ARLINGTON, Texas -Andruw Jones hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 6-3 on Friday in the first game of a doubleheader.
With the score 3-all, Santiago Casilla (1-2) walked Josh Hamilton leading off the eighth. Jones followed, pulling a 2-1 pitch off the screen on the left-field pole for his fifth homer. Nelson Cruz, who had three RBIs, followed with his 13th homer.
C.J. Wilson (2-2) worked a perfect eighth for the win. Frank Francisco pitched the ninth for his 11th save and 16th in a row over the last two seasons.
Marlon Byrd also homered for the Rangers, whove won five of seven.
Travis Buck homered and went 3 for 4 for the As.
Orioles 7, Tigers 2
BALTIMORE – Luke Scott extended his recent power surge with a grand slam and a solo shot off Dontrelle Willis (1-2), and rookie Brad Bergesen (2-2) allowed two runs and seven hits over eight-plus innings for Baltimore.
Many in the crowd of 42,704 came to see the major league debut of Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters, who went 0 for 4. That might have been the only negative for the Orioles, who stretched their season-high winning streak to five games.
Since coming off the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday, Scott has five home runs and 12 RBIs in three games. His second consecutive two-homer game included his first grand slam, a third-inning shot that put Baltimore up 5-0.
Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 3
TORONTO – Scott Rolen and Rod Barajas each had two RBIs, right-hander Casey Janssen won for the first time in more than two years and Toronto beat Boston to snap a nine-game losing streak.
The Blue Jays returned home after losing all nine games on a three-city trip to Boston, Atlanta and Baltimore that dropped them from first to third in the AL East. Toronto won its fifth straight at Rogers Centre, where it is 17-6 overall.
Janssen (1-1), who missed last season after shoulder surgery, started for the second time since being called up from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Scott Downs finished for his sixth save.
J.D. Drew homered for Boston. Tim Wakefield (6-3) was the loser.
Rays 5, Twins 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford homered, helping Tampa Bay end a season-high, five-game losing streak.
James Shields (4-4) allowed two runs and seven hits in seven-plus innings to get his first win since May 3. The right-hander gave up a solo homer to Michael Cuddyer in the sixth and a second run that scored on Justin Morneaus RBI double off reliever J.P Howell in the eighth. Randy Choate pitched the ninth for his first major league save.
Longoria boosted his major league-leading RBI total to 54 with his three-run homer off Scott Baker (2-6), snapping a 1-1 tie in the sixth. Minnesotas Joe Mauer had a single, double and triple to boost his average to .417.
White Sox 11, Royals 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jermaine Dyes first-inning homer ignited a 17-hit attack and Chicago trounced reeling Kansas City.
Everyone in Chicagos starting lineup had at least one hit and scored at least one run. Everybody drove in a run except Brian Anderson and Jim Thome – who has 1,514 career RBIs. Alexei Ramirez, A.J. Pierzynski and Josh Fields each had three hits.
Clayton Richard (2-0) went seven innings for his second straight victory. He gave up six hits, including Billy Butlers two-run homer, walked only one and struck out seven. Brian Bannister (4-2) was the loser.
