Yankees' pitching for birds
Brian Roberts and Larry Bigbie had two hits apiece in an eight-run third inning, and the host Baltimore Orioles ended the New York Yankees' five-game winning streak with a 14-8 victory last night.
Miguel Tejada and Melvin Mora homered, and B.J. Surhoff had a season-high four RBIs for the Orioles, who have won eight of 11.
Baltimore trailed, 3-2, before sending 13 batters to the plate in the third against Javier Vazquez (13-9) and two relievers. Bigbie had two singles and scored twice, and Roberts had a bunt single and a two-run double.
"I don't remember going through a stretch this bad, this inconsistent," said Vazquez, 0-3 with a 9.99 ERA in his last five starts after yielding eight runs in 2 1/3 innings. "I'm just disappointed in what I'm doing."
The double was Roberts's 46th, tying the AL season record for a switch hitter, set in 1901 by John Anderson of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Rodrigo Lopez (12-8) beat New York for the second time in eight days despite allowing five runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Derek Jeter and Ruben Sierra homered for the Yankees.
Tejada put the Orioles up, 2-0, in the first with his 27th home run, a two-run shot to left.
Rangers 10, Blue Jays 3 -- Ryan Drese pitched seven strong innings and Kevin Mench homered twice as host Texas rolled past Toronto. Drese (12-8) allowed one run and six hits, struck out seven and walked one. He lost a bid for his first shutout when he allowed Carlos Delgado's solo homer in the seventh, but picked up his eighth win in 11 decisions.
Mench has homered in his last three games and has four in 10 at-bats. He extended his career-high home run total to 23.
Mench and Mark Teixeira homered in a six-run fourth inning for the Rangers, who had lost nine of their previous 11. Michael Young had four hits, and Rod Barajas and Mench each added three hits for Texas, which took advantage of the Blue Jays' club record-tying four wild pitches.
Mench's homer in the second made it 3-0. In the fourth, when the Rangers had six straight hits to tie their season high, Mench homered to make it 4-0.
Twins 4, Tigers 1 -- Carlos Silva won for the first time in more than a month, and Jacque Jones drove in two runs to lead visiting Minnesota over Detroit. Silva (11-8) allowed one run and nine hits in six innings, struck out six and walked none for his first victory in seven starts.
J.C. Romero pitched the seventh to extend his scoreless streak to 35 2/3 innings, Juan Rincon threw the eighth, and Joe Nathan finished for his 40th save in 43 chances. Minnesota, heading to its third straight Central title, has won three straight and eight of 10.
Mike Maroth (10-11) dropped to 0-3 against the Twins this season, allowing four runs, eight hits, and four walks in 6 2/3 innings.
Brandon Inge's RBI single put the Tigers ahead in the fourth, but the Twins took a 3-1 lead in the fifth on Terry Tiffee's RBI double, Jones's run-scoring groundout, and Maroth's wild pitch with the bases loaded.
Royals 8, Devil Rays 5 -- Dee Brown and Desi Relaford doubled during a six-run seventh inning, and host Kansas City rallied from a five-run deficit to send Tampa Bay to its 12th straight loss. Tampa Bay led, 5-0, in the sixth and Mark Hendrickson was working on a one-hitter before Kansas City closed on Ken Harvey's RBI groundout and Joe Randa's run-scoring single.
Brown's double leading off the seventh and Ruben Gotay's single chased Hendrickson, and Franklin Nunez (0-2) gave up three hits -- Relaford's RBI double, and run-scoring singles by Angel Berroa and Abraham Nunez. Harvey was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, and Randa's sacrifice fly put the Royals ahead, 6-5.
Calvin Pickering had an RBI single off Trevor Miller, shortstop Julio Lugo made a throwing error, and Harvey scored on a wild pitch.
