Luke Hudson used the force last night, pitching a gem against the Yankees on Star Wars night. He left after seven inning after surrendering just one run while striking out ten. But Jimmy Gobble and the rest of the pen were turkeys.

The Empire struck back hard Monday night. Ten runs hard.

The Royals' bullpen surrendered 10 runs in a horrendous eighth inning that resulted in a 12-5 loss to the New York Yankees on Star Wars Night at Kauffman Stadium.

Four relievers sabotaged a marvelous outing by Royals starter Luke Hudson, who allowed just one run in seven innings while striking out a career-high 10.

Homers by Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano highlighted the explosion. Both also had singles in the inning. The Yankees sent 13 hitters to the plate; seven reached on hits and three on walks.

Wang only last 5 2/3 innings and did not get his 17th win. Jeter collected three hits in six at bats, raising his average to .344, just two points behind Joe Mauer. New York's magic number is 17.

The Padres rallied as well. Down 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth, the New York connection came through as Cameron and Piazza drew walks to set up rookie Josh Barfield. The Padres second baseman smacked a three-run homer, giving him one dozen on the season. San Diego takes a 7-5 win and moves to two games behind the Dodgers. The Padres bullpen pitched another outstanding game, allowing one hit over four innings while striking out five. That lowers the bullpen ERA to 3.45.

The Orioles and Angels engaged in a pitching duel with rookie Jered Weaver defeating Rodrigo Lopez 1-0. Both pitchers went seven innings, but Lopez allowed one more base runner and two doubles, while the Orioles could only knock out singles. Rivera's double in the fourth set up Kennedy's RBI single, and that was all Weaver and the bullpen needed to gain a game on the Oakland Athletics. Weaver lowers his ERA in Anaheim to 0.90.