Chamberlain's starting debut for Yankees flops

Joba Chamberlain struggled with his control, walked off the mound in the third inning and threw his glove in the dugout.

His first major-league start for the New York Yankees was a memorable one, all right. Just not for the reasons he'd hoped.

Chamberlain lasted just 2½ innings and Roy Halladay held the Yankees in check despite some control problems of his own, leading the visiting Toronto Blue Jays to a 9-3 victory on Tuesday night.

Alex Rios extended his hitting streak against the Yankees to 24 games and David Eckstein had three RBIs for Toronto, which patiently concentrated on Chamberlain's pitch count and forced New York to use six pitchers total.

Halladay (7-5) won his fourth straight decision and improved to 5-1 with a 2.58 ERA in his last seven games. He allowed two runs and six hits in six innings.

The former AL Cy Young Award winner got off to a rough start but quickly settled down and improved to 11-5 with a 3.03 ERA against New York.

Halladay was around long after Chamberlain departed from his much-anticipated start.

A selloutof 53,629 that included Chamberlain's father, Harlan, roared as the hard-throwing right-hander was introduced with the starting lineup and gave the youngster a standing ovation before he threw his first pitch.

His initial offering to leadoff hitter Shannon Stewart was a ball -- a sign of things to come. Chamberlain touched 101 mph on the Yankee Stadium scoreboard but walked three and threw 38 pitches in the first as Toronto took a 1-0 lead on Rios' groundout.

Chamberlain retired the side in order in the second and got Marco Scutaro to fly out to right to begin the third. But Rios walked on four straight balls, and manager Joe Girardi removed the 22-year-old after 62 pitches, about what the Yankees had planned to limit him to.

Dan Giese (0-1) relieved and allowed a run in 3 2-3 innings.

Chamberlain walked off the mound and sheepishly removed his cap to acknowledge the cheering crowd as he approached the dugout. He threw his glove down as he climbed down the steps and sat down with a dejected look on his face.

"It was the first step, that's all," said team co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner, who watched the game in his office at the Yankees' facility in Tampa, Fla. "Again, he's 22. This was the first step. We're looking at a 10-year or more career.

"Tonight was a creation of the media. If this had been a first start for any other pitcher on any other team, it wouldn't have been such a big deal."

Chamberlain, the 41st overall pick in the 2006 amateur draft, was converted to a reliever last year to help the Yankees bridge the gap to closer Mariano Rivera. He made his major-league debut at Toronto on Aug. 7 and went 2-0 with a 0.38 ERA in 19 games.

"I think it's the right move because you're having a guy with great stuff pitching a higher percentage of innings than a guy just pitching in the eighth inning," manager Joe Girardi said.

Red Sox 7, Rays 4: Boston kept winning at home even without David Ortiz. Coco Crisp hit a tie-breaking double and the Red Sox won the matchup of the AL East's top two teams.

Crisp snapped a 1-for-25 slump with the 2-run double in a four-run sixth inning and Jacoby Ellsbury followed with a sacrifice fly.

With Ortiz sidelined for at least three weeks with a left wrist injury, the Red Sox won their 11th straight game at home, matching the longest AL streak of the season held by the Rays. Boston cut Tampa Bay's lead in the division to one-half game.

Rangers 12, Indians 7: Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley hit consecutive homers to set the tone in a 4-run first inning, and host Texas went on to beat Cleveland.

Hamilton went deep in his career-high fourth straight game one out after Ian Kinsler led off with a single to extend his career-best hitting streak to 18 games. Hamilton's 2-run drive gave him 17 homers and 67 RBI, tops in the AL in both categories.

Orioles 5, Twins 3: Radhames Liz made a solid 2008 debut and got help from homers by Kevin Millar and Melvin Mora in visiting Baltimore's victory over Minnesota.

Liz (1-0) allowed 2 runs and 4 hits in 5½ innings for the Orioles, who snapped a nine-game losing streak to Minnesota and improved to 25-8 when scoring at least 4 runs in a game.

Kevin Slowey (2-5) gave up 4 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings for the Twins, who got going a little too late against Liz.

National League

Phillies 3, Reds 2: Pat Burrell hit a tiebreaking 2-run homer, Adam Eaton pitched 6¿ impressive innings, and host Philadelphia beat Cincinnati.

Ken Griffey Jr. walked as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning to remain 1 shy of 600 home runs. Griffey wasn't in the Reds' lineup for the second straight game because of general soreness. He's been bothered by a sore left knee.

Edwin Encarnacion hit a solo homer and tripled for 2 of Cincinnati's 4 hits. Rookie sensation Jay Bruce had a checked-swing, infield single in 3 at-bats.

Brad Lidge finished for his 15th save in as many chances.

Braves 5, Marlins 4: Chipper Jones hit a 3-run homer, and Greg Norton came through with a 2-run double in the eighth inning that gave host Atlanta the come-from-behind victory over Florida.

The Braves actually won a 1-run game, improving their mark in those contests to 3-16, despite 2 more homers by Florida's slugging second baseman, Dan Uggla.

Atlanta beat the Marlins in its final at-bat for the second night in a row. Jones sparked the Braves in the eighth with a leadoff single against Matt Lindstrom (1-1). Mark Teixeira followed with a double into the left-field corner, putting runners at second and third.

Norton, a .171-hitting utilityman forced to start because the Braves have two outfielders on the disabled list, drove the first pitch he saw just inside the first-base bag.

Will Ohman (3-0) won for the second night in a row with a scoreless inning.

Astros 2, Pirates 0: Lance Berkman and Miguel Tejada doubled in runs, Wandy Rodriguez pitched 6 shutout innings in his second start after coming off the disabled list, and visiting Houston beat Pittsburgh to end a five-game losing streak.

Chris Sampson, Doug Brocail and Jose Valverde finished up the five-hitter with an inning each, with Valverde getting his 16th save. Kaz Matsui went 4-for-4 with a sacrifice bunt and scored both Astros runs.

The Pirates were shut out for the first time this season.

Rodriguez (2-1) was out for five weeks with a strained left groin before returning to lose to St. Louis 6-1 last Wednesday.

Pirates left-hander Phil Dumatrait (2-3) allowed 2 runs and 7 hits in 6 innings.

Brewers 7, D'backs 1: Ryan Braun hit a 2-run home run to ruin a memorable night for Arizona's Randy Johnson against host Milwaukee.

Johnson (4-2) broke a tie with Roger Clemens to take sole possession of second place on baseball's career strikeout list in the first inning when he fanned Mike Cameron. That gave the Big Unit 4,673 strikeouts, still far behind Nolan Ryan's 5,714.