AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, ST. PETERSBURG, Florida
PHOTO: AP
Scott Kazmir and two relievers combined on a two-hitter as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the struggling Oakland Athletics 4-0 in the American League on Monday.
Rookie Evan Longoria homered for the third consecutive game and drove in two runs, helping the AL East leaders win for the third time in four days following a season-worst seven-game losing streak.
The Athletics have lost six straight, scoring nine runs during the slide.
PHOTO: AP
Kazmir walked four and struck out nine in seven innings.
YANKEES 12, TWINS 4
At New York, Alex Rodriguez had a two-run homer and RBI single to help New York to its eighth straight home win.
Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter homered for the Yankees, and Johnny Damon was activated from the disabled list and went 1-for-4 as the designated hitter.
Alexi Casilla had three hits for Minnesota, but the second baseman’s throwing error led to three unearned runs in New York’s four-run second.
ORIOLES 8, BLUE JAYS 3
At Baltimore, Adam Jones homered in the third, then got a key infield single in a three-run fifth for Baltimore.
Jones hit a two-run homer and scored twice.
RED SOX 4, MARINERS 0
At Seattle, Jon Lester carried a shutout into the eighth inning and struggling Jason Varitek hit a two-run homer for Boston.
Lester (8-3) went 7 1-3 innings, allowing eight hits, the last of which was a hard one-hopper off his right shin. He left the game with the bases loaded but did not appear injured. Jonathan Papelbon got Raul Ibanez to ground into a double play and then finished for his 29th save. It was Boston’s major league-best 11th shutout.
Rookie Jed Lowrie hit a two-run single in the eighth and Manny Ramirez had three singles.
INDIANS 5, ANGELS 2
At Anaheim, California, Andy Marte, Casey Blake and Jhonny Peralta homered for Cleveland as they snapped Los Angeles’ five-game winning streak.
Paul Byrd (4-10) allowed a run and nine hits over 5 1-3 innings for his first victory since June 6. He was 0-5 with a 7.76 ERA in his previous six starts.
Masa Kobayashi struck out the side in the ninth for his sixth save.
The Angels, coming off a three-game sweep of defending World Series champion Boston, still own the baseball’s best record (60-39) and hold a nine-game lead over Oakland in the AL West.
Ervin Santana (11-4) was charged with four runs — three earned — and seven hits over seven innings, striking out eight.
In the fourth inning, Marte homered to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead.
Blake made it 4-1 in the fifth and Peralta added a homer in the eighth.
RANGERS 6, WHITE SOX 1
At Chicago, Josh Hamilton hit a three-run homer and Hank Blalock added a two-run shot to power Texas.
Hamilton hit his 22nd homer in the third off Javier Vazquez, as Chicago lost its third straight, all at home.
Blalock added his fourth homer in the eighth.
Chicago’s Carlos Quentin led off the fourth with his 24th homer, and Vazquez (7-8) struck out 10 and gave up three runs in seven innings.
TIGERS 19, ROYALS 4
At Kansas City, Missouri, Miguel Cabrera had five hits and six RBIs and Matt Joyce added four hits and five RBIs for Detroit.
Joyce hit a three-run homer in the third and had two singles in the Tigers’ 10-run eighth, which also included a three-run homer by Gary Sheffield. Cabrera singled and doubled and drove in two runs in the eighth when the Tigers sent 15 men to the plate.
ATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, ST. LOUIS, Missouri
Bill Hall homered leading off the top of the 10th inning, helping the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 after squandering a ninth-inning lead on Monday.
Solomon Torres (5-2), who gave up the tying run in the ninth, also pitched the 10th.
The Brewers scored two more runs in the 10th off Ryan Franklin (3-3) on a throwing error by second baseman Aaron Miles and an RBI single J.J. Hardy, who went 4-for-6 Franklin allowed three runs on four hits in one-and-one-third innings.
BRAVES 4, MARLINS 0
At Miami, rookie Jorge Campillo pitched seven innings and two relievers completed a two-hitter for Atlanta to beat Florida.
Campillo (5-4) allowed both hits and lowered his ERA to 2.83.
Mark Teixeira and Mark Kotsay both had two hits, drove in a run and scored once.
PADRES 6, REDS 4
At Cincinnati, Kevin Kouzmanoff’s two-run double completed San Diego’s ninth-inning comeback off closer Francisco Cordero, and the Padres snapped their six-game losing streak.
Ken Griffey Jr hit his 606th homer, a two-run shot that allowed Cincinnati to take a 4-3 lead into the ninth.
Cordero (4-3) then gave up a lead for the second time in his last three appearances.
Brian Giles tied it with a run-scoring groundout, and Kouzmanoff lined a double to right for a 6-4 lead. Cordero retired only two of seven batters.
DIAMONDBACKS 2, CUBS 0
At Phoenix, Randy Johnson improved to 13-0 in 14 career starts against Chicago.
Johnson (7-7), winning his third straight after six consecutive losses, allowed two hits, struck out four and walked one in seven innings for his 291st victory.
The 44-year-old left-hander entered the game with a 1.98 career ERA against Chicago.
Rich Harden allowed one hit in seven innings for Chicago— Alex Romero’s first major league home run to lead off the sixth.
Harden (0-1) went seven innings, striking out 10 and walking two in the Cubs’ fourth loss in five games.
Arizona made it 2-0 in the eighth on Stephen Drew’s RBI triple.
Micah Owings pitched a scoreless eighth and Chad Qualls worked the ninth for his second save in eight tries.
PIRATES 9, ASTROS 3
At Houston, Freddy Sanchez hit a three-run, inside-the-park homer to cap a seven-run ninth inning, and Pittsburgh snapped a five-game losing streak.
Jason Bay and Adam LaRoche also homered in the inning off closer Jose Valverde, who came in with the Astros leading 3-2.
Sanchez’s shot off Tim Byrdak was Pittsburgh’s first inside-the-park home run in 13 months.
Valverde (4-3) had converted 23 of his last 25 save opportunities before Bay hit the tying solo homer, his 20th.
DODGERS 16, ROCKIES 10
At Denver, James Loney drove in five runs, including a triple with the bases loaded, and Matt Kemp had two doubles as part of Los Angeles’ eight-run first inning.
The Dodgers set season highs in runs, hits (18) and hits in an inning (seven) as they won for the fourth time in five games.
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