Ken Griffey Jr. failed to hit his 500th homer on Thursday but the Cincinnati Reds pulled off another late rally for a 4-3 victory and three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers.
Sean Casey had a pair of hits and a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the seventh, a consolation prize for a capacity crowd that saw Griffey go 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly.
"You always want to try to hit that home run," he said. "I just didn't do it this time. A lot of people will be watching in Cincinnati in the next week. I'll still be thinking about the response I've had the last three days."
PHOTO: REUTERS
The Reds then headed for St. Louis, where Griffey will resume his attempt to become the 20th player to reach the 500-homer mark.
Todd Van Poppel (3-2) gave up six hits in seven innings. Danny Graves got his 27th save in 33 chances.
Ryan Drese (3-4) took the loss for the Rangers, who dropped their fourth in a row, matching their season high.
Royals 10, Braves 4
In Atlanta, Darrell May beat his former team, and Desi Relaford went 3-for-5 with three RBIs to lead Kansas City past Atlanta.
The Royals improved their American League-worst road record to 9-21 with their second victory in a row. Relaford homered for the first time this season, Carlos Beltran went 2-for-3 with a home run and Dee Brown added two RBI singles for Kansas City.
Mariners 6, Brewers 3
In Milwaukee, Scott Spiezio hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the eighth inning, sending Seattle to a victory over Milwaukee.
Jolbert Cabrera homered and drove in three runs, and Randy Winn also connected for the Mariners.
Spiezio hit a 2-0 pitch from Matt Kinney (3-4) into the right-field stands for his seventh homer of the year, snapping an 0-for-10 slump.
Mike Myers (3-1) got two outs for the win, escaping a seventh-inning jam. Eddie Guardado pitched 1 1-3 innings for his 12th save in 15 chances.
Red Sox 11, Rockies 0
In Denver, Derek Lowe pitched four-hit ball for seven innings in the 25th shutout in Coors Field history, and David Ortiz drove in a career-high five runs to help Boston avoid a sweep in Colorado.
Ortiz hit his 14th homer in the seventh and Nomar Garciaparra had three hits for the Red Sox, who won for just the third time in nine road games.
Lowe (6-5) allowed just two flyballs and struck out three for his third win in four starts. Pokey Reese hit a two-run single off Aaron Cook (1-2).
Giants 8, Blue Jays 5
In San Francisco, Michael Tucker hit a tiebreaking triple in the eighth inning and San Francisco completed a three-game sweep of Toronto.
Pinch-hitter Barry Bonds was intentionally walked leading off the eighth. Ray Durham beat out a bunt single, and both scored on Tucker's drive to center off Justin Speier (1-4). Pinch-hitter A.J. Pierzynski added an RBI single, making it 8-5.
Jim Brower (4-3) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, and Matt Herges worked a perfect ninth for his 18th save. The Giants have won four straight overall and nine in a row at home, their longest such streak since last July.
Toronto has lost four consecutive games. Blue Jays starter Roy Halladay lasted 5 1-3 innings, giving up five runs.
Tigers 5, Phillies 4, 11 innings, 2nd game
In Philadelphia, Jason Michaels homered and drove in four runs, leading Philadelphia past Detroit in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.
In the nightcap, Carlos Guillen's two-out RBI single off Ryan Madson (4-2) in the 11th helped Detroit split the doubleheader. The game was delayed 51 minutes by rain before the sixth inning, the fourth straight day weather affected a Phillies game.
Brandon Inge tied it at 4 with a one-out, solo homer off Billy Wagner in the ninth inning.
Ugueth Urbina (2-2) pitched two scoreless innings, leaving the bases loaded in the 10th. Danny Patterson pitched the 11th for his second save.
In the opener, Brett Myers (5-3) allowed two runs -- one earned -- and four hits in seven innings.
Mike Maroth (5-4) gave up three runs in six innings.
Pirates 5, Angels 2
In Pittsburgh, Tike Redman and Jack Wilson homered in Pittsburgh's go-ahead seventh inning, and the Pirates beat Anaheim for Kris Benson's first home win in more than a year.
Redman began the game in a 4-for-28 slump, but hit two homers during a 3-for-4 night. He added a two-run drive in the eighth against reliever Kevin Gregg.
Benson (5-6) pitched eight solid innings, overcoming two run-scoring hits by Garret Anderson to win in PNC Park for the first time since beating Arizona on May 10, 2003.
Jose Mesa worked the ninth for his 16th save in 16 chances, tying Mike Williams' club record for consecutive saves in a season set in 2000 and 2002.
Bartolo Colon (4-6) is winless in seven starts.
Twins 6, Expos 4
In Montreal, Matthew LeCroy hit his third pinch-hit homer in three at-bats this season, and Minnesota rallied to beat Montreal for a three-game sweep.
Torii Hunter's RBI double in the eighth inning put the Twins ahead to stay, sending the Expos to their sixth consecutive loss.
Jose Vidro homered and singled for Montreal to reach 1,000 career hits.
With the Twins trailing 3-1 in the seventh, LeCroy came to the plate with two outs and a runner on. He tied the game with a two-run shot off Livan Hernandez (4-6), giving him eight RBIs as a pinch-hitter this year.
Aaron Fultz (3-2) pitched a perfect seventh for the win. Joe Nathan got five outs for his 18th save in 19 opportunities.
The AL Central-leading Twins, who have won eight of 10, completed their first three-game road sweep in interleague play.
Marlins 2, White Sox 1, 11 innings
In Miami, pinch-hitter Matt Treanor singled home the winning run with two outs in the 11th inning, and Florida beat Chicago after losing Josh Beckett to another injury.
The 2003 World Series MVP left his start in the fourth with a muscle strain on the side of his back. He had just returned from a 15-day stint on the disabled list because of a blister on his right middle finger. The hard-throwing right-hander is day to day.
Chicago ace Esteban Loaiza allowed only one run and five hits in eight innings.
Armando Benitez (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win.
Mets 6, Indians 2
In New York, Mike Cameron hit his first home run since May 10, and five Mets pitchers combined on a five-hitter to lead New York over Cleveland.
Jae Seo, battling to retain his spot in the Mets starting rotation, worked four effective innings, allowing two hits and striking out six in a game delayed 1 hour, 49 minutes by rain.
Seo left following the rain delay, and Ricky Bottalico (3-1) threw 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief. Omar Vizquel ruined the shutout bid with an RBI groundout in the ninth off Braden Looper, and Travis Hafner added an RBI double.
Cameron's eighth homer of the season came in the fifth against Rick White (3-2).
Cardinals 5, Athletics 4
In St. Louis, pinch-hitter Reggie Sanders capped a three-run, ninth-inning rally with a game-winning single that gave St. Louis a win over Oakland for a sweep of a three-game series between division leaders.
The Cardinals have won 13 of 17 and cooled off the Athletics, who entered the series with a season-best, eight-game winning streak. St. Louis also ruined a strong effort by Tim Hudson, who rescued a short-handed Oakland bullpen with 7 1-3 strong innings.
Diamondbacks 6, Yankees 1
In Phoenix, knuckleballer Steve Sparks allowed one run in seven innings and Juan Brito hit his first major league home run to lead Arizona over the New York Yankees.
Sparks (3-4) allowed only three hits, including Alex Rodriguez's 456-foot home run, and walked seven. The Diamondbacks used strong defense to salvage the finale of the three-game series.
Dodgers 4, Orioles 3
In Los Angeles, Adrian Beltre snapped a tie with a homer in the eighth inning to lift Los Angeles to a three-game sweep of Baltimore.
Beltre's 16th homer came two innings after pinch-hitter Jason Grabowski hit a tying two-run shot off Rodrigo Lopez.
Beltre drove a 3-2 pitch into the left-field bullpen leading off the eighth against Lopez (5-3), who originally was scheduled to start the game before Lee Mazzilli demoted him to the bullpen on Tuesday.
Guillermo Mota (3-1) got the win with a scoreless eighth. Eric Gagne got three outs for his 16th save, and extended his major league record saves streak to 79.
Devil Rays 4, Padres 1
In San Diego, Fred McGriff hit his 493rd career home run as Tampa Bay beat San Diego to extend its franchise-record winning streak to eight games.
The Devil Rays also swept consecutive series for the first time in their seven-year history. Before starting this trip, they beat Colorado three straight in Tampa.
American League
Glendon Rusch pitched eight strong innings, Moises Alou drove in three runs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros 5-4 for their sixth straight win on Thursday.
Earlier, the Astros traded Venezuelan outfielder Richard Hidalgo to the New York Mets for right-handers David Weathers and Jeremy Griffiths.
Chicago completed its first four-game sweep of the Astros since June 23-25, 1967, and first in Houston.
Rusch (4-1) allowed only two runs on four hits and struck out seven. LaTroy Hawkins gave up Jason Lane's two-run homer before finishing for his eighth save.
Roy Oswalt (4-6) allowed four runs on 11 hits in seven innings for the Astros, who have lost four straight.
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