MLB ROUNDUP \ Wednesday’s other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Red Sox 5, Devil Rays 4

BOSTON — David Ortiz hit his second homer of the game, a two-run drive that barely cleared the low right-field wall in the ninth inning. Ortiz drove in all five Red Sox runs. After hitting a three-run shot in the third inning, Ortiz hit his 31st homer with one out to win it. Julio Lugo drew a leadoff walk and Ortiz connected off Al Reyes (2-3). Jonathan Papelbon (1-2) got the win. A night after the Devil Rays wasted an 8-1 lead, they blew an early 4-0 edge.

Yankees 4, Blue Jays 1

TORONTO — Mike Mussina pitched shutout ball into the sixth inning in his return to the rotation as New York won its seventh straight game. Mussina (9-10) made his first start since Aug. 27 and gave up five singles in 52⁄3 innings. He struck out one, walked three and won for the first time since Aug. 11 at Cleveland. Mussina improved to 22-11 in 40 career starts against Toronto, the team he’s beaten the most in his career. The Blue Jays lost their fifth in a row overall.

Tigers 5, Rangers 1

DETROIT — Magglio Ordonez hit a three-run home run, Gary Sheffield had a two-run homer and Justin Verlander allowed only a run, leading Detroit over Texas. The Tigers have won seven of nine. Verlander (17-5) became the first Detroit pitcher to win at least 17 games in consecutive seasons since Jack Morris in 1986-87. The reigning AL Rookie of the Year, who was 17-9 last season, gave up seven hits, a walk and struck out seven. He has won four straight starts, combining to allow just three runs.

Royals 6, Twins 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Gil Meche won for the first time in almost two months, and David DeJesus and Mark Teahen homered as Kansas City snapped a seven-game losing streak. Meche (8-12) allowed two runs and five hits in 62⁄3 innings, earning his first win since he beat Detroit on July 20. He was 0-6 with three no-decisions in his previous nine starts. DeJesus hit an RBI triple off Carlos Silva in the second and added a two-run homer in the sixth off Kevin Slowey, giving him a career-best 57 RBIs. Silva (11-14) allowed three runs and five hits in two innings before departing with a pulled right groin. Teahen had a single, double and solo homer as the Royals picked up their 63rd victory, guaranteeing that for the first time in four seasons they will not lose 100 games.

Angels 18, Orioles 6

BALTIMORE — Garret Anderson homered and had five RBIs and Kelvim Escobar earned his 17th win despite yielding six runs for Los Angeles. Vladimir Guerrero drove in four runs and Brandon Wood hit his first major league homer for the Angels. Escobar (17-7) was staked to a 5-0 lead before he threw his first pitch. Although the right-hander lasted only 51⁄3 innings, the Angels made it easy for him to earn his 100th career win. Baltimore starter Daniel Cabrera (9-16) gave up a career-high 10 runs, eight earned, in 41⁄3 innings.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cubs 3, Astros 2

HOUSTON — Rich Hill allowed three hits over seven innings as Chicago moved into a tie with Milwaukee for the Central lead. Hill (9-8) struck out seven and walked three as the Cubs won for the third time in seven games and snapped a four-game losing streak at Minute Maid Park. Ryan Dempster earned his 26th save in 29 chances despite allowing a run in the ninth inning. Cliff Floyd hit a solo homer in the second and tripled in the fourth off Houston starter Matt Albers (4-8).

Mets 4, Braves 3

NEW YORK — Shawn Green hit a tie-breaking single in the eighth inning and New York tightened its grip on first place in the East. Marlon Anderson homered off John Smoltz to help the Mets win for the 10th time in 12 games. Jose Reyes drove in one run and scored another. The Braves played without slugger Chipper Jones (strained muscle) all series. The Mets led 3-1 with two outs and nobody on in the eighth, but Atlanta rallied to tie it on Jeff Francoeur’s two-run single off Guillermo Mota (2-1). Billy Wagner worked a perfect ninth for his 34th save.

Rockies 12, Phillies 0

PHILADELPHIA — Matt Holliday lined into a triple play, then hit a three-run homer his next time up in Colorado’s romp. The Rockies posted the most-lopsided road shutout in team history — they won 11-0 at San Diego on Sept. 13, 2000. Four Colorado pitchers combined on a four-hitter against the league’s top-scoring team. Mark Redman (1-4) allowed two hits over five innings. Phillies rookie starter Kyle Kendrick (8-4) left in the fourth inning with a bruised knee after getting hit by Garrett Atkins’ line drive. X-rays were negative and Kendrick was day-to-day.

Marlins 5, Nationals 4, 12 innings

MIAMI — Todd Linden singled in pinch-runner Reggie Abercrombie with two outs in the 12th inning to lift Florida to the victory. Byung-Hyun Kim tied a career high with 10 strikeouts in 52⁄3 innings for the Marlins. He gave up four runs and seven hits. Daniel Barone (1-2), the last of seven Florida pitchers, pitched a scoreless inning to get the win.

Reds 5, Cardinals 1

CINCINNATI — Bronson Arroyo allowed one run over six innings and Edwin Encarnacion had a homer and three RBIs as Cincinnati handed St. Louis its season-high sixth straight loss. Brandon Phillips also homered for the Reds. Arroyo (9-14) allowed six hits with no walks and five strikeouts in six innings to pick up his fourth win in his last five decisions.

Associated Press