American LeagueMark Bellhorn homered and drove in five runs, and Boston backed Curt Schilling with its top offensive performance of the year in a 12-2 rout of Oakland and Tim Hudson on Tuesday night.
Manny Ramirez hit his 12th homer and drove in three runs, and David Ortiz had four hits and doubled twice to increase his AL-leading total to 20. Bellhorn, Johnny Damon and Jason Varitek had three hits each.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"We beat one of the game's best pitchers," Damon said. "When he has two strikes on you, he's as good as anybody. We tried to swing the bats early in the count."
Boston sent Hudson (5-2) to his shortest outing this season, setting season highs for runs and hits (19). The AL East leaders won their fourth straight and stopped Oakland's winning streak at five.
"When somebody goes down you don't use that as an excuse to lose," said Boston manager Terry Francona.
Schilling (6-3) struck out five to increase his season total to 66, passing teammate Pedro Martinez (63) for the AL lead. Schilling allowed two runs and nine hits in seven innings, walking none and lowering his ERA to 2.82, third in the league behind Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia (2.26) and Seattle's Freddy Garcia (2.71).
Mariners 5, Indians 4, 12 innings
In Cleveland, Raul Ibanez hit a run-scoring single with two outs in the 12th inning to lead Seattle over Cleveland, which has lost a season-high six straight.
Ibanez pulled a 1-2 pitch from Scott Stewart through the hole into right, scoring Randy Winn.
Mike Myers (2-1) pitched a perfect 11th and Eddie Guardado worked the 12th for his seventh save in nine tries.
John Olerud had three hits, including a game-tying two-run double in the eighth for Seattle, which won for just the fourth time in 14 games.
Victor Martinez had two RBIs and Casey Blake homered for the Indians, whose bullpen gave another one away.
Winn opened the 12th with a single, and Ichiro Suzuki beat out a chopper to the right of the mound that Jose Jimenez (0-3) fielded before losing a sprint to first against the speedy outfielder.
Yankees 11, Orioles 3
In Baltimore, Alex Rodriguez hit a three-run homer and Jon Lieber pitched seven innings of four-hit ball as New York thrashed Baltimore.
Facing the Yankees for the first time as a rookie manager, Mazzilli watched helplessly as his former team dealt Baltimore its season-high fifth straight defeat.
Lieber (4-1) allowed no earned runs, struck out two and walked one to win his third straight start. Rebounding from reconstructive surgery on his right elbow, Lieber lowered his ERA from 4.40 to 3.53.
Rodriguez hit his 11th homer with two on to cap a six-run sixth inning that put the Yankees up 8-0.
Bedard (1-2) needed 79 pitches to get through four innings. He was replaced by Denny Bautista, who made his major league debut after being called up earlier Tuesday from Double-A Bowie.
Royals 4, Tigers 3
In Kansas City, Missouri, second base umpire C.B. Bucknor called interference on a sliding Carlos Guillen in the ninth inning, nullifying the tying run and helping Kansas City beat Detroit and snap a four-game losing streak.
With the Tigers trailing 4-3 and one out in the ninth, Ivan Rodriguez appeared to beat out a double play, allowing the tying run to score from third.
But right after first base umpire Chuck Meriwether called Rodriguez safe on a close play, Bucknor called interference and an automatic double play.
Alex Sanchez would have scored the tying run if not for Bucknor's call on Guillen, who appeared to slide cleanly across the bag.
Angel Berroa hit a tiebreaking RBI triple in the seventh, connecting off Mike Maroth (4-3) after Detroit scored twice in the top of the inning to tie it at 2.
Jason Grimsley (2-1) got one out for the win. Affeldt got four outs for his first save.
Rangers 7, White Sox 4
In Chicago, Kenny Rogers won his third straight start, tying for the major league lead with his seventh win as Texas downed Chicago.
Rogers (7-2) allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings, struck out six and walked one. The 39-year-old left-hander, off to his best starts since 1995, joined Houston's Roger Clemens, Anaheim's Jarrod Washburn and Cincinnati's Paul Wilson as the only seven-game winners in the major leagues.
Francisco Cordero got four outs for his 15th save in 15 chances.
Chicago's Frank Thomas hit his 427th career homer, moving past Billy Williams into sole possession of 32nd place on the career list.
Scott Schoeneweis (4-2) gave up five runs and nine hits in six-plus innings.
National League
Ken Griffey Jr. glared into the Florida Marlins' dugout as he rounded the bases on his 492nd career homer Tuesday, a three-run shot that sent the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-2 victory, their seventh straight.
Griffey sent a message to Florida manager Jack McKeon, who decided to intentionally walk Sean Casey, allowing Josh Beckett to face him with the score tied in the sixth.
"Junior has a tendency to respond well to criticism and controversy and challenges," said shortstop Barry Larkin, who also homered. "Walking the guy in front of him is definitely a challenge."
Griffey hit the first pitch from Beckett (4-4) deep into the seats in right field, then stared angrily at the Marlins after he rounded third. It was the third time on the homestand that an opponent walked Casey to pitch to Griffey.
"That's something about Griff," said Casey, who is hitting .379. "He can turn on the switch when he gets angry."
His third homer in three games kept Paul Wilson (7-0) on the best start of his career and extended the Reds' longest winning streak in two years. Cincinnati has the National League's best record at 27-18 after winning 10 of its last 11 games.
Astros 5, Cubs 0
In Houston, Roy Oswalt pitched seven sharp innings for his first win in more than a month as Houston beat Chicago to snap a five-game losing streak.
Oswalt (3-3) allowed only three hits and struck out eight, dominating a lineup missing Sammy Sosa in the first showdown of the season between the NL Central's two preseason favorites.
Lance Berkman and Orlando Palmeiro homered for Houston, which moved within a half-game of the second-place Cubs, behind surprising Cincinnati.
Carlos Zambrano (4-2) went five innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and striking out five.
Mets 5, Phillies 0
In New York, Steve Trachsel pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning as New York beat Philadelphia for its fourth straight win.
Mike Piazza homered off Eric Milton and drove in two runs, and Cliff Floyd added a two-run double. The Mets (23-22) began a stretch of 12 games against NL East rivals Philadelphia and Florida by moving above .500 for the first time since April 15, when they were 5-4.
Trachsel (5-3) improved to 3-0 with a 1.36 ERA in May. He struck out six and walked four in 6 2-3 innings. Mike Stanton and John Franco pitched 2 1-3 innings of hitless relief.
Milton (5-1) struck out a season-high seven.
Expos 3, Braves 1
In Montreal, Tony Batista, Juan Rivera and Endy Chavez homered, and Tomo Ohka pitched seven strong innings to help Montreal beat Atlanta and end a five-game losing streak.
Montreal, still an NL-worst 15-30, improved to 6-5 at Olympic Stadium. The Expos have an 8-14 home record overall, including just two wins in 11 games in Puerto Rico.
The Expos broke through with a pair of solo homers off Horacio Ramirez (2-4) in the sixth.
Ohka (2-5) allowed one unearned run while scattering six hits in seven innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Dodgers 5, Brewers 3
In Milwaukee, Alex Cora ignited one big inning with his bat and snuffed another with his glove as Los Angeles beat Milwaukee.
Cora's single sparked a four-run third inning for Los Angeles and his diving grab with the bases loaded ended Milwaukee's threat in the fifth as the Dodgers won for just the second time in 11 games.
Eric Gagne pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save, his 74tth in a row but first since May 12.
In four innings, the Brewers' Victor Santos (2-1) gave up four runs on four hits -- all in the third inning
Jose Lima (3-1) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the win although he allowed Spivey's RBI single in the sixth that made it 4-3.
Giants 4, Diamondbacks 1
In San Francisco, Barry Bonds hit his first home run in nearly a month and Jason Schmidt (5-2) won his fifth straight decision as San Francisco downed Arizona.
Edgardo Alfonzo also homered and singled twice for the Giants, who opened a six-game homestand against division rivals Arizona and Colorado by winning their season-high fourth straight.
Bonds connected for his 11th home run this year and 669th of his career, hitting a 2-1 pitch from Casey Fossum (0-2) over the wall in center field, where a fan stuck his glove out trying to get the ball.
Center fielder Steve Finley then complained of interference.
The 39-year-old Bonds, who had not homered since April 29 against Florida, is third on the career home run list behind Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714).
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