mlb roundup \ Thursday’s other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Twins 11, Rays 8

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Evan Longoria hit three home runs for Tampa Bay but Alexi Casilla went deep in Minnesota’s five-run ninth inning, helping the Twins rally. Minnesota ended a four-game skid and pulled within 11‚Ñ2 games of the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox. Casilla’s two-run drive off Dan Wheeler (4-4) tied it at 8. Adam Everett’s pinch-hit RBI double put Minnesota ahead before Delmon Young added a run-scoring single and Matt Tolbert followed with a sacrifice fly.

Yankees 9, White Sox 2

NEW YORK — Bobby Abreu homered twice and drove in six runs and Mike Mussina kept up his hopes for a 20-win season. Mussina (18-9) earned his 268th win, tying Hall of Famer Jim Palmer for 33rd on the career list. He gave up one run and five hits in six-plus innings, and still has a chance for his first career 20-win season with starts left at Toronto and Boston. The White Sox have lost seven of 11.

Angels 6, A’s 4

OAKLAND, Calif. — Kendry Morales, Mike Napoli and Brandon Wood hit consecutive home runs in a span of four pitches from Keith Foulke in the seventh inning and Los Angeles withstood a late rally.

Royals 12, Mariners 0

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Zack Greinke combined with two pitchers on a three-hitter and Mike Aviles hit a three-run homer as Kansas City completed its first four-game sweep of Seattle in 19 years. The Royals led 9-0 after four innings, roughing up Ryan Feierabend (1-4) on its way to its first four-game sweep of the Mariners since Aug. 17-20, 1989, in Seattle.

Blue Jays 3, Orioles 2

TORONTO — Pinch-hitter Gregg Zaun doubled home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning, Jose Bautista homered and the Blue Jays beat the Orioles. The last-place Orioles have lost 19 of 22 games and dropped their past nine series overall.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Mets 7, Nationals 2

WASHINGTON — Johan Santana took a shutout into the seventh inning, Brian Schneider went deep twice for his first multihomer game in 51‚Ñ2 years and the Mets beat the Nationals. Santana (14-7) improved to 7-0 with a 2.26 ERA over his last 14 starts. He gave up one run and eight hits, striking out eight in seven innings. That last number is perhaps the most significant, because New York’s no-lead-is-safe relief corps only had to record six outs.

Cubs 7, Brewers 6, 12 innings

CHICAGO — Geovany Soto hit a tying three-run homer with two out in the ninth inning, Derrek Lee singled in the winning run in the 12th and the Cubs beat Milwaukee to move closer to the NL Central title. The Cubs’ magic number for winning their second straight division championship was reduced to two as they sent the Brewers to a crushing defeat. The Brewers took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth before Chicago staged an improbable four-run rally with two outs against Salomon Torres, capped by Soto’s three-run drive.

Phillies 4, Braves 3

ATLANTA — Pat Burrell hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning and the Philadelphia completed an unprecedented sweep of the nine-game season series in Atlanta. The Phillies remained a half-game ahead of the Mets in the NL East with their season-best seventh straight win.

Marlins 8, Astros 1

MIAMI — John Baker drove in four runs and scored two, leading Florida over Houston for its eighth straight victory. The Marlins, who are on their longest winning streak since they won nine consecutive in 2006, are tied with the Astros in the NL wild-card race, five games behind the leading New York Mets. Houston has struggled since Hurricane Ike hit the Gulf Coast. The Astros had won six straight and 14 of 15 before the storm, but have since dropped five straight.

Cardinals 5, Reds 4

CINCINNATI — Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer and Kyle Lohse won his first start since coming off a suspension as the Cardinals snapped a season-high seven-game losing streak. Lohse (14-6) matched his career high for wins after serving a five-game suspension from Sept. 10-14 for throwing a pitch near the head of Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez — his opponent Thursday — on Aug. 17 at St. Louis.

Associated Press