NY outslugged by Devil Rays

Aubrey Huff and Robert Fick drove in two runs each last night, leading the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a 9-7 victory over the New York Yankees at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Huff's two-run double was the big blow in a five-run first inning for the Devil Rays, who beat the Yankees in the series opener after losing four in a row to New York before the All-Star break.

Geoff Blum's RBI single off Tanyon Sturtze (3-2) snapped a 5-5 tie in the sixth. Fick then hit a routine fly ball that dropped for a two-run double after outfielders Kenny Lofton and Hideki Matsui pulled off the ball -- each apparently thinking the other was going to make the catch.

The hit gave the Devil Rays' bullpen a three-run lead to protect for Lance Carter (3-2).

Ruben Sierra homered for the third straight game for New York, delivering a two-run, pinch-hit shot off Jesus Colome to trim Tampa Bay's lead to 8-7 in the eighth. Devil Rays closer Danys Baez struck out Lofton to end the eighth, then worked the ninth for his 19th save in 21 opportunities.

Carl Crawford's RBI triple off Paul Quantrill made it 9-7 in the bottom of the eighth.

The Devil Rays scored five runs in the first against Yankees rookie Alex Graman, who lasted just one-third of an inning in his second major league start. The Yankees rallied to make it 5-5 with two runs in the fourth and three in the fifth off Rob Bell.

Graman lasted six batters, giving up doubles to Huff, Julio Lugo, and Jorge Cantu and singles to Crawford and Rocco Baldelli, the latter an infield hit that drove in Tampa Bay's first run.

Indians 8, Angels 5 -- Travis Hafner hit his second homer of the game -- a three-run shot in the 10th inning -- and drove in a career-high five runs to lead visiting Cleveland over Anaheim. David Eckstein's two-out error on a routine grounder by Matt Lawton set the stage for Hafner's game-winner off Troy Percival (2-2) and made all three runs unearned. Hafner's 14th homer, which matched his total last season as a rookie, came after a walk to Omar Vizquel.

Hafner and Casey Blake each hit two-run homers against Angels starter Aaron Sele.

Athletics 5, Blue Jays 3 -- Vernon Wells homered in a four-run fourth and Toronto snapped its season-high six-game losing streak by beating host Oakland. Josh Towers (4-3) gave up two runs in the third then shut down the Athletics through the eighth.

He gave up seven hits, struck out five, and walked none to win his second straight start.

White Sox 12, Rangers 6 -- Carlos Lee homered and drove in three runs and Carl Everett also went deep a day after rejoining visiting Chicago. Everett went 2 for 5 with a walk in his first game since being dealt from Montreal. Chicago's Aaron Rowand tied a career high with four hits and Jose Valentin had three RBIs.

Mark Teixeira homered in his fifth straight game to tie a team record for Texas, which had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Twins 3, Tigers 1 -- Pinch hitter Jose Offerman's two-run single in the seventh lifted Minnesota in Detroit. Terry Mulholland (2-3) gave up one run on four hits in 6 2/3 innings to lead the Twins to their second win in eight games. The veteran lefthander struck out two and walked one, improving to 2-0 in three starts since moving into the rotation earlier this month.

Orioles 7, Royals 4 -- Sidney Ponson gave up two runs in six innings to end his nine-game losing streak, and Miguel Tejada powered visiting Baltimore with a two-run homer.