American League
Sammy Sosa hit two homers to reach 594 for his US Major League Baseball career, but Paul Byrd and the Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers 9-4 on Thursday for their fifth straight win.
Sosa's drive into the left-field seats leading off the sixth inning off Byrd (2-1) made Jacobs Field the 44th MLB ballpark in which he has homered.
PHOTO: AP
That broke a tie with Ken Griffey Jr. and Fred McGriff for the most in a big league career.
Sosa hit his sixth of the season in the eighth against Tom Mastny to move closer to joining Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays with 600 for his career.
Angels 11, Devil Rays 3
In Anaheim, California, Bartolo Colon struck out 11 and Vladimir Guerrero homered during a five-run first inning for the Angels.
Colon (2-0) allowed four hits in seven innings, including a two-run homer by Carlos Pena in the fourth.
The 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner struck out the side in the seventh. Jae Seo (1-2) lasted one-and-one-third innings for Tampa Bay. He was charged with six runs and seven hits.
Twins 1, Royals 0, 11 innings
In Minneapolis, Mike Redmond hit a run-scoring single in the 11th inning and Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak.
Justin Morneau and Jason Tyner hit consecutive singles off Todd Wellemeyer (0-1) with one out in the 11th to put runners on first and second.
Redmond, who finished 2-for-5, then hit a line drive to right-center field to score Morneau.
Torii Hunter received three stitches to close a cut on the inside of his mouth after he was hit by a pitch from Royals pitcher Zack Greinke in the second inning.
Mariners 4, Athletics 2
In Oakland, California, Jose Lopez hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning and the Mariners beat the A's for the fourth time in five meetings this season.
Richie Sexson hit an RBI double in the seventh that snapped an 0-for-20 streak, giving Seattle an unearned insurance run.
Miguel Batista (2-2) went five-and-one-third innings for Seattle, allowing two runs and five hits. He struck out six and walked two.
J.J. Putz recorded the final five outs for his second save in as many chances.
Red Sox 5, Orioles 2
At Baltimore, Wily Mo Pena hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to rally Boston, and Josh Beckett became the majors' first five-game winner.
The Red Sox trailed 2-1 before Pena hit a shot to center off Chris Ray (2-2) that traveled an estimated 430 feet (131m).
Beckett (5-0) allowed two runs and eight hits in eight innings, helping Boston to a two-game sweep. He became the 11th Red Sox pitcher to win his first five starts in a season, joining a list that includes Babe Ruth, Roger Clemens, Lefty Grove and Pedro Martinez.
Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his seventh save in seven tries.
Blue Jays 6, Yankees 0
At New York, Phil Hughes received a rough welcome to the big leagues from hard-hitting Toronto, and last-place New York lost its sixth straight.
Missing injured Derek Jeter, the Yankees (8-12) are on their longest skid since also dropping six in a row from May 28 to June 3, 2005. They managed only four singles and are percentage points behind fourth-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.
Hughes, in the big leagues because of a rash of injuries to the pitching staff, allowed four runs and seven hits in four-and-one-third innings in his debut.
A.J. Burnett (2-1) allowed four hits, walked four and struck out five in seven innings.
National League
Jason Bay's two-run single in the sixth inning off Wandy Rodriguez gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-3 victory on Thursday over Houston and their second three-game sweep of the Astros this season.
Barely 12 hours after the Astros left 18 runners on base during a 4-3, 16-inning loss to the Pirates, they stranded 13 and played sloppily in the field with two errors during Pittsburgh's go-ahead sixth inning against Rodriguez (0-3).
Cardinals 7, Reds 5
In St. Louis, Skip Schumaker had a career-best three hits and two RBIs to help the Cardinals rally for the win.
Adam Kennedy's second double of the game snapped a sixth-inning tie for the Cardinals, who won consecutive home games for the first time this season. St. Louis is 3-7 overall at Busch Stadium.
Nationals 4, Phillies 2
In Philadelphia, Shawn Hill pitched eight-plus innings, Dmitri Young homered and the Washington Nationals snapped Philadelphia's five-game winning streak.
Aaron Rowand hit a solo shot for the Phillies to extend his career-best hitting streak to 14 games.
Hill (2-2) allowed two runs on four hits, striking out three in his 14th career start.
Diamondbacks 7, Padres 4
In Phoenix, a pair of old-timers for otherwise youthful Arizona led the way in the Diamondbacks' victory over San Diego in front of the smallest crowd in franchise history.
Giants 5, Dodgers 4
At Los Angeles, Ray Durham doubled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning after Barry Bonds hit into a double play with runners on the corners, and San Francisco beat Los Angeles for its eighth straight win.
The Dodgers dropped their fourth in a row.
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