Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada each homered twice, and the surging New York Yankees routed the Detroit Tigers 12-3 Tuesday behind Mike Mussina to move three games over .500 for the first time this season.
Both of A-Rod's home runs came off Wilfredo Ledezma, giving him four homers in four career at-bats against the left-hander.
"I think it's pretty obvious that he's comfortable against him," Tigers manager Alan Trammell said.
PHOTO: AFP
Robinson Cano hit his first major league homer and Gary Sheffield also connected, showing his sore left hand is healthy enough for him to hit.
Mussina (5-2) allowed six hits in seven shutout innings, winning his fourth straight decision in a span of five starts. He improved to 16-5 against the Tigers.
"It's good to see us come out after the off day and keep the momentum going," Mussina said. "The last two years I got off to a little bit of a slow start and I've been able to figure things out five or six starts into the season. We're playing more like we thought we would, more like we think we're capable of."
Posada homered from both sides of the plate for the sixth time in his career and drove in four runs. Rodriguez increased his major league-leading total to 16 homers with the 39th multihomer game of his career.
Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 6
In Toronto, Reed Johnson homered twice, including a game-ending three-run drive in the ninth inning as Toronto downed Boston.
With the score 6-6, Orlando Hudson singled with one out in the ninth off Alan Embree (1-2), John McDonald walked and Johnson hit his second homer of the game.
Miguel Batista (3-0), Toronto's fifth pitcher, threw 1 1-3 hitless innings.
David Ortiz had three RBIs for the Red Sox, who started a six-game trip to Toronto and New York.
In his second start since coming off the disabled list, David Wells gave up five runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings for Boston.
Devil Rays 5, Athletics 4
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Josh Phelps homered and had three RBIs, and Julio Lugo snapped a seventh inning tie with a run-scoring single for Tampa Bay's win over Oakland.
Reliever Travis Harper (1-2) bailed the Devil Rays out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of seventh and got two outs in the eighth for the win. Danys Baez pitched the last 1 1-3 innings for his fifth save in eight opportunities.
Phelps went 3-for-4, including an RBI single and two-run homer off Oakland starter Seth Etherton. He also doubled off Kirk Saarloos (1-3) in the sixth.
Scott Hatteberg hit a two-run homer and Eric Chavez had three hits for Oakland.
Orioles 3, Mariners 2
In Baltimore, Jay Gibbons homered to break an eighth-inning tie, and Baltimore rallied to beat Seattle and spoil the return of former manager Mike Hargrove.
Melvin Mora had three hits and drove in a run for the Orioles, who stranded 13 runners but got the clutch hits they needed late in the game.
After Baltimore pulled even in the seventh inning, Gibbons hit a solo shot to center off J.J. Putz (1-1) to give the Orioles their first lead.
Todd Williams (4-3) worked a perfect eighth and B.J. Ryan got three outs for his 13th save.
On a night in which the Orioles activated Sammy Sosa from the 15-day disabled list, they lost catcher Javy Lopez, who broke a bone in his right hand.
Twins 6, Indians 3, 11 innings
In Cleveland, Justin Morneau dropped in a three-run double just out of center fielder Grady Sizemore's reach with two outs in the 11th inning as Minnesota downed Cleveland.
Jesse Crain (4-0) pitched two innings, and Joe Nathan worked the 11th for his 13th save in 14 tries.
Sizemore and Jody Gerut homered for the Indians, who had their winning streak stopped at three.
Nick Punto opened the 11th with a double off David Riske (1-1), Shannon Stewart and Lew Ford walked, and Morneau hit a soft liner off Scott Sauerbeck to give the Twins their fifth win in seven games.
White Sox 2, Angels 1, 11 innings
In Anaheim, California, Tadahito Iguchi hit a run-scoring double in the 11th inning, and Chicago beat Los Angeles to match the best start in franchise history.
Carl Everett homered to help Chicago improve to a major league-best 32-14, equaling starts by the 1951 and 1957 White Sox.
Damaso Marte (3-3) retired six straight for the win.
Joe Crede led off the 11th with a single against Esteban Yan (0-1), advanced on Juan Uribe's sacrifice and Scott Podsednik's groundout, then scored on Iguchi's double to left-center.
Mark Buehrle allowed one run and four hits in nine innings for Chicago, while Bartolo Colon held the White Sox to three hits over seven.
Damion Easley tied the game with a two-out homer in the ninth inning, and Carlos Delgado's RBI double in the 10th gave the Florida Marlins a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.
"Obviously you don't want to put any extra pressure on yourself," Delgado said. "But everybody likes to come up with the big hit in the right situation. ... We never quit. We're a good team."
The Marlins extended the majors' longest current winning streak to six games with plenty of help from the Phillies' bullpen, which wasted seven innings of two-hit, shutout work by starter Brett Myers.
"I left a couple pitches up in the inning before and I was really getting tired," Myers said. "I went to [manager Charlie Manuel] and said 'That's pretty much all I've got.'"
Joe Dillon -- who started Florida's rally from a 3-0 deficit in the eighth -- drew a leadoff walk in the 10th from right-hander Amaury Telemaco (0-1), and scored on Delgado's double to right-center.
John Riedling (2-0), the fourth Florida pitcher, got the win.
Myers lowered his ERA to 1.69, while Josh Beckett allowed six hits and three runs in seven innings for Florida.
Braves 4, Mets 0
In Atlanta, Tim Hudson threw eight shutout innings on three days' rest to outpitch former Atlanta star Tom Glavine and give Atlanta a win.
Johnny Estrada had three hits for the Braves, who led 1-0 before scoring three runs off Glavine (3-5) in the seventh inning.
Hudson (5-3) allowed six hits while walking two and striking out three.
Glavine allowed seven hits and four runs in 6 2-3 innings. He is 1-8 against Atlanta.
Cubs 4, Astros 2
In Chicago, Roger Clemens left with a groin injury and Chicago rallied off Houston's bullpen for four runs in the eighth.
Jeromy Burnitz hit a two-run, bases loaded single with two outs in the eighth off Brad Lidge (1-2) to rally the Cubs and hand the Astros their seventh straight loss.
Clemens shut out Chicago for five innings on two hits before leaving with tightness in his groin. He walked just one and struck out six, lowering his major league-best ERA to 1.19.
Michael Wuertz (3-2) got the win by striking out two to end a Houston scoring threat in the eighth and Ryan Dempster pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
Reds 4, Nationals 3, 14 innings
In Cincinnati, reliever Randy Keisler lifted Cincinnati over Washington in the 14th inning with his first career hit and RBI.
Keisler, who was called up from the minor leagues on Monday, had to bat with runners at second and third and one out because the Reds had run out of position players in the longest game of the season for both teams.
With the infield in, Keisler got a grounder past shortstop Jamey Carroll to drive in the game-winning run.
Keisler (1-0) pitched two innings for the win. Luis Ayala (2-3) allowed three hits in 2 1-3 innings and took the loss.
Cardinals 2, Pirates 1, 12 innings
In St. Louis, Yadier Molina hit a game-winning single in the 12th inning off Jose Mesa, and St. Louis won its 11th straight against Pittsburgh.
Manager Tony La Russa won his 823rd game with the Cardinals, passing Whitey Herzog for second place on the franchise list. La Russa is 218 victories behind franchise leader Red Schoendienst.
Giants 5, Dodgers 3
In San Francisco, Jason Schmidt pitched five effective innings and hit a home run in San Francisco's win over Los Angeles in his return from the disabled list.
Mike Matheny added a three-run homer after failing to get down a bunt attempt and Edgardo Alfonzo had three hits and drove in a run as San Francisco won its third straight.
Tyler Walker got two outs in the ninth for his seventh save in eight chances. He has retired 19 of 20 batters since replacing the injured Armando Benitez, allowing only a walk.
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