David Ortiz hit a three-run homer on a full count with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 6-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.
"He's getting comfortable with being in that situation," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "Like a basketball player who takes the shot at the buzzer, he relishes that. And he's taken a lot of good swings."
The Orioles took the lead in the top of the ninth without hitting a ball out of the infield against Keith Foulke (3-3), scoring the tiebreaking run when Rafael Palmeiro beat out a potential double-play ball. But Mark Bellhorn reached on an infield single to third with one out in the bottom half and, with two outs, Edgar Renteria bunted for a single.
Ortiz hit the seventh pitch he saw from B.J. Ryan (0-1) into the center-field bleachers, for his third career game-winning homer in the regular season.
"That's the only way I can get people to know who I am -- going out there and producing," Ortiz said.
Boston starter Matt Clement failed in his attempt to improve to 7-0, allowing three runs in six innings of a no-decision. Hayden Penn lasted 5 1-3 innings and also left with the game tied 3-3.
Tigers 6, Rangers 5, 10 innings
At Detroit, Craig Monroe singled home Ivan Rodriguez with the winning run in the 10th inning for the Tigers.
Rondell White homered and drove in three runs for Detroit.
The Rangers took a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but Detroit rallied against All-Star closer Francisco Cordero, who blew his third save in 19 chances.
With one out in the 10th, Rodriguez doubled off Nick Regilio (1-2), and Monroe followed with a line single to right. Andres Torres' throw to the plate appeared to beat Rodriguez, but it skipped over catcher Rod Barajas' shoulder.
Ugueth Urbina (1-3) pitched a scoreless 10th for the win.
Twins 4, Indians 3, 13 inningS
At Minneapolis, Johan Santana tied a career high with 14 strikeouts, and Jacque Jones' single in the 13th inning gave the Twins the victory.
Lew Ford's hustle turned his base hit off Rafael Betancourt (1-2) into a one-out double in the 13th. Two batters later, Jones hit a liner to right and Ford raced around third, beating Casey Blake's throw to the plate.
Six of the game's seven runs were scored in the first five innings. After that, pitching took over, with the Twins managing just four hits over the final eight innings and the Indians two over the final nine.
Royals 5, Yankees 2
In Kansas City, Missouri, Matt Stairs and Terrence Long hit consecutive home runs to lead lowly Kansas City to a sweep of New York.
Kansas City, which has the worst record and second-lowest payroll in the major leagues, finished its first three-game sweep of the Yankees at home in 15 years.
With Buddy Bell improving to 3-0 as their manager, the Royals earned their first sweep of anybody in 78 series. It was the longest drought in the majors since the Phillies went 79 series without a sweep from 1996-1997.
The Royals got key contributions from several rookies and recycled veterans against New York in what will almost surely be one of the most improbable sweeps of the season.
The Yankees, who won 16 of 18 last month and seemingly recovered from a halting start, got swept by the team with the worst record in the majors for the third time in their storied history. It's their first five-game losing streak since May 2003.
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