MLB ROUNDUP \ Other Wednesday games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Red Sox 8, Rangers 4

BOSTON — Kevin Youkilis had three doubles as Boston held onto a big lead this time. A day after Youkilis delivered a three-run homer that gave the Red Sox a 19-17 victory, a win that came after they blew a 10-run cushion. Texas trailed 8-0 in the eighth inning this time, and Milton Bradley’s three-run homer made it 8-4. The Rangers then put their first two batters on base in the ninth before Ian Kinsler — leading the majors in hits — grounded into a double play.

Twins 4, Yankees 2

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota’s Delmon Young hit a three-run homer for the second straight day. Kevin Slowey (9-8) pitched six innings, surrendering three hits, one run and one walk against a lineup minus Derek Jeter, who sat out after fouling a ball off his foot Tuesday. Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his 32nd save. The loss was the seventh in 10 games for the Yankees. Joe Mauer walked in the fourth and Justin Morneau followed with a bouncer to third, but Robinson Cano drew an error for leaving the base to catch Alex Rodriguez’s throw. One out later, Young hit his seventh homer off Darrell Rasner (5-9).

White Sox 4, Royals 0

CHICAGO — Ken Griffey Jr. hit an RBI single in the first inning and Mark Buehrle allowed five hits in seven innings to lead Chicago. Jermaine Dye added an RBI double to help keep the White Sox a half-game ahead of Minnesota in the AL Central. The White Sox played without Carlos Quentin for the second straight game. Quentin, who is tied for the major league lead with 32 homers, was struck on the left forearm by a pitch from Josh Beckett on Monday night.

Blue Jays 4, Tigers 3

DETROIT — Vernon Wells hit a grand slam and David Purcey pitched six shutout innings for Toronto. The Blue Jays have won three straight, all in Detroit, while the Tigers have lost 10 of 13. Purcey (2-3) gave up two singles and three walks. He struck out four, and has allowed one earned run in 10 1-3 innings against the Tigers this season. Kenny Rogers (8-10) lost his fourth straight start, giving up four runs, seven hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cubs 10, Braves 2

Cubs 8, Braves 0

ATLANTA — A Cubs fans hoisted a sign proclaiming Turner Field to be “Wrigley Field of the South.” The Cubs played like they were at home as they continued their hot streak on the road. Rich Harden pitched five scoreless innings, Kosuke Fukodome drove in two runs with two hits and the Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves to complete their first sweep of a road doubleheader since 1992. Chicago (73-47) improved to 26 games over .500 for the first time since ending the 1984 season 96-55, and the two wins pushed their road streak to seven straight, their longest since June 12-22, 2004. The shutout came after Geovany Soto and Jim Edmonds homered and Jason Marquis defeated his old team in the Cubs’ 10-2 rout in the opener.

Astros 6, Giants 2

HOUSTON — Mark Loretta walked and was hit by a pitch during a wild sixth inning, and the Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants for their season-high seventh straight victory. The Astros scored six times in the bizarre sixth. San Francisco tied a major league record by hitting three batters, and also issued four walks. Houston won for the 15th time in 19 games.

Cardinals 6, Marlins 4

MIAMI — Troy Glaus went 4-for-4 and Jason LaRue hit a go-ahead double in the seventh inning, leading Braden Looper and the St. Louis Cardinals over the Florida Marlins. LaRue hit a two-out, two-run double with the bases loaded to break a tie at 2. Glaus tried to score from first base on the play and was thrown out at the plate. Looper (11-9) gave up one earned run and five hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out five.

Mets 12, Nationals 0

WASHINGTON — Daniel Murphy added to his stellar start, homering and driving in three runs to help John Maine and the New York Mets rout the Washington Nationals. Murphy went 3-for-6 and scored twice and is batting .467 (14-for-30) since being called up from Triple-A New Orleans on Aug. 2. His RBI single drove in the first run of the eight-run third that gave New York a 10-0 lead. That big inning made it an easy night for Maine (10-7), making his first start since July 28. Maine, on the 15-day disabled list with a mild right rotator cuff strain, allowed one hit in five innings. He struck out six and walked four.

Associated Press