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.
Ryan Jensen (2-1), called up from the minor leagues last month, went five innings, giving up two runs and four hits. Rookie reliever Ambiorix Burgos got three outs for his second save, retiring pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra on a groundout with the bases loaded to end it.
Yankees starter Carl Pavano (4-4) has allowed 13 homers after giving up only 16 last season with Florida.
Athletics 5, Blue Jays 3
In Oakland, California, Eric Chavez hit a grand slam to help Oakland beat Toronto for its season-best fourth straight win.
Chavez connected in the fifth on the first pitch from Josh Towers (5-4). It was Chavez's fifth career grand slam and first since May 11, 2002, also against Toronto. The four RBIs matched his season high, and he also had a seventh-inning double.
Kirk Saarloos (2-4) snapped a 10-start winless stretch for his first victory since beating Baltimore 9-0 in Oakland's second game of the season. Rookie Huston Street pitched the ninth for his first career save only a few hours after the team announced injured closer Octavio Dotel would have reconstructive elbow surgery.
National League
AP, Denver, Colorado
Todd Helton tied the game with a two-run single in the ninth inning, and Brad Hawpe followed with the winning walk to help the Colorado Rockies defeat St. Louis 8-7 on Thursday.
Helton, in a 4-for-54 slump coming into the game, sent a 3-2 pitch from Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen into right field to tie it at 7. The Cardinals intentionally walked Matt Holliday -- who had two homers and a double -- then brought in Randy Flores to face Hawpe.
"There's a long way to go until the burden is lifted," Helton said. "But it's a long season and I guess you have to start somewhere."
Hawpe walked on five pitches to saddle Isringhausen (0-1) with his first blown save in 22 tries dating to last season. It was the reliever's first blemish in a season in which he had converted all 16 of his save opportunities and allowed only one earned run.
"It happens," Isringhausen said. "Nothing worked today. It was one of those nights. I'm used to this."
So Taguchi hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to put the Cardinals ahead 6-5, and St. Louis got an insurance run off Brian Fuentes (1-0) in the ninth.
Marlins 6, Pirates 3
In Pittsburgh, Dontrelle Willis halted Florida's nine-game losing streak in Pittsburgh, getting homers from Carlos Delgado and Damion Easley to become the first nine-game winner in the major leagues.
The Marlins hadn't won in Pittsburgh since an 11-1 victory on Sept. 8, 2002, and were in danger of being swept in PNC Park for the third consecutive season after the Pirates won the first three games of the four-game series.
Willis (9-2) also had a streak of his own to end -- he was 0-2 in three career decisions against the Pirates, who are below .500 at home this season (10-14) but always seem to dominate the Marlins there.
Until beating the Pirates for only the fifth time in their last 23 meetings, the Marlins had dropped seven of eight overall to fall a game behind Atlanta in the National League East.
Willis allowed three runs and a season-high nine hits in eight innings. Todd Jones pitched the ninth for his ninth save in 10 chances.
Mets 6, Diamondbacks 1
In New York, Pedro Martinez pitched eight sharp innings and got a customary home run from Carlos Beltran as New York defeated Arizona.
Martinez (6-1) dominated the Diamondbacks, striking out nine to increase his NL-leading total to 92. Beltran hit his seventh homer of the season, all in games started by Martinez.
Cliff Floyd had a pair of doubles against Shawn Estes (4-4), driving in one run and scoring another. Kaz Matsui added a two-run double.
Tony Clark homered off Martinez. Arizona second baseman Craig Counsell made three errors.
Phillies 6, Giants 5
In Philadelphia, Jimmy Rollins homered and Jon Lieber won his second consecutive start to help Philadelphia return to .500 with a victory over San Francisco.
The Phillies (27-27) swept the three-game series and moved back to .500 for the first time since they were 8-8 on April 21. They have won 12 of 18.
The Giants have lost seven straight and head to New York for a three-game series. They hadn't lost more than six in a row since an eight-game skid in May 2002.
Lieber (7-4) wasted an early 4-0 lead but withstood two homers in a four-run third and gave up eight hits in six innings. Billy Wagner finished for his 12th save in 14 chances.
The Phillies chased Brad Hennessey (2-2) in the third.
Nationals 8, Braves 6
In Washington, backup catcher Gary Bennett drove in five runs, three on a bases-loaded double in the eighth inning, to lead Washington over Atlanta.
The Nationals scored five runs in the eighth, including four off struggling reliever Dan Kolb (1-5). The rally came after the Braves scored four in the top half to take a 6-3 lead.
Carlos Baerga pulled a grounder through the right side of the infield to score Jamey Carroll, followed by Vinny Castilla's RBI double that cut Atlanta's lead to 6-5. The Braves then intentionally walked Marlon Byrd to face Bennett, who had already hit a two-run homer.
Hector Carrasco (2-1) got the final out of the eighth before Chad Cordero pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 16 chances.
The Nationals received another good start from Esteban Loaiza, who allowed two runs in six innings, striking out seven.
Cubs 5, Padres 0
In San Diego, Glendon Rusch pitched a four-hitter and Derrek Lee had three more hits to raise his average to .389, leading Chicago past San Diego for its season-high seventh straight win.
The Cubs have had at least 10 hits in every game of the winning streak. The Cubs also won their sixth straight road game, the first time they've done that since 1991.
The NL West-leading Padres lost consecutive games for just the second time in 32 games. They were 22-6 in May, their best month ever.
Lee, whose average is the best in the majors, reached his 1,00th career hit on his first single of the night, to right-center in the sixth inning.
Rusch (5-1) allowed just four singles in pitching his first complete game of the season and his third career shutout.
Dodgers 6, Brewers 4
In Los Angeles, J.D. Drew drove in three runs with a pair of homers, Jeff Kent also homered as Los Angeles beat Milwaukee to end a three-game losing streak.
Giovanni Carrara (5-2) pitched two innings of one-hit relief for the victory, helping send Milwaukee to its fifth loss in six games.
Eric Gagne struck out three in the ninth, but also allowed a run, a hit, two walks, and threw two wild pitches. He earned his fourth save in as many chances. It was his first save opportunity at Dodger Stadium since coming off the disabled list on May 14.
Ben Sheets (1-5) lost his fifth straight start, allowing five runs, six hits and three homers in five-plus innings.
NPB
AP, Tokyo
Katsuhiko Miyaji hit a three-run homer in the second inning Thursday and Nobuhiko Matsunaka added a two-run blast in the third as the surging Softbank Hawks defeated the Hanshin Tigers 9-7 in interleague play.
Miyaji gave the Hawks an early 3-0 lead with a line drive off Hanshin starter Shinobu Fukuhara just over the fence in right field at Koshien Stadium. Matsunaka then widened the lead to 5-0 with his 22nd homer of the season.
Softbank catcher Kenji Jojima hit a two-run homer in the top of the eighth to give the Hawks a comfortable 9-5 lead. It was the 200th homer of Jojima's career.
There was a scary moment in the bottom of the ninth when Softbank reliever Koji Mise hit Tomoaki Kanemoto in the back of the head with a fastball. Kanemoto was slow in getting up and Mise was ejected from the game after both benches emptied.
Andy Sheets hit a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth and Hanshin scored another run on a wild pitch before Makoto Sato retired the side to nail down the win.
Giants 6, FIGHTERS 5
At Sapporo Dome, Takayuki Shimizu hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning to lift the Yomiuri Giants to a 6-5 win over the Nippon Ham Fighters.
Shimizu, who drove in four runs, also had a solo homer in the fourth as the Giants won after tying the first two games of the three-game set.
Veteran left-hander Kimiyasu Kudo picked up the win despite giving up five runs on seven hits over 5-2/3 innings.
Marines 6, Carp 1
At Chiba Marine Stadium, rookie Yasutomo Kubo gave up one run on eight hits over the distance as the Pacific League-leading Chiba Lotte Marines downed the Hiroshima Carp 6-1.
Veteran infielder Makoto Kosaka drove in two runs in the fourth on an infield single when the Marines scored four times to take a 4-0 lead.
Lotte won its 40th game -- the best in either league -- and is a season-high 24 games above .500.
The New York Mets placed struggling South Korean reliever Koo Dae-sung on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised rotator cuff.
A 35-year-old rookie, Koo has a 5.65 ERA in 22 appearances. He has been the only left-hander in the bullpen most of the season.
Koo's rotator-cuff injury came on a headfirst slide into home plate against the New York Yankees on May 21.
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