Minnesota's Hunter returns with a bang
Torii Hunter had a homer and four RBIs in his return from the disabled list and Carlos Silva pitched seven strong innings to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 15-2 victory over the Texas Rangers last night at Minneapolis.
Josh Rabe had a homer and three RBIs and Nick Punto had 4 hits, 4 runs, and 3 RBIs to back Silva (7-9), who gave up one run and six hits and struck out four.
The Rangers have lost seven of their last eight games, prompting general manager Jon Daniels to do some wheeling and dealing at the non-waiver trading deadline. Texas entered the night three games behind Oakland in the AL West.
Daniels acquired All-Star left fielder Carlos Lee from Milwaukee last week, then got Pittsburgh starter Kip Wells and Kansas City's Matt Stairs for a couple of minor leaguers yesterday.
The Twins jumped all over John Rheinecker (4-5) in the first, getting a little help from the Metrodome in a five-run inning.
Lee lost a bloop by Joe Mauer in the lights and Justin Morneau's lazy pop fly dropped among Lee, center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., and shortstop Michael Young for an RBI.
Michael Cuddyer also had an RBI single before Rabe capped the big inning with a three-run homer to left for a 5-0 lead.
White Sox 8, Royals 4 -- Jermaine Dye, Joe Crede, and Alex Cintron homered to lead visiting Chicago.
Jose Contreras, who had lost his previous three starts after having his 17-game winning snapped July 14, earned the victory. Contreras (10-3) started shaky, allowing three runs in the first two innings, but settled down, retiring 11 straight before Joey Gathright's infield single in the sixth.
Devil Rays 7, Tigers 3 -- Casey Fossum allowed one run over seven innings, and Damon Hollins and Travis Lee hit two-run homers for host Tampa Bay.
Fossum (5-4) gave up six hits and matched his career high with 10 strikeouts in beating All-Star starter Kenny Rogers (11-5).
Marlins 15, Phillies 2 -- Admitting he was distracted by trade speculation, Jon Lieber turned in a terrible performance, allowing nine runs and 13 hits, including three homers, in 4 2/3 innings as Florida rolled at Philadelphia.
The Marlins' Miguel Cabrera drove in three runs with a homer and two doubles, and Josh Johnson (9-5) pitched seven strong innings, giving up one run and striking out eight, lowering his NL-best ERA to 2.52.
Chase Utley extended his hitting streak to 32 games for Philadelphia.
Diamondbacks 15, Cubs 4 -- Orlando Hudson hit home runs from both sides of the plate, including his first career grand slam, as Arizona hit a team-record six homers at Chicago.
Rookie Stephen Drew hit his first career home run, and Shawn Green, Chad Tracy, and Eric Byrnes also went deep for the Diamondbacks, who had a season-high scoring total.
Rockies 4, Brewers 2 -- Aaron Cook won for the first time in a month, and Garrett Atkins and Matt Holliday hit back-to-back homers at Denver as Colorado won consecutive games for the first time since a four-game sweep at Washington June 12-15.
Mariners 10, Orioles 5 -- Richie Sexson and Kenji Johjima homered, Yuniesky Betancourt and Jose Lopez each had three hits, and Seattle scored all its runs in the final four innings to win at Baltimore.
