Yankees continue upward trend

Joe Torre got his 2,000th managerial victory and Alex Rodriguez hit his 15th career grand slam as the New York Yankees put together their longest winning streak in a month.

Bobby Abreu hit a tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth inning, Rodriguez added his slam in a six-run ninth, and the Yankees beat the struggling White Sox, 10-3, last night in Chicago.

New York won three straight after losing the opener of the four-game series, the first time the Yankees have taken three in a row since sweeping the Rangers May 1-3. New York has won six of eight heading into a nine-game interleague homestand, while Chicago has dropped 10 of 12.

Torre became the 10th manager in major league history to get 2,000 victories and is nine shy of tying Leo Durocher for ninth place.

"Two thousand. Without the opportunity here I wouldn't have been close," said Torre, who also managed the Cardinals, Braves, and Mets. "It's been a great ride. I've appreciated it. The players have been the best part of it for me. And they proved it again tonight."

Derek Jeter, given a rare night off from the starting lineup, pinch hit leading off the eighth and walked against Jose Contreras (4-6), advanced on a one-out wild pitch, and took third when Melky Cabrera beat out an infield single to shortstop.

Lefthander Matt Thornton relieved, and Abreu lined a double to right-center for a 3-1 lead. Thornton loaded the bases with an intentional walk to Rodriguez and a walk to Hideki Matsui. Robinson Cano followed with an RBI force out.

Scott Proctor (1-3), who pitched out of a no-out jam in the seventh, got the win and Mariano Rivera got five outs for his seventh save in nine chances.

Chicago closed to 4-3 in the eighth when Tadahito Iguchi hit an RBI double off Kyle Farnsworth and scored on Paul Konerko's single off Jeter's glove at shortstop. Rivera then struck out A.J. Pierzynski, who pounded the plate in disgust with his bat and was ejected by plate umpire Bob Davidson before flipping his helmet back at the plate.

Rodriguez hit his league-leading 22d homer in the ninth off Ryan Bukvich, his second slam of the season. Cano added an RBI triple.

Phillies 6, Mets 3 -- Chase Utley delivered the go-ahead hit in extra innings for the second time in three days after Pat Burrell tied it in the ninth with a solo homer off Billy Wagner, and Philadelphia won in 10 innings to complete a three-game sweep in New York.

Philadelphia is five games back of the first-place Mets and 1 1/2 games back of second-place Atlanta.

Carlos Delgado, David Wright, and Paul Lo Duca hit consecutive homers off Cole Hamels in the sixth to give the Mets a 3-2 lead, and they were three outs away from snapping their first three-game losing streak of the year.

But Burrell hit his 37th career homer against the Mets leading off the ninth against Wagner, his former teammate, to tie it at 3. For Wagner, it snapped a string of 31 consecutive successful save opportunities.

Jimmy Rollins got the winning rally started with a leadoff single against Scott Schoenweis (0-1) in the 10th. Shane Victorino bunted Rollins to second, and Utley served an opposite-field double down the left-field line to score Rollins.

Then the Phillies blew it open against reliever Joe Smith. Aaron Rowand lined an RBI single to center and Burrell ripped a run-scoring double to the left-field corner.

Cubs 2, Braves 1 -- Rich Hill (5-4) matched his career high with 11 strikeouts, giving up three hits in eight innings, and Chicago marked manager Lou Piniella's return from a four-game suspension with a road win.

Alfonso Soriano tripled off Chuck James (5-5) leading off the game and scored on Felix Pie's single to left. An inning later, Soriano added a two-out RBI single.

Devil Rays 5, Blue Jays 3 -- Delmon Young hit a two-run single in the ninth and Tampa Bay won consecutive road games for the first time in almost a year.

Toronto's A.J. Burnett struck out 13 over seven innings, allowing all three of his runs in the third. But Carl Crawford, who went 3 for 5, got Tampa Bay going in the ninth with a one-out single off Jeremy Accardo (1-1) and stole second. Two walks later, Young hit a single to center.

Indians 8, Royals 3 -- Fausto Carmona won his seventh consecutive decision and Franklin Gutierrez, Jason Michaels, and Casey Blake homered in a home romp for Cleveland.

Carmona (7-1) has a 2.77 ERA in nine starts since April 13, when he made his first start of the season. He allowed one run and seven hits in seven innings, striking out five and walking one.

Tigers 11, Rangers 4 -- Gary Sheffield homered to ignite a six-run third, and Curtis Granderson had two triples and three RBIs to lift visiting Detroit.

Padres 6, Dodgers 5 -- Trailing by four in the bottom of the ninth, San Diego rallied against Jonathan Broxton (2-2), with Russell Branyan's bases-loaded walk finishing the comeback.

Giants 5, Diamondbacks 4 -- Omar Vizquel homered and provided the go-ahead single in the 11th, and Barry Bonds returned to the Giants' lineup after missing two games to add an RBI single, sparking San Francisco in Phoenix.

Rockies 7, Astros 6 -- Troy Tulowitzki started host Colorado's comeback with a two-run homer, then singled home the winning run to cap a three-run rally in the ninth.

Reds 5, Cardinals 1 -- Kyle Lohse (3-7) came within two outs of a shutout and visiting Cincinnati got home runs from Ken Griffey, Edwin Encarnacion, and Adam Dunn in breaking a four-game skid.

Pirates 3, Nationals 2 -- Jason Bay led off the top of the ninth with a tiebreaking, opposite-field homer off Washington's Chad Cordero (1-1) to pick up Pittsburgh.