MLB ROUNDUP | Thursday’s other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Yankees 5, Red Sox 0

NEW YORK — Chien-Ming Wang took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, Robinson Cano homered twice off Curt Schilling and the New York Yankees beat Boston Thursday for their third straight win over the Red Sox. Wang (16-6) and a pair of rookie relievers combined on a two-hitter in a game that included two ejections. Derek Jeter went 4-for-4. Boston manager Terry Francona was ejected in the seventh inning after umpires reversed a call and ruled Kevin Youkilis out for running out of the basepaths to elude a tag by third baseman Alex Rodriguez on J.D. Drew’s sharp grounder. The Yankees closed within five games of the AL East leaders and put themselves in position to possibly end the day in the wild-card lead. Schilling (8-6) allowed six hits in seven innings, dropping to 0-2 against the Yankees this season.

Tigers 6, Royals 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Curtis Granderson and Magglio Ordonez each homered and got three hits, and Jeremy Bonderman halted his six-game losing streak as Detroit avoided a sweep. Bonderman (11-7) went seven innings and gave up six hits and one run, his best outing since beating Seattle on July 13. Granderson and Ordonez each homered in a four-run fifth inning for the Tigers. Ordonez had three RBIs and was 3-for-4, raising his major league-leading batting average to .359. The Tigers had won 14 of 15 at Kauffman Stadium before dropping the first two games of this series and slipping 41⁄2 back of the Indians. Royals starter Leo Nunez (2-2) went 6 1-3 innings. He was charged with six runs and 12 hits with no walks and six strikeouts. He lost for the first time in six career decisions at home.

Devil Rays 8, Orioles 6.

BALTIMORE — The Tampa Bay Devil Rays completed their first road sweep in more than two years, getting a three-run homer from B.J. Upton in a victory over Baltimore that extended the Orioles’ losing streak to nine games. Josh Wilson and Akinori Iwamura also homered for the Devil Rays, who trailed in all three games of the series. Tampa Bay’s last road sweep came in Cleveland on Aug. 12-14, 2005, and the Devil Rays hadn’t won three straight on the road since September of the same season. Nick Markakis and Kevin Millar homered for the Orioles, who won the opener of a 10-game homestand before a 30-3 loss to Texas began a skid on the same day the team announced manager Dave Trembley would return in 2008. It was the worst 10-game homestand in Orioles history, surpassing a 2-8 mark in September 1987. Baltimore has been outscored 98-38 during the nine-game losing streak, which matches a season high. The last time it happened, in mid-June, the Orioles fired manager Sam Perlozzo after the run reached eight.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Phillies 11, Mets 10

PHILADELPHIA — Chase Utley hit an RBI single off Billy Wagner in the ninth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies completed a huge sweep of the first-place New York Mets by rallying for a victory Thursday in one of the wildest games of the season. By winning four straight against the Mets, Philadelphia moved within two games of the NL East leaders and suddenly set up an exciting September pennant race. Mets nemesis Pat Burrell homered twice. Ryan Howard and Aaron Rowand also connected for the Phillies, who wasted leads of 5-0 and 8-5 before falling behind 10-8 in the eighth. That’s when the Mets called on the struggling Wagner, who hadn’t pitched since last Friday after experiencing a tired arm. Looking for his first six-out save in eight years, Wagner (2-2) gave up Burrell’s solo shot in the eighth and pinch-hitter Tadahito Iguchi’s tying single in the ninth. Jayson Werth sparked the rally by stealing second and third on consecutive pitches with one out. Iguchi also had a key stolen base before Utley’s hit ended a game that lasted exactly 4 hours. It was Philadelphia’s first four-game sweep over any team since doing it against the Mets in September 2003 at old Veterans Stadium. The Phillies have sliced five games off New York’s lead with five straight wins while the Mets have lost five in a row. Tom Gordon (2-2) pitched a scoreless inning for the win.

Astros 2, Cardinals 1

HOUSTON — Matt Albers pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Lance Berkman homered for the second consecutive game and Houston beat St. Louis. Albers (4-6) shut down the Cardinals for the second time this season. He earned his first major league victory in St. Louis on May 5, giving up three hits in 7 1-3 innings for a 13-0 win. Brad Lidge pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 14th save. Joel Pineiro (3-2) lost for the first time in five starts.

Cubs 5, Brewers 4.

CHICAGO — Matt Murton and Alfonso Soriano hit back-to-back homers off Chris Capuano in the sixth inning and the Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers to push their lead in the NL Central back to 21⁄2 games. Chicago took two of three in their final series of the season with the second-place Brewers. St. Louis, which lost to Houston on Thursday, is three games behind. Murton, who entered the game in a double switch in the top of the inning, hit his fifth homer to break a 3-3 tie with two out. One pitch later, Soriano connected on his team-leading 19th and first since coming off the disabled list Tuesday. The Cubs’ star had struck out in his first three at-bats. Capuano (5-12) suffered his franchise-record 12th straight loss while making his second relief appearance of the season. He made 23 starts in the rotation and began the season 5-0, but is 0-12 in his last 16 appearances.

Associated Press