It’s a Winning Debut for Garciaparra

Nomar Garciaparra gripped the bat tightly and homered to straightaway center field. As he reached third base, he slapped his right hand against coach Gene Lamont’s.

Nearly four months after surgery on his right wrist, Garciaparra has his strength back--and Boston has one of baseball’s best hitters.

“The wrist feels good,� Garciaparra said after his first major league game of the season, Boston’s 4-3 victory Sunday over the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park. “I don’t think I’m going to feel any pain right now, that’s for sure.�

The two-time defending American League batting champion tied the score, 2-2, with his homer in the sixth inning, then put the Red Sox ahead with a two-run single in the seventh.

He was excited to play after undergoing surgery on opening day, and his teammates sure were thrilled to have him back.

“He got himself prepared,� designated hitter Dante Bichette said. “He wasn’t going to step on the field unless he was ready to help us win, and that’s exactly what he did.�

The shortstop was the third key Boston player to return in three days. Bret Saberhagen was effective in his first game in nearly 22 months Friday night and center fielder Carl Everett missed 32 games with a knee injury before starting Saturday.

But Garciaparra may be the most important as the Red Sox try to climb back from a season-high 3 1/2-game deficit in the AL East behind the New York Yankees.

“I had goose bumps,� said Garciaparra. “Hopefully, the team gets a boost, but we know we need everybody and today it wasn’t just me.�

It also was right-hander David Cone, who yielded two runs in six innings, and Derek Lowe, who struck out three of the four batters he faced for his 21st save in 24 chances.

But mostly, it was Garciaparra.

He made an error and was hitless in his first two at-bats. Then, with Chicago leading, 2-1, he tied the score with a 405-foot shot off Sean Lowe in the sixth.

Seattle 10, Minnesota 2--Bret Boone had four hits and drove in three runs, giving him a league-leading 99, as the Mariners defeated the Twins for the eighth consecutive time.

Ed Sprague added four runs batted in at Seattle to help the major league-leading Mariners (76-29) sweep the three-game series. Seattle has won eight of nine meetings against Minnesota this season, outscoring the Twins, 61-31.

Freddy Garcia (12-3) outpitched Eric Milton (9-4) in a matchup of all-stars as Minnesota remained a half-game behind Cleveland in the AL Central.

New York 9, Toronto 3--Tino Martinez and Jorge Posada hit consecutive homers and Alfonso Soriano drove in three runs at Toronto to help the Yankees extend their winning streak to eight games.

The Yankees swept the three-game series, outscoring the Blue Jays, 30-5. The eight-game streak is the Yankees’ second longest of the season. They won nine in a row from June 27-July 6.

Soriano hit a two-run triple in the second and homered off Joey Hamilton (5-8) in the fourth to give the Yankees a 5-0 lead.

Detroit 8, Cleveland 3--Roger Cedeno continued his success against Indian right-hander Dave Burba with a homer and three runs scored at Detroit. Cedeno, who had two hits in two at-bats, has nine hits in 10 career at-bats against Burba.

Oakland 6, Kansas City 4--Ramon Hernandez’s two-run single capped the Athletics’ four-run eighth inning at Oakland. The Royals scored four runs in the top of the inning against closer Jason Isringhausen (4-2), but Oakland countered with four in the bottom of the inning against Jason Grimsley (0-5).

Texas 2, Tampa Bay 0--Rick Helling pitched a four-hitter at Arlington, Texas, for his fourth career shutout and Craig Monroe hit his first major league homer. Helling (8-8) walked none.