MLB Roundup: Wednesday’s other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Yankees 4, Rays 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Hank Steinbrenner criticized the Yankees, and Joe Girardi held a pregame team meeting with his struggling team. New York responded with a win. Robinson Cano went 4-for-4 and drove in a run to back the pitching of Mike Mussina, helping the Yankees end the Tampa Bay Rays’ six-game winning streak. Mussina (6-3) allowed one run and five hits over 61‚Ñ3 innings to win his fifth consecutive decision. Cano tied a career high with four hits.

Orioles 6, Red Sox 3

BALTIMORE — Jay Payton hit his fourth career grand slam to back a gritty pitching effort by Baltimore’s Daniel Cabrera. Solo homers by Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell, and a defensive gem by Manny Ramirez weren’t enough to prevent the Red Sox from losing their fourth straight.

Mariners 4, Rangers 3, 12 innings

ARLINGTON, Texas — Miguel Cairo had a two-out RBI single in the 12th inning, and the Mariners beat Texas to avoid a sweep and keep the Rangers from reaching .500.

Blue Jays 6, Twins 5

MINNEAPOLIS — Matt Stairs hit a grand slam and Roy Halladay rebounded from a shaky start to help Toronto beat Minnesota. Halladay (4-5) has been the victim of poor run support all season, getting only 3.14 runs per outing entering Wednesday. Stairs’ slam in the first inning gave the right-hander a 4-0 advantage. Boof Bonser (2-5) took the loss.

Royals 2, Tigers 0

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Luke Hochevar pitched six strong innings and Joey Gathright drove in the only runs, helping Kansas City beat Detroit and hand Justin Verlander his seventh loss. Hochevar (3-2), the first overall pick in the 2006 draft, limited the Tigers to four singles while striking out five and walking three. He lowered his earned run average to 3.94 in five starts since being called up from Triple-A Omaha on April 20.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Nationals 5, Mets 3

NEW YORK — Ryan Zimmerman homered and Tim Redding pitched two-hit ball for six innings, sending Washington over the Mets. Jesus Flores hit a tie-breaking single with two outs in the seventh off Aaron Heilman, who was booed on and off the mound by the Shea Stadium crowd. Washington added three more runs in the inning, sticking Claudio Vargas with a tough-luck loss in his Mets debut.

Braves 8, Phillies 6

PHILADELPHIA — Tom Glavine pitched 52‚Ñ3 effective innings to earn his first win for Atlanta since beating the Phillies on Sept. 19, 2002. Chipper Jones, Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson each hit solo homers and Brian McCann drove in three runs to support Glavine (1-1), who spent the previous five seasons with the New York Mets after pitching his first 16 years in Atlanta.

Reds 7, Marlins 6, 10 innings

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati blew a six-run lead in the ninth, but Paul Janish singled home the tie-breaking run in only his second big-league at-bat in the 10th inning. Renyel Pinto (1-2) walked two with two outs before Janish, who arrived from the minors earlier in the day, singled to right field to end it, raising his right fist in triumph. Jared Burton (2-1) pitched a perfect 10th for the win. The Reds matched their season high with their third straight win, all against a Marlins team that came to town on a a seven-game winning streak.

Cubs 8, Padres 5

CHICAGO — Ted Lilly struck out 11 in six innings to win his third straight start, and Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto homered to lead Chicago over San Diego. Backed by three RBIs apiece from Soriano and Soto, Lilly (4-4) allowed six hits and four runs in six innings.

Associated Press