MLB ROUNDUP \ Sunday’s other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Twins 1, Rangers 0

MINNEAPOLIS — Johan Santana finished with a franchise-record 17 strikeouts in eight innings. Santana’s 17 strikeouts were the most in the majors since Ben Sheets fanned 18 in Milwaukee’s 4-1 win over Atlanta on May 16, 2004, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He broke the Minnesota record of 15, accomplished four times — the last by Bert Blyleven Aug. 1, 1986, against Oakland. Santana (13-9) retired the first 12 batters he faced before Sammy Sosa led off the fifth with a single to left-center. Sosa also doubled with two outs in the seventh for Texas’ only other hit against the left-hander. Joe Nathan pitched a scoreless ninth for his 27th save in 29 chances.

Angels 3, Red Sox 1

BOSTON — Joe Saunders took a shutout into the eighth inning and the Angels gained a split of the four-game series between the teams with baseball’s best records. In his 26th major league start, Saunders (7-1) scattered six hits and allowed just two runners to reach second base in 72⁄3 innings. The 26-year-old left-hander struck out seven, walked two and was charged with one run. Boston’s lead in the AL East dropped to four games over the New York Yankees, who beat Detroit for the third straight day. The last time Boston held a smaller lead was on May 1 when the margin was 31⁄2 games. Julian Tavarez (6-9) allowed just two runs and two hits in six innings for the Red Sox. Francisco Rodriguez struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 31st save in 35 chances.

Yankees 9, Tigers 3

NEW YORK — Johnny Damon hit a tiebreaking homer and New York got lights-out relief pitching from a pair of rookies in a win over Detroit. Wilson Betemit had four RBIs and Hideki Matsui drove in three early runs for the surging Yankees, who took the final three meetings in a key four-game series between AL playoff contenders. With his 1,149th win as manager of the Yankees, Joe Torre tied Hall of Famer Casey Stengel for second place on the franchise list behind Joe McCarthy (1,460). Chien-Ming Wang (14-6) gave up three runs and nine hits in six inconsistent innings. Joba Chamberlain and Edwar Ramirez combined for three perfect innings to finish it. Jeremy Bonderman (10-6) fell to 0-5 in his last seven starts. He walked five batters in six innings.

Blue Jays 3, Orioles 2, 10 innings

TORONTO — Aaron Hill hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to lift Toronto to the win. Vernon Wells led off the 10th with an infield single off Chad Bradford (2-6) and advanced to second on Frank Thomas’ groundout. Troy Glaus singled before Hill lofted a fly ball to left to drive in Wells with the winning run. Scott Downs (2-2) pitched one inning for the win. A baserunning gaffe cost the Orioles a chance to score in the 10th. Brian Roberts drew a one-out walk and went to third on a single by pinch-hitter J.R. House, but House was thrown out at first after making too wide of a turn. Nick Markakis then grounded out to end the inning. Baltimore leads the American League with 24 one-run defeats.

Athletics 6, Royals 1

OAKLAND, Calif. — Lenny DiNardo allowed five hits in eight innings and Oakland avoided being swept by Kansas City at home for the first time in almost two decades. DiNardo (8-6) won his third straight start and fifth consecutive decision, and Marco Scutaro and Dan Johnson each homered for Oakland. The Royals missed a chance for their first three-game sweep in Oakland since June 14-16, 1988, which would have been only the club’s fourth overall here. Kansas City last swept the A’s in Kansas City from May 18-20, 1999. Kyle Davies (1-2) allowed two runs and six hits in five innings, struck out four and walked three for Kansas City.

Mariners 11, White Sox 5

SEATTLE — Jose Guillen homered and drove in five runs to help the Mariners finish off a sweep of Chicago. Adrian Beltre added a solo shot in the first, and everyone in the Mariners’ lineup except for Raul Ibanez and Jose Lopez had at least one hit by the time Chicago starter Jon Garland was pulled with two outs in the third. Garland (8-9) was pounded for 10 hits and 10 runs — only five were earned — and fell to 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA in his four starts this month. It was the second time Garland failed to last three innings this month, getting pulled after just four outs against the Yankees on Aug. 2. Seattle starter Felix Hernandez (9-6) gave up four earned runs and 10 hits, but lasted into the seventh for his third straight victory.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Braves 6, Diamondbacks 2

ATLANTA — Mark Teixeira drove in four runs with two homers and John Smoltz became the Braves’ strikeout leader. Smoltz, 40, passed Phil Niekro as the Braves’ franchise strikeout leader. He set a season high with 12 strikeouts while giving up five hits, three walks and two runs in eight innings. Yunel Escobar added a homer as the Braves scored six runs on seven hits — each for extra bases — in the first four innings. Bob Wickman got Orlando Hudson to ground out with the bases loaded in the ninth to end it. The Braves ended Arizona’s four-game winning streak. Smoltz (11-6) earned only his second win since June. His 12 strikeouts are his high since fanning 15 New York Mets batters on April 10, 2005.

Mets 8, Nationals 2

WASHINGTON — Carlos Beltran homered twice and drove in four runs as the Mets completed a three-game sweep. Orlando Hernandez (8-4) allowed two runs and three hits in seven innings for the Mets, who have won four straight overall. El Duque has won four straight decisions and hasn’t lost since July 4.

Giants 6, Marlins 5

MIAMI — Guillermo Rodriguez, Ryan Klesko and Rajai Davis all scored after a trio of Florida errors in the seventh inning. Ray Durham hit his 10th home run and Kevin Frandsen added his third for San Francisco, which has won four straight. Vinnie Chulk (5-4) got the win after retiring two batters in the sixth, and former Youngstown State pitcher Brad Hennessey stranded runners on the corners in the ninth for his 12th save in 14 chances.

Reds 7, Brewers 6

MILWAUKEE — Pinch-hitter Javier Valentin’s bases-loaded, two-run double in the eighth inning helped Cincinnati send the Brewers to their sixth loss in seven games. Valentin hit a 3-2 pitch from Scott Linebrink (4-4) to the left-center field wall, scoring Jeff Conine and Edwin Encarnacion to give the Reds their first lead in the game.

Padres 5, Astros 3

SAN DIEGO — Greg Maddux held Houston to two hits in six innings and had two hits. It was the first time this season that the 41-year-old Maddux (9-9) won consecutive starts. He earned the 342nd win of his career, tying Tim Keefe for ninth on the all-time list.

Dodgers 4, Rockies 3

LOS ANGELES — Ramon Martinez hit a go-ahead two-run single in the eighth inning and finished with three RBIs as Los Angeles took two of three from Colorado. Todd Helton gave the Rockies a 3-2 lead in the eighth with a two-run homer deep into the right-field pavilion against reliever Scott Proctor (2-0). The homer was Helton’s 12th of the season and No. 298 for his career. Takashi Saito pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out the side for his 33rd save in 36 attempts.

Associated Press