No stopping Damon, Yankees

He ends 6-for-6 day with winner in ninth

Johnny Damon gives himself a well-deserved hand as he watches his ninth-inning hit fall into right field. (ed betz/Associated Press)

Johnny Damon put on a hitting display for the record books and finished it off in style.

Damon went 6 for 6 with a game-ending single in the ninth inning, rallying the New York Yankees to a wild 12-11 victory yesterday over Kansas City.

His six hits matched a Yankees record, and tied the American League mark for a nine-inning game.

"It was pretty amazing. Pretty exhausting," Damon said.

New York overcame a pair of four-run deficits and a huge game by Kansas City's Jose Guillen, who hit a tiebreaking grand slam in the seventh and matched a club record with seven RBIs.

After David DeJesus put the Royals ahead, 11-10, with a homer on the first pitch from Mariano Rivera (2-1) in the ninth, Jorge Posada connected against Joakim Soria with one out in the bottom half to tie it.

With two outs, Wilson Betemit walked and Melky Cabrera reached on an infield single. Damon pulled a 3-and-1 pitch from Soria (0-1) into the right-field corner for his sixth hit, setting a career high and equaling a Yankees record now accomplished three times. Myril Hoag also went 6 for 6 June 6, 1934, at Boston, and Gerald Williams was 6 for 8 in a 15-inning game May 1, 1996, at Baltimore.

Damon finished with four RBIs from the leadoff spot. His two-run single in the eighth off Ramon Ramirez tied it at 10.

Damon doubled and scored in the first, then singled in the third, fourth, and sixth. The outfielder had just shaved his lucky mustache, too, after an 0-for-5 night Friday snapped his 14-game hitting streak.

Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez homered for the Yankees, who set a season high with 19 hits and improved to 3-27 when trailing after seven innings.

Guillen homered twice and threw out two base runners from right field, but somehow it wasn't enough for the slumping Royals, who have lost 16 of 19 overall despite tagging Andy Pettitte for 10 runs in 6 2/3 innings.

"We gave it away three separate times," catcher John Buck said.

White Sox 11, Twins 2 - Joe Crede hit two three-run homers to lead surging Chicago to a victory over visiting Minnesota.

The White Sox moved 4 1/2 games up in the AL Central.

Padres 2, Mets 1 - Scott Hairston hit a leadoff homer in the 10th to give host San Diego the win over New York, the Padres' fourth straight 2-1 victory.

It is the first time in major league history that a team had won four consecutive games by a 2-1 score, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Angels 5, Athletics 3 - Jon Garland (6-3) allowed two runs in seven-plus innings and Maicer Izturis hit a leadoff homer for the second straight game as visiting Los Angeles won its seventh in a row.

The last five of those games were saved by Francisco Rodriguez, who collected his 26th of the season.

Orioles 9, Blue Jays 5 - Jay Payton had five RBIs and Jeremy Guthrie (3-6) tossed seven strong innings as visiting Baltimore won its third straight game.

Cardinals 8, Astros 4 - Adam Wainwright (6-3) shut down host Houston before leaving in the sixth inning with a sprained finger and Ryan Ludwick hit a three-run homer to help St. Louis beat the Astros for the ninth time in 13 meetings.

Giants 6, Nationals 0 - John Bowker's grand slam capped a six-run eighth inning and Jonathan Sanchez (5-3) won his third straight start as San Francisco won in Washington, handing the Nationals' their third shutout in six games.

Marlins 8, Reds 7 - Cody Ross hit a two-out, two-run walkoff homer off closer Francisco Cordero as Florida completed a three-run ninth-inning rally to beat Cincinnati.

Rockies 7, Brewers 2 - In Denver, Colorado's Brad Hawpe hit a grand slam, Ian Stewart launched a solo homer into the third deck, and Greg Reynolds (1-3) got his first major league win.

Dodgers 7, Cubs 3 - Matt Kemp capped a five-run seventh inning with a three-run homer as host Los Angeles sent Carlos Zambrano (8-2) to his first loss in 11 starts.

Phillies 6, Braves 2 - Chase Utley's eighth-inning triple drove in Shane Victorino with the go-ahead run for visiting Philadelphia.

Tigers 8, Indians 4 - Edgar Renteria's grand slam keyed a six-run eighth as host Detroit ended a four-game losing streak.

Diamondbacks 4, Pirates 3 - Chris Snyder hit a home run to lead off the ninth, giving Arizona a victory in Pittsburgh.

Rays 5, Rangers 4 - Willy Aybar hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth to lift visiting Tampa Bay.