Yankees walk away with victory

Mike Mussina made it through six innings for his 12th victory and Aaron Guiel homered for the New York Yankees, who made the most of their four hits in a 7-4 victory over the Texas Rangers last night in Arlington, Texas.

Alex Rodriguez showed more signs of breaking out of his slump, reaching base three times (two walks and hit by a pitch) and scoring twice. The Yankees third baseman handled four fielding chances without an error, including two short-hoppers.

Mussina (12-3) won his fourth straight decision over his last seven starts. The righthander threw 97 pitches with four strikeouts, two walks, and a hit batter. He allowed three runs and five hits.

The Yankees loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth when Adam Eaton (0-1), finally making his Texas debut after injuring the middle finger on his pitching hand in his final spring start, walked two batters and hit Guiel before walking Andy Phillips to drive home a run. Miguel Cairo then hit a two-run single, a grounder through the middle that put New York ahead, 3-2.

Derek Jeter had a leadoff single in the fifth and, after Rodriguez walked again, Guiel hit a three-run homer.

Cubs 8, Mets 6 -- Carlos Zambrano hit his fourth homer of the season and won his eighth straight decision, leading visiting Chicago over New York.

Aramis Ramirez homered and drove in three runs as Zambrano and the Cubs beat Tom Glavine for the second time in 11 days. Phil Nevin also connected and Henry Blanco hit a three-run double, sending Chicago to its second consecutive victory over the NL East leaders.

Blue Jays 12, Mariners 3 -- Roy Halladay (13-2) allowed two earned runs over seven innings and got plenty of support from the AL's top-hitting team as visiting Toronto snapped Seattle's three-game winning streak.

Toronto was without All-Star outfielder Vernon Wells for the second straight game because of a sore back.

Indians 12, Tigers 7 -- Kenny Rogers (11-4) didn't make it out of the first inning when Cleveland scored seven runs in Rogers's shortest outing in more than 13 years, and the Indians held off visiting Detroit long enough to win.

Grady Sizemore and Jason Michaels, the Indians' Nos. 1 and 2 hitters, went a combined 6 for 7 with three walks, four runs, and three RBIs.

Reds 2, Astros 0 -- Aaron Harang outpitched Roger Clemens and dominated host Houston for the third time this season, leading Cincinnati to victory.

Harang (11-6) allowed four hits and struck out six with one walk in eight innings. Clemens allowed seven hits and struck out four, but the Astros suffered their 11th shutout when he pitches since the start of last season. Houston has mustered two runs or fewer in four of Clemens' seven starts this year.

Devil Rays 6, Angels 3 -- Ty Wigginton homered and drove in four runs and host Tampa Bay stopped Ervin Santana's seven-game winning streak with a victory over Los Angeles.

Santana (11-4) allowed six runs and nine hits over 6 1/3 innings.

Nationals 8, Giants 6 -- Host Washington held a much-booed Barry Bonds in check, overcame two homers by Ray Durham, and used a five-run third inning against Matt Morris to beat San Francisco.

Marlins 2, Braves 1 -- Cody Ross homered twice and Anibal Sanchez (4-0) won his third straight start, lifting visiting Florida over Atlanta.

Diamondbacks 6, Phillies 5 -- Carlos Quentin hit a solo homer in the 11th inning to lead visiting Arizona over Philadelphia.

Padres 7, Dodgers 3 -- Mike Cameron hit a two-run homer, Adrian Gonzalez drove in three runs, and visiting San Diego extended Los Angeles's losing streak to seven games.

Royals 7, Orioles 5 -- Mark Teahen hit two homers and drove in a career-high five runs to lead host Kansas City over Baltimore.

Cardinals 1, Rockies 0 -- Albert Pujols hit his 33d homer, Chris Carpenter scattered seven hits over 7 1/3 innings, and St. Louis beat Colorado in the third 1-0 game in the history of Coors Field.

Pirates 6, Brewers 1 -- Jeromy Burnitz hit a pair of home runs and visiting Pittsburgh beat Milwaukee.