AROUND THE HORN Wednesday's other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Yankees 3, Royals 0
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Javier Vazquez pitched New York to its second consecutive shutout, and Derek Jeter homered and doubled twice. Tony Clark also connected for the Yankees. Jason Giambi went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his second game back from the disabled list. He is hitless in his last 28 major league at-bats, the longest slump of his career. Vazquez (14-9) allowed three hits and four walks, striking out seven for his first win in six starts.
Twins 6, White Sox 1
MINNEAPOLIS -- Carlos Silva allowed one hit into the sixth inning before leaving with a bruised right ankle, and Minnesota won its eighth in a row. The Twins' magic number is six. Silva (12-8) allowed just one hit through five innings and was tossing his best game of the season when Joe Crede led off the sixth with a hard grounder back to the mound. The ball caromed off the side of Silva's right leg as he followed through.
Red Sox 8, Devil Rays 6
BOSTON -- Manny Ramirez hit a tie-breaking sacrifice fly, and Kevin Millar and Mark Bellhorn had two-run homers for Boston. Mike Myers (5-1) recorded two outs for the win. Mike Timlin worked a perfect eighth, and Keith Foulke pitched the ninth for his 29th save.
Blue Jays 3, Orioles 0
TORONTO -- Ted Lilly pitched eight scoreless innings, and Toronto ended a four-game losing skid. The Orioles' Matt Riley took a one-hopper off his jaw and collapsed after his second pitch of the game. Riley (1-4) laid on the mound for a few minutes, but stayed in the game, allowing two hits and seven walks in seven innings. Lilly (11-10) won consecutive decisions for the first time since June 8. The All-Star left-hander allowed six hits, struck out six and walked two. Justin Speier pitched the ninth for his sixth save, completing Toronto's 10th shutout of the season. Toronto right fielder Alex Rios prevented the tying run from scoring in the seventh by throwing out a sliding Rafael Palmeiro at the plate.
Rangers 10, Athletics 3
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Mark Teixeira hit a three-run homer as Texas beat Oakland for the second time in three nights. Hank Blalock had a homer and a two-run double, and Alfonso Soriano also homered and drove in two runs for the Rangers. Mark Mulder (17-5) was wild and inconsistent, allowing 11 hits and a season-high eight runs.
Mariners 1, Angels 0
SEATTLE -- Ryan Franklin ended an 11-game losing streak, outpitching John Lackey. Franklin (4-15), who hadn't won in 17 starts since June 5, tied a career best by allowing just two hits. He walked two and struck out four while throwing his second career shutout and third complete game.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Expos 6, Marlins 2Expos 10, Marlins 4
MIAMI -- Tony Batista and Val Pascucci hit three-run homers as Montreal swept Florida. Brad Wilkerson hit his ninth leadoff homer of the season in Montreal's victory in the first game, which featured Brian Schneider getting picked off by Mike Lowell's hidden ball trick. Former Mahoning Valley Scrapper Ryan Church hit his first career home run in the first game.
Phillies 9, Reds 1
CINCINNATI -- Brett Myers pitched six solid innings and drove in the go-ahead run, helping Philadelphia salvage the finale of a three-game series. Pat Burrell hit his 23rd homer in the sixth, his second of the series, then added an RBI single in the eighth to help the Phillies avoid being swept in a three-game series in Cincinnati for the first time since Aug. 4-6, 1995. Jason Michaels added four hits.
Cardinals 4, Astros 2
ST. LOUIS -- Jim Edmonds' sacrifice fly snapped an eighth-inning tie and he also hit his 42nd homer, matching his career best set in 2000. The Cardinals reduced their magic number to four. Houston has lost only four of its last 19 games, but fell two games behind San Francisco in the wild-card race. Albert Pujols started the eighth-inning rally with a one-out single off Russ Springer (0-1). Edgar Renteria followed with a single to snap an 0-for-24 slump, and Pujols went to third when center fielder Carlos Beltran bobbled the ball for an error. Edmonds followed with a liner to center for his 108th RBI. Renteria came around one batter later on a wild pitch.
Diamondbacks 3, Rockies 2
PHOENIX -- Randy Johnson broke Steve Carlton's major league record for strikeouts by a left-hander, fanning 11. Johnson pitched eight innings and finished the night with 4,139 strikeouts, passing Carlton (4,136) for third overall on the career list behind only Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Roger Clemens (4,287).
Braves 2, Mets 0
NEW YORK -- Atlanta cut its magic number to 10 for clinching its 13th straight division title. The Braves won despite getting only four hits, including Marcus Giles' two doubles and a single. The Mets fired manager Art Howe earlier in the day. Howe agreed to remain through the remainder of the season.
Padres 7, Dodgers 3
LOS ANGELES -- Brian Lawrence settled down after a shaky start and Brian Giles had three hits, including a tie-breaking homer, to lead San Diego. The first five Los Angeles batters hit safely, good for three runs, but Lawrence (15-12) allowed only two hits and no runs after that before being lifted for a pinch-hitter. Giles hit his 22nd homer off Wilson Alvarez (7-6) in the sixth inning to snap a 3-3 tie.
Associated Press