Alex Rodriguez hit three home runs in his first three at-bats and became only the 11th major league player with 10 or more RBIs in a game, leading the New York Yankees over the Los Angeles Angels 12-4 Tuesday.
Each of his home runs came with two outs against Bartolo Colon (3-2) in the first four innings and drew rousing ovations from the Yankees' fans.
"Definitely tonight was one of those magical nights," Rodriguez said. "I've hit three home runs twice before, but nothing feels as special as this, doing it in New York, doing it in the pinstripes."
PHOTO: AP
He added a run-scoring single in the sixth off Kevin Gregg.
"He hasn't lived up to what he's capable of doing," manager Joe Torre said. "I think this is why it takes time. When he does something like this, he wants to duplicate it. Sometimes he expects too much of himself."
Carl Pavano (2-2) gave up three runs and seven hits in seven innings.
Rodriguez hit the 11th grand slam of his career in the fourth inning after hitting a three-run shot in the first and a two-run homer in the third, all two-out drives off Bartolo Colon. His grand slam gave New York a 10-2 lead.
In the sixth inning, Rodriguez hit a run-scoring single to put him one RBI behind the American League record of 11 set by the Yankees' Tony Lazzeri in 1936. The major league record of 12 is shared by the St. Louis Cardinals' Jim Bottomley (1924) and Mark Whiten (1993).
Rodriguez, who lined to center in the eighth, became the 11th player with 10 RBIs or more in a game, the first since Boston's Nomar Garciaparra against Seattle on May 10, 1999.
It was the third time Rodriguez hit three home runs in a game and 38th multihomer game of his career. His previous three-homer game was on July 31, 2003, for Texas against Boston.
The Yankee Stadium crowd gave Rodriguez curtain calls after the last two home runs.
When Rodriguez came up in the fourth, the fans stood throughout the at-bat. And when his drive on a 3-2 pitch hit off the front of the center-field bleachers, just beyond the 408-foot (124m) sign, they didn't stop cheering until A-Rod came out of the dugout several minutes later, during reliever Kevin Gregg's warmups.
Blue Jays 7, Devil Rays 5
In Toronto, Dewon Brazelton became the first pitcher in 56 years to start a major league career with an 0-13 road record, and Tampa Bay lost to Toronto.
Brazelton (1-4), who made his 17th road start, allowed six runs -- three earned -- and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings. Third baseman Alex Gonzalez's throwing error helped the Blue Jays rally for six runs in the sixth.
The last pitcher to lose his first 13 road decisions had been Cincinnati's Kent Peterson, who lost his first 18 from 1947-1949.
Alex Rios drove in two runs for the Blue Jays, who ended a five-game losing streak.
Ted Lilly (1-2) won despite allowing five runs and nine hits in six innings. Miguel Batista pitched the ninth for his fifth save in six chances.
Mariners 7, Rangers 4
In Arlington, Texas, Joel Pineiro allowed four solo homers but little else and helped Seattle beat Texas.
Pineiro (2-1) gave up five hits in 7 1-3 innings, struck out five and walked one. Eddie Guardado got three outs for his sixth save in seven chances.
Adrian Beltre homered for the Mariners, and Richie Sexson, Wilson Valdez and Raul Ibanez each had three hits. Seattle had been limited to a total of three runs during a three-game losing streak before breaking out in a 9-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.
Ryan Drese (2-2) allowed five runs, 11 hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings with five strikeouts.
Twins 2, Royals 1
In Kansas City, Missouri, Johan Santana won his 17th consecutive decision, moving within three of Roger Clemens' AL record as the Twins beat the Royals.
Santana (4-0) allowed one run and five hits in eight innings, struck out eight and walked one. The AL Cy Young pitching award winner has not lost in 20 starts since a 2-0 defeat against Detroit last July 11.
Joe Nathan pitched the ninth for his sixth save in six chances.
Jose Lima gave up one run, five hits and three walks in 7 2-3 innings. Ambiorix Burgos (0-1) took the loss as Kansas City dropped its sixth straight, falling to a major league-worst 5-15.
Orioles 11, Red Sox 8
In Boston, Miguel Tejada hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning -- his fourth hit of the game -- as Baltimore rallied from a five-run deficit to beat Boston.
Javier Lopez also hit a two-run homer in the eighth to hand Red Sox closer Keith Foulke (1-3) his first blown save this season.
Baltimore has won five straight and is seven games over .500 for the first time since 1998. The Orioles had not been in first place in the AL East this late in the season since 1997.
Foulke allowed four runs on four hits in one inning as the Red Sox lost for the fourth time in five games.
Jorge Julio (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out two. B.J. Ryan pitched the ninth for his third save.
Athletics 9, White Sox 7
In Oakland, California, former Athletics outfielder Jermaine Dye dropped a routine flyball by Marco Scutaro in right field for a two-base error in the eighth, then pinch-hitter Erubiel Durazo singled home Scutaro for the go-ahead run two batters later as Oakland downed Chicago.
The White Sox missed a chance at their first nine-game winning streak since July 1-9, 1977.
The A's rallied with a three-run seventh to tie it, with Damaso Marte (2-1) balking in the tying run after Oakland got three straight hits to start the inning and chase starter Mark Buehrle.
Justin Duchscherer (1-0) pitched the eighth for the win and Octavio Dotel worked the ninth for his fifth save in five chances.
Brad Wilkerson connected off previously unbeaten Jon Lieber for the first upper-deck home run at RFK Stadium in 34 years, leading the Washington Nationals to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.
Wilkerson pulled a two-run shot down the right-field line and into the front row of section 470 in the fifth inning. While it lacked the power or magnitude of Frank Howard's mammoth blasts for the old Senators -- the landing spots are still marked by white seats in deep left-center -- Wilkerson's homer broke a 1-1 tie against a pitcher who was 4-0 and was 11-1 in his last 14 starts dating to last season.
Nick Johnson extended his major league season-high hitting streak to 16 games with a first-inning home run, and John Patterson (2-1) allowed only a first-inning run and struck out six over 6 2-3 innings.
Lieber (4-1) was trying to become the first pitcher in the major to win five games. He allowed just four hits in six innings, but three went for extra bases, and he walked four batters -- ending a streak of 43 starts with two walks or fewer.
Braves 4, Mets 3
At New York, John Smoltz finally got some run support and bullpen help, earning his first win of the season in Atlanta's victory over Pedro Martinez and the Mets.
Smoltz scattered seven hits over 6 2-3 innings in his fifth start since returning to Atlanta's rotation. He earned his first win as a starter since June 2001, the last season he was a regular member of the Braves rotation.
Reds 11, Cubs 9
In Chicago, Ken Griffey Jr. , who entered with just three RBIs, had a three-run double and a sacrifice fly in Cincinnati's win over Chicago.
Adam Dunn hit a solo homer in the fifth inning, his second homer in two days, and has six RBIs in two games. Javier Valentin and Joe Randa had three hits each for the Reds, who set a season high for runs and matched their high with 15 hits.
Jeromy Burnitz, Aramis Ramirez and Jason Dubois hit two-run homers for the Cubs, and Derrek Lee had a solo shot. Lee also had a sacrifice fly and leads the National League with 21 RBIs.
David Weathers (1-0) pitched the sixth, Ryan Wagner pitched the next two innings and Danny Graves finished for his eighth save.
Michael Wuertz (1-1), the second of six Cubs relievers, allowed three runs the seventh.
Marlins 9, Rockies 3
In Denver, Josh Beckett had a two-run double in Florida's five-run seventh inning and matched teammate Dontrelle Willis and Philadelphia's Jon Lieber for the NL lead in wins.
Beckett (4-1) gave up three runs -- two earned -- in the first two innings and not much else, allowing eight hits in six innings.
Rockies starter Jamey Wright (1-2) got 12 of 14 outs on groundballs, but seven of the 10 hits off him were for extra bases. He allowed seven runs in 6 1-3 innings.
Former Rockies outfielder Juan Pierre hit his first homer in 729 at-bats at Coors Field in the fourth inning and added an RBI triple in the seventh to finish a double short of the cycle. Alex Gonzalez also homered for Florida.
Cardinals 5, Brewers 3
In St. Louis, Albert Pujols was 3-for-5 with a pair of two-run doubles, and closer Jason Isringhausen left the St. Louis win over Milwaukee with a strained right abdominal muscle.
St. Louis has won 10 of 11 and is a NL-best 13-5, the best start for the Cardinals since they began 1982 with a 13-4 record and went on to win the World Series.
Doug Davis (2-3) gave up four runs and four hits with four strikeouts and has lost his last three decisions.
Diamondbacks 3, Dodgers 2
In Los Angeles, Shawn Green had a home run and a diving catch against his former team, Russ Ortiz pitched six effective innings, and Arizona beat Los Angeles for its their fifth straight win.
Ortiz (2-1) gave up two runs and seven hits. Brandon Lyon, the fifth Arizona pitcher, worked the ninth for his third save in as many games and his big league-leading 10th in 11 chances.
Giants 6, Padres 5
In San Francisco, J.T. Snow matched his career high with four hits and drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning to lead San Francisco over San Diego.
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