Padres 11, Rockies 9
At San Diego, Mike Cameron's three-run homer and Pete Laforest's two-run shot highlighted a nine-run rally with two outs in the fifth inning to carry San Diego past Colorado.
Trailing 6-2, the Padres sent 13 batters to the plate in the fifth inning, scoring nine runs on eight hits and two walks. In a rare twist, Marcus Giles, pinch-hitting for starter Clay Hensley, batted twice in the inning. He struck out looking for the first out, then came up again and doubled to right-center.
The Los Angeles Angels avoided a three-game series sweep as former Blue Jay Kelvim Escobar pitched seven strong innings to lead his team to a 4-3 win over Toronto in American League play on Thursday.
Escobar spent parts of seven seasons in Toronto after being signed by the Blue Jays in 1992, signing as a free agent with the Angels after the 2003 season.
He won back-to-back starts for the first time since mid-June and allowed just one run on five hits over his seven innings, lowering his ERA to 2.68, the second lowest in the AL.
"I had great stuff tonight," Escobar told reporters. "I haven't felt like that in a long time. Everything was working pretty good."
In other American League games, it was:
* Oakland Athletics 8, Chicago White Sox 5
* Detroit 8, New York Yankees 5
* Kansas City Royals 6, Texas Rangers 2
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