants 3, Angels 2

Barry Bonds homered for the fourth straight home game, giving him 33 and putting him six games ahead of Mark McGwire’s 70-homer pace. Kirk Rueter (7-6) allowed five hits and a run in seven innings.

Athletics 5, Padres 2

Tim Hudson won his fifth straight decision, and Jason Giambi homered and drove in three runs as Oakland won at San Diego. Hudson (7-3) hasn’t lost since April 28.

Mariners 10, Rockies 9

Seattle outhomered Colorado 6-3 at Coors Field, including Mike Cameron’s game-winner off Juan Acevedo in the ninth. Bret Boone homered twice for the Mariners (49-13), who have the second-best record after 62 games in baseball history.

Twins 7, Astros 0

Brad Radke pitched a four-hitter, leading Minnesota back into first place in the AL Central. Doug Mientkiewicz, Cristian Guzman and Torii Hunter all homered for the host Twins.

Dodgers 8, Rangers 4

Hiram Bocachica hit his first major league homer as Los Angeles won at home against Texas. Nine-time All-Star catcher Ivan Rodriguez left the game with a bruised throwing hand, and Rangers left fielder Rusty Greer was put on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring.

Royals 7, Cardinals 4

Chad Durbin came within two outs of Kansas City’s first complete game of the season. Durbin (4-5) allowed three runs on five hits and retired 14 of 15 batters before the ninth, when J.D. Drew singled and Albert Pujols hit his 20th homer for visiting St. Louis.

Braves 3, Blue Jays 0

Odalis Perez allowed five hits in eight-plus innings as Atlanta won at Toronto. Pinch-hitter Bernard Gilkey hit a two-run double in the eighth for the Braves, who closed within 2 1/2 games of Philadelphia in the NL East.

Red Sox 4, Marlins 2

At Boston, Frank Castillo (6-4) pitched five shutout innings, and the Red Sox got homers from Troy O’Leary and Trot Nixon. Boston has 23 homers in its last 12 games after hitting just 56 in its first 50. It has four in its last two without AL home run leader Manny Ramirez, who has a sore throat and fever.

Devil Rays 9, Phillies 5

Ben Grieve hit his fourth career grand slam and Greg Vaughn also homered to help rookie left-hander Joe Kennedy (2-0) beat visiting Philadelphia.

Mets 10, Orioles 3

Robin Ventura hit two homers and drove in four runs, and Timo Perez had a career-high four hits as New York won at Baltimore.

Brewers 4, Indians 2

Richie Sexson singled home the go-ahead run in the ninth inning at Jacobs Field. Sexson, dealt to Milwaukee from Cleveland last July 28, snapped a 2-2 tie.

Pirates 13, Tigers 3

Abraham Nunez hit a bases-loaded triple to highlight Pittsburgh’s nine-run fourth inning at Detroit as the Pirates won their first game since general manager Cam Bonifay was fired. Pittsburgh also scored four runs in the fifth inning to help give Todd Ritchie (1-8) his first win of the season.