MLB ROUNDUP | Wednesday's other games

Thursday, August 24, 2006 AMERICAN LEAGUE White Sox 7, Tigers 5 DETROIT — Jim Thome limped off the field in the second inning with a hamstring injury in the Chicago's victory. The White Sox lost the first two matchups in the four-game series with the AL Central-leading Tigers, but bounced back with Joe Crede's two home runs and Jermaine Dye's three-run homer. Chicago, which had lost six of eight, trails the Tigers by 61/2 games in the division and has a slim lead over Minnesota in the wild-card race. Freddy Garcia (12-8) allowed five runs and seven hits over 5 1-3 innings. Thornton and Mike MacDougal combined for 2 2-3 innings of scoreless relief before Bobby Jenks worked the ninth for his 36th save in 38 opportunities. Rookie Zach Miner (7-5) gave up six runs, four hits and two walks over 11/3 innings. Dmitri Young hit a two-run homer for the Tigers. Twins 4, Orioles 1 BALTIMORE — Rookie Matt Garza allowed one unearned run in six innings to earn his first major league victory, and Michael Cuddyer had three hits and two RBIs to lead Minnesota. Torii Hunter homered for the Twins, who got 13 hits off Baltimore starter Rodrigo Lopez (9-13). Minnesota started the day a half-game behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL wild-card race. Garza (1-2) gave up five hits, had one strikeout and one walk. Joe Nathan, the fourth Minnesota reliever, worked the ninth for his 26th save. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was tossed from the game in the top of the fifth by plate umpire Angel Hernandez with Jason Kubel at bat. The ejection occurred while Gardenhire was in the dugout, and the manager emerged to plead his case — to no avail. Devil Rays 7, Rangers 3 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jorge Cantu hit his first homer since July 29 and drove in three runs to lead Tampa Bay. Cantu hit a two-run drive in fifth and a run-scoring double one inning later that gave the Devil Rays a 4-3 lead. He sat out the previous two days and was hitting just .146 since July 24 before going 3-for-4 against Texas. Carl Crawford added a two-run shot in Tampa Bay's three-run seventh. Athletics 6, Blue Jays 0 TORONTO — Esteban Loaiza pitched a four-hitter for his first shutout in more than two years, and Frank Thomas and Milton Bradley homered to lead Oakland. Thomas hit his 475th homer, tying Willie Stargell and Stan Musial for 23rd on the all-time list. Thomas' two-run shot off Gustavo Chacin (6-3) in the first was his 27th homer. Bradley had an RBI double in the first and a two-run shot in the second that made it 5-0. Loaiza (7-7) retired 15 straight batters during one stretch. He struck out seven and walked none for his sixth career shutout and his first since April 18, 2004, versus Tampa Bay. NATIONAL LEAGUE Astros 7, Reds 3 CINCINNATI — Aubrey Huff's bases-loaded single highlighted Houston's wacky seventh-inning rally. Willy Taveras bunted for a single that extended his hitting streak to a club-record 26 games, and Adam Everett homered and drove in a pair of runs for the fading Astros. The defending NL champions won for only the third time in their last 12 games. The Reds had won four in a row but lost their cool during the Astros' six-run rally in the seventh that turned on an ejection. Giants 7, Diamondbacks 6 SAN FRANCISCO — Rookie Eliezer Alfonzo delivered the go-ahead hit for the second straight game and Pedro Feliz ended an 0-for-15 stretch with a tying two-run double in the seventh for the Giants. Alfonzo tripled to right-center moments after Feliz doubled to center against Brandon Lyon (1-3) to tie it at 6. The Giants completed a three-game sweep of the stumbling Diamondbacks, who lost their fourth straight and sixth of seven. Mets 10, Cardinals 8 NEW YORK — After battering Mark Mulder for nine runs in his first major league game since June, the Mets hung on and stretched their winning streak to six. Jose Reyes hit a three-run homer and Chris Woodward had a three-run double as the Mets built an eight-run lead, then nearly gave it back. It was almost a mirror image of Tuesday, when the Mets fell behind 7-1, then rallied for an 8-7 win capped by Carlos Beltran's two-run, ninth-inning homer. Steve Trachsel (13-5) and his bullpen nearly squandered a 10-2 advantage, but Trachsel managed to win his fourth straight decision. Phillies 2, Cubs 1 CHICAGO — Jimmy Rollins doubled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the top of the ninth and the Phillies won their fifth straight. Matt Murton's one-out homer in the bottom of the eighth tied the game at 1-1 for Chicago after Brett Myers (9-6) held the Cubs scoreless on three hits through the first seven innings. Brewers 7, Rockies 1 MILWAUKEE — Ben Sheets threw seven sharp innings and Prince Fielder drove in two runs to lead Milwaukee. Tony Graffanino also had two RBIs for Milwaukee, which won for the fourth time in five games to move within four games of Cincinnati in the NL wild-card race. Marlins 9, Nationals 7 MIAMI — Miguel Cabrera homered twice and drove in four runs, helping the Marlins complete a three-game sweep. Cabrera, who went 3-for-4 and scored three times, became the fifth active player to reach 100 career home runs before his 24th birthday. He also became the sixth-youngest player overall to reach the milestone. Associated Press Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.