Marlon Byrd hit a game-winning grand slam in the ninth inning and the Texas Rangers, long after Joba Chamberlain left with a shoulder injury, snapped a 10-game home losing streak to the New York Yankees with a 9-5 victory on Monday.
Already missing No. 1 starter Wang Chien-ming and right-hander Phil Hughes from a top-heavy rotation, the Yankees lost Chamberlain when he came out with a stiff right shoulder in the fifth.
It was uncertain whether Chamberlain would be able to make his next scheduled start, but New York is likely to be cautious with the 22-year-old right-hander — even in a tight playoff race.
PHOTO: AP
Byrd hit the first pitch he saw from Damaso Marte (0-1) into the right-center seats. Byrd was mobbed at the plate by his teammates after circling the bases with his seventh homer.
Michael Young and David Murphy also homered for the Rangers, who earned their first home win over the Yankees since July 19, 2006.
INDIANS 5, RAYS 2
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Cliff Lee tied the major league lead with his 15th win as Cleveland stayed unbeaten against American League East-leading Tampa Bay this season.
Lee (15-2) went seven innings, giving up two runs and eight hits.
The left-hander is 9-2 in 13 road starts.
Tampa Bay’s five-game winning streak ended. The Rays began the day 2 1/2 games ahead of Boston in the AL East.
David Dellucci hit his 100th career homer for the Indians, who improved to 20-36 on the road. Cleveland is 5-0 against the Rays this season, including a four-game sweep at home July 10-13.
Akinori Iwamura drove in both runs for Tampa Bay, which fell to 43-17 at home.
BLUE JAYS 6, ATHLETICS 1
At Toronto, Roy Halladay pitched eight strong innings and Toronto handed Oakland its season-high seventh straight loss.
Oakland is a major league-worst 2-14 since the All-Star break, and 9-23 since June 28.
Halladay (13-8) had retired eight in a row and 16 of 18 overall when Bobby Crosby ended his shutout bid with a homer to left in the eighth. It was Crosby’s fifth of the year. Halladay gave up four hits, walked one and struck out eight.
Oakland right-hander Sean Gallagher allowed the first two runs by hitting batters with the bases loaded, plunking Marco Scutaro in the second and Adam Lind in the third. Gallagher (1-1) allowed five runs — four earned — and four hits in three innings, his shortest start of the year. He walked four and struck out four.
MARINERS 11, TWINS 6
At Seattle, Raul Ibanez had a grand slam and six RBIs — all in a wild seventh inning — as Seattle staged their biggest comeback of a lost season to stun Minnesota.
Minnesota starter Glen Perkins cruised into the sixth with a 6-0 lead and was still comfortably up 6-1 with one out in the seventh.
Seattle looked set to tie its season low of 28 games under .500, until Ibanez triggered a 10-run inning. Ibanez set Seattle’s record for RBIs in one frame, one better than Ken Griffey Jr. had in the fifth inning on April 29, 1999, at the old Kingdome.
It was the most runs the Mariners scored in an inning in nearly five years, since Aug. 30, 2003, against Baltimore.
Roy Corcoran (2-0) pitched a scoreless top of the seventh for the victory.
ANGELS 6, ORIOLES 5
At Anaheim, California, Chone Figgins drew a bases-loaded walk from All-Star closer George Sherrill with two outs in the ninth inning, and Los Angeles regrouped to beat Baltimore after Francisco Rodriguez blew a four-run lead.
Kevin Millar led off the Orioles’ ninth with a leadoff single against Scot Shields, who retired the next two batters. But pinch-hitter Alex Cintron kept the rally going with a single, bringing Rodriguez (1-2) into the game.
The major league saves leader came in to face switch-hitter Brian Roberts, whose grounder toward the hole was booted for an error by two-time Gold Glove first baseman Mark Teixeira — playing his first home game for the Angels after a trade from Atlanta.
Nick Markakis followed with a two-run single and Melvin Mora tied it with a two-run double.
ROYALS 4, RED SOX 3
At Kansas City, Missouri, Gil Meche won his fourth straight start and Alex Gordon homered to help surging Kansas City hold off Boston.
Joakim Soria allowed a run in the ninth before Sean Casey flied out with runners at second and third to end it.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, CINCINNATI, OHIO
Right-hander Bronson Arroyo lasted six innings on a muggy night and hit a bases-loaded double on Monday, sending the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-3 victory that left the Milwaukee Brewers with a next-to-nothing lead in the National League wild card race.
The Brewers seem to be losing their composure, too. After left-hander Manny Parra (9-5) left for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning, first baseman Prince Fielder went up to him in the dugout and exchanged words. Fielder then shoved Parra twice before teammates pulled him away.
Since they were tied with the Cubs for first place in the NL Central on July 26, the Brewers have dropped seven of nine. They saw their lead for the wild card reduced to a half-game over idle St. Louis with their latest loss.
Arroyo (10-8) extended his midseason surge, winning for the sixth time in his last seven starts.
NATIONALS 9, ROCKIES 4
At Denver, Tim Redding settled down after a rough start to strike out six over five-plus innings and Washington beat Colorado for its fourth straight win.
Willie Harris homered and had three RBIs for the Nationals, who had lost nine in a row prior to their current streak.
Aaron Cook (14-7) gave up seven runs — four earned — in 5 2-3 innings and lost for the first time since July 6. It was just the third time in 24 starts this season he has failed to pitch at least six innings.
Redding (8-6) gave up three runs in the first before settling down and getting his first win in nearly a month. Redding had lost four straight starts since beating Houston 10-0 on July 10.
ASTROS 2, CUBS 0
At Chicago, Brian Moehler pitched five sharp innings before two powerful storms rolled into Wrigley Field, and Houston withstood the wild weather to beat Chicago in a rain-shortened game that was called in the bottom of the eighth.
The first delay came in the top of the sixth and lasted 2 hours, 45 minutes. As the initial storm hit the Chicago area, fans at Wrigley were advised to take cover on the concourse.
DIAMONDBACKS 13, PIRATAES 7
At Phoenix, Mark Reynolds homered and drove in three runs, Chris Young snapped an 0-for-18 skid with three hits and Arizona routed Pittsburgh.
Reynolds finished 3-for-5 and Stephen Drew, Conor Jackson, Tony Clark and Orlando Hudson each had two hits for the Diamondbacks, who recorded a season-high 18 hits and snapped a two-game losing streak.
GIANTS 4, BRAVES 2
At San Francisco, Matt Cain beat the Braves for the first time in three career tries, Randy Winn doubled in a run and had three hits and San Francisco beat Atlanta.
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