MLB ROUNDUP \ Sunday’s other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Yankees 6, Royals 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alex Rodriguez homered for the fifth straight game, connecting for the seventh time during that span as New York completed a three-game sweep. Chien-Ming Wang earned his 18th win to remain tied for the major league lead, and Jorge Posada hit a tiebreaking, two-run double. Wang (18-6) gave up a three-run double to rookie Alex Gordon but went seven innings to win his fifth start in a row. Against the Royals, the right-hander is 4-0 in six career starts. Mariano Rivera worked the ninth for his 25th save in 28 chances.

Red Sox 3, Orioles 2

BALTIMORE — Josh Beckett allowed two runs in seven innings to earn his 18th victory, and the Red Sox completed another successful season at Camden Yards. Coco Crisp singled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning, Mike Lowell drove in two runs and Dustin Pedroia had three hits for the Red Sox, who went 6-3 in Baltimore this year.

Mariners 14, Tigers 7

DETROIT — Ichiro Suzuki scored in each of the first four innings and the Mariners won for only the second time in 15 games to remain five back of New York in the wild-card race. Raul Ibanez hit a three-run homer, Adrian Beltre had four RBIs and Jose Guillen drove in three runs as Seattle scored 13 times in the first four innings. Detroit’s Curtis Granderson joined Willie Mays and Frank Schulte as the only players in major league history with 20 stolen bases, 20 homers, 20 triples and 20 doubles in a season.

Twins 5, White Sox 2

CHICAGO — Jason Kubel hit a three-run homer and added an RBI single, Johan Santana struck out 10 in seven innings, and the Twins snapped a six-game losing streak. Jim Thome hit his 498th career home run, a solo shot off reliever Juan Rincon in the eighth inning. It’s the third straight game Thome has homered, giving him 26 on the season.

Devil Rays 3, Blue Jays 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena hit consecutive homers in the sixth inning, and James Shields allowed four hits through seven to lead the Devil Rays.

Rangers 12, Athletics 9

ARLINGTON, Texas — Sammy Sosa hit a three-run homer to cap an eight-run second inning, then drove in another run as the Rangers held off the Athletics to complete a three-game sweep. Sosa’s 607th career homer and 19th of the season came on the second pitch he saw from Oakland reliever Colby Lewis. The shot, estimated at 442 feet, landed in the second deck.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Brewers 10, Reds 5

CINCINNATI — The Brewers became only the third team in major league history to open a game with three straight home runs when Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy and Ryan Braun connected off Phil Dumatrait. Weeks and Braun each hit another homer and J.J. Hardy added two doubles — all in the first four innings — to keep Milwaukee in first place in the NL Central.

Mets 4, Astros 1

NEW YORK — Pedro Martinez tossed five shutout innings in his first start at home this season, outpitching Roy Oswalt and leading the Mets past the Astros. Martinez (2-0) had shoulder surgery in October and worked five innings in his return to the majors last Monday at Cincinnati, earning the win. He followed that up with a more impressive outing, scattering six hits and striking out four against the skidding Astros.

Phillies 8, Marlins 5

PHILADELPHIA — Pat Burrell homered and drove in three runs, and the Phillies’ Jamie Moyer overcame one awful inning to remain unbeaten against Florida. Carlos Ruiz also homered for the Phillies, who tagged Dontrelle Willis (8-15) for seven runs in three innings and took two of three from the Marlins.

Rockies 4, Padres 2

DENVER — Garrett Atkins hit a two-run homer and Todd Helton had two of Colorado’s four hits to help the Rockies close within three games of wild card-leading San Diego. Matt Holliday hit his 26th home run for Colorado, and Helton became the first player in major league history to have 35 doubles in 10 consecutive seasons.

Giants 4, Dodgers 2

SAN FRANCISCO — Pinch-hitter Ray Durham hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning and the Giants spoiled another chance for the Dodgers to gain ground in the playoff race. Jeff Kent homered twice against his former club but the Dodgers couldn’t hold a late lead.

Nationals 7, Braves 4

ATLANTA — Ryan Church hit a three-run homer and D’Angelo Jimenez drove in three runs with three hits for the Nationals. Ryan Zimmerman also went deep for Washington. Jason Bergmann (4-5) gave up two hits in the first, including Chipper Jones’ two-run homer, but yielded only two hits and one more run over the next five innings.

Diamondbacks 6, Cardinals 5

PHOENIX — Jose Valverde retired pinch-hitter Yadier Molina with the bases loaded for the final out as Arizona won its fifth straight. Tony Clark’s two-run double capped a four-run rally in the seventh inning that put Arizona up 6-4.

Associated Press