Thursday’s games
American League
Athletics 5, Twins 2: At Minneapolis, Eric Chavez’s single drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning to help Barry Zito (11-8) win his eighth straight start as Oakland topped Minnesota.
Red Sox 11, Royals 9: At Boston, Matt Clement (11-3) struggled in his first start since getting hit in the head by a line drive, but Jason Varitek’s grand slam highlighted an eight-run fourth and helped Boston erase a 5-0 deficit and defeat Kansas City.
White Sox 5, Blue Jays 4: At Chicago, Tadahito Iguchi hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth, and Chicago avoided a three-game sweep with a victory over Toronto.
Orioles 4, Angels 1: At Anaheim, Calif., Sammy Sosa picked up a listless club still stunned by the sudden firing of manager Lee Mazzilli, hitting a two-run homer as Baltimore defeated Los Angeles to snap a season-worst eight-game losing streak.
Yankees 4, Indians 3: Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi hit back-to-back homers off Bob Wickman in the ninth, and New York avoided being swept in Cleveland for the first time since 1970.
Rangers 13, Devil Rays 5: At Arlington, Texas, Alfonso Soriano had three hits and a career-high five RBIs and Texas Rangers ended Tampa Bay’s season-high six-game winning streak.
National League
Padres 12, Pirates 7: At Pittsburgh, Brian Lawrence beat brother-in-law Mark Redman and kept San Diego in first place with a win over Pittsburgh. San Diego won its first series in nearly a month.
Phillies 6, Cubs 4: At Philadelphia, Bobby Abreu’s grand slam snapped a 25-game homerless skid, and Todd Pratt and Chase Utley added solo shots, leading Philadelphia over Chicago.
Brewers 12, Mets 9: At New York, Geoff Jenkins went 5 for 5 and drove in the tying run, keying a five-run rally in the ninth that carried Milwaukee past New York.
Giants 6, Rockies 4: At San Francisco, Lance Niekro broke out of a slump with a tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth, and San Francisco snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Colorado.
Nationals 7, Dodgers 0: At Washington, John Patterson struck out a career-high 13 and Brad Wilkerson hit a grand slam to lead Washington past Los Angeles for its first series victory in a month.
Braves 7, Reds 4: At Cincinnati, Andruw Jones hit his 33rd home run to take over the league lead, and Jeff Francoeur also homered as Atlanta overcame Sean Casey’s two home runs and four RBIs to beat Cincinnati.
Marlins 4, Cardinals 3: At St. Louis, Miguel Cabrera had four hits and A.J. Burnett (9-6) pitched into the eighth, helping Florida beat St. Louis to split a four-game series.
Diamondbacks 7, Astros 3: At Phoenix, Troy Glaus hit a two-run homer and Shawn Green and Tony Clark also connected, powering Arizona to a victory over Houston.