American LeaguePokey Reese hit an inside-the-park home run and added a conventional one -- the first two-homer game of his career -- and Curt Schilling pitched his first AL complete game Saturday to give the streaking Boston Red Sox a 9-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
Since losing five in a row, the Red Sox have won four straight.
PHOTO: AP
"I want to be known as an all-around player," Reese said. "The defense is there, but I want to be known as a hitter also.
"That's why I'm going to get my work in ... batting practice. That's where it all starts."
Schilling (4-2) allowed one run and five hits while striking out eight for his 80th career complete game.
Jimmy Gobble (1-1) gave up six runs and eight hits, striking out three before he was chased in the five-run sixth. Benito Santiago homered and added a single for the Royals, who have lost 18 of their last 22 and fell to 2-14 on the road.
"Nobody wants to start a season the way we have," said manager Tony Pena, who led the Royals to nine victories to start last season and was the AL's manager of the year. "We're having it very, very bad ... Today was a tough day -- I have to say, one of the worst days of the season."
Blue Jays 4, White Sox 2
In Toronto, Josh Phelps hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning -- four pitches after having one overturned -- and Toronto won its season-high fourth straight.
Phelps homered over the left-field wall off Neal Cotts (0-1).
Jason Frasor (1-1) pitched the eighth for his first major league win, and Terry Adams pitched the ninth for his first save of the season.
Joe Crede hit a two-run homer for the White Sox.
Twins 3, Athletics 2, 10 innings
In Oakland, California, Shannon Stewart scored from first base when Bobby Crosby dropped a fly ball in the 10th, helping Minnesota win its third extra-inning game in five days.
J.C. Romero (1-2) pitched 2 2-3 innings and Joe Nathan struck out the side in the 10th around a walk for his eighth save in nine chances.
Orioles 10, Indians 7
In Baltimore, Jay Gibbons' three-run double highlighted a four-run seventh, Melvin Mora had three hits and Baltimore came back from two deficits.
John Parrish (3-1) pitched 2 1-3 innings of relief and Jorge Julio worked a perfect ninth for his fourth save.
Jody Gerut and Travis Hafner both hit three-run homers for Cleveland.
Rangers 16, Tigers 15
In Arlington, Texas, the Rangers and the Tigers combined for 18 runs in the fifth -- one short of the major league record for an inning, and Alfonso Soriano went 6-for-6 in the Rangers' 10-inning win.
Michael Young hit an RBI single off Ugueth Urbina (1-1) in the 10th to win it for the Rangers.
Each team used seven pitchers in the game, with Francisco Cordero (1-0) pitching a scoreless 10th.
After Detroit took a 14-4 lead with eight runs in the top of the fifth, the Rangers tied it in the bottom half. Ivan Rodriguez put the Tigers back ahead with an RBI single in the sixth, but Hank Blalock tripled leading off the seventh and scored on a double by Soriano.
Yankees 6, Mariners 0
In Seattle, Mike Mussina (3-4) allowed three hits in eight innings for his fifth straight win over Seattle, improving to 16-5 against the Mariners, and Jason Giambi hit a two-run homer. Paul Quantrill finished the four-hitter.
Gil Meche (1-3) allowed three runs and seven hits in five-plus innings, allowing New York to take a 3-0 lead in the sixth on consecutive doubles by Alex Rodriguez, Giambi, Gary Sheffield and Jorge Posada.
National League
Ken Griffey Jr. homered twice, and Barry Larkin added a tiebreaking two-run shot Saturday, powering the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-3 victory over the struggling San Francisco Giants.
"We're showing people that we can still play," Griffey said.
Griffey hit two solo homers, and Larkin broke a fifth-inning tie with a two-run shot for his first homer since Aug. 1.
"I'm not the same player I was three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 15, 20 years ago," said Larkin, who turned 40 last month. "I do things within my ability, which is different than it was 20 years ago. Health is a huge part of it. I'm OK with it. I'm not a 30-30 [homers-steals] guy anymore. I'm a realist. I'm not that type of player anymore."
Paul Wilson (4-0) extended the best start of his career by giving up only two runs in seven innings -- solo homers by Jeffrey Hammonds and J.T. Snow.
Danny Graves finished for his 13th save in 16 chances. Graves has 144 career saves, four shy of John Franco's franchise record.
Rockies 4, Cubs 3
In Chicago, Jason Jennings hit a game-tying homer off Greg Maddux and Colorado's starting pitcher ended a personal three-game losing streak.
Jennings' two-run homer -- the second of his career -- tied it at 3 in the fifth, and the Rockies took the lead an inning later on an RBI single by Jeromy Burnitz.
Jennings (2-4) gave up homers to Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou and Todd Walker. Shawn Chacon pitched the ninth and held on for his eighth save in nine chances.
Padres 6, Marlins 3
In Miami, Sean Burroughs hit a go-ahead single in the 10th inning to lead San Diego over Florida.
With the score 3-all, Miguel Ojeda opened the 10th with a broken-bat single to left, and Franklyn Gracesqui (0-1) hit Khalil Greene with a pitch. Kerry Robinson's bunt single loaded the bases, and Burroughs singled for a 4-3 lead. Mark Loretta followed with a two-run single.
Akinori Otsuka (3-1) pitched one scoreless inning, and Trevor Hoffman threw a perfect 10th for his ninth save in 10 chances.
Dodgers 4, Pirates 3
In Pittsburgh, Alex Cora hit a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning and Los Angeles sent Pittsburgh to its season-high fifth straight loss.
Adrian Beltre led off the ninth with a single off Salomon Torres (1-1) that extended his hitting streak to 12 games. After a one-out walk to Jose Hernandez, Cora doubled down the right-field line.
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