BALTIMORE – Tony Batista ended his longest slump of the season with a grand slam in the first inning, then hit the tiebreaking homer in the eighth to lead the Baltimore Orioles past the Anaheim Angels 6-5 Friday night.

Batista was 0-for-14 over a four-game span before his sixth career slam put the Orioles up 5-0. Then, after Anaheim rallied to tie it, he homered against Francisco Rodriguez (5-2) to put Baltimore ahead to stay.

It was Batista’s 11th career multihomer game, and second this season. The five RBIs tied a career high.

Kerry Ligtenberg (1-1) got three outs in the eighth and Jorge Julio pitched the ninth for his 20th save, and second in two nights.

Astros 5, Reds 3

CINCINNATI – Richard Hidalgo hit two of Houston’s three homers and Roy Oswalt remained unbeaten against the Cincinnati Reds, pitching into the seventh inning as the Astros pulled away to a 5-3 victory Friday.

One night after they lost Ken Griffey Jr. to a season-ending ankle injury, the Reds fell 81/2 games out in the NL Central, their biggest deficit of the season. They’ve gone 7-16 since June 20.

The Astros have opened a lead in the division by dominating the Reds. Houston has won eight consecutive games against Cincinnati, including six this month.

Hidalgo had four hits, including a pair of solo homers off Ryan Dempster (3-7), and Jeff Bagwell hit a three-run shot as Houston won for the eighth time in its last nine games.

Pirates 7, Brewers 2

PITTSBURGH – Aramis Ramirez went 4-for-4 and drove in three runs to support Jeff Suppan’s fourth straight victory and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2 Friday night.

The Pirates, who had lost three of four, scored three times in the third after Glendon Rusch (1-12) quickly retired the first two batters, with Brian Giles hitting a two-run double ahead of Ramirez’s RBI single.

Reggie Sanders had a two-run triple with two outs in the fifth to chase Rusch, who allowed five or more earned runs for the ninth time in 17 starts. Until he allowed five runs and eight hits Friday, the Pirates were the only NL team Rusch had mastered, limiting them to one earned run in 13 innings over two starts.

Devil Rays 2, Rangers 0

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Jeremi Gonzalez allowed five hits over eight sharp innings and Rocco Baldelli had a pair of RBI singles as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Texas Rangers 2-0 Friday night.

Gonzalez (4-4) struck out six and walked one for his first victory since June 17. All-Star closer Lance Carter worked a two-hit ninth for his 16th save in 22 opportunities, finishing Tampa Bay’s third shutout of the season.

The start was delayed 19 minutes to determine if Devil Rays outfielder Carl Crawford was eligible to play.

Crawford had appealed a three-game suspension for his role in a fight with the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 13. He was allowed to remain in the starting lineup Friday after a series of discussions and phone calls made from the Tampa Bay dugout.

Braves 11, Mets 4

ATLANTA – Gary Sheffield went 5-for-5 with two homers and Mike Hampton won his third straight start to lead the Atlanta Braves past the New York Mets 11-4 Friday night.

Sheffield broke out of a 1-for-14 slump by tying a career high for hits, and his homer in the fifth inning was his first since June 27, a span of 58 at-bats. He added a three-run shot in the eighth off Graeme Lloyd and scored four runs.

Hampton (6-5) went seven strong innings a game after Greg Maddux pitched his first complete game in two years. He retired the first seven batters, pitched his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the third, then set down the last five batters he faced.

Expos 3, Phillies 1

PHILADELPHIA – Javier Vazquez scattered nine hits for his 13th career complete game as the Montreal Expos beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 on Friday night.

Vazquez (7-6) struck out seven and walked none to snap a personal three-game losing streak with his first win since June 10. It was the first time this season the right-hander pitched more than seven innings, and his first complete game since June 5, 2002.

Michael Barrett hit a go-ahead RBI double in the sixth and Jose Vidro had three hits for the Expos, who won for just the second time in seven games.

Marlins 6, Cubs 0

MIAMI – Mark Redman allowed four hits in seven innings and combined with two relievers for the Florida Marlins’ sixth shutout with a 6-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.

Ugueth Urbina pitched a perfect eighth in his home debut for the Marlins after being acquired from the Texas Rangers, and Braden Looper pitched the ninth as the Marlins sent the Cubs (47-48) below .500 for the first time this season.

Redman (8-4) struck out nine and walked none, and cruised through the first three innings – striking out five of the nine batters.

Ivan Rodriguez and Derrek Lee homered for the Marlins.

Twins 3, Athletics 2

MINNEAPOLIS – Chris Gomez hit a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning, and Johan Santana took a shutout into the eighth as the Minnesota Twins beat Barry Zito and the Oakland Athletics 3-2 on Friday night.

Gomez went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the Twins’ second straight win after going into the All-Star break with eight consecutive losses.

Santana, in his fifth start of the season, allowed one run, four hits, struck out seven and walked one in 7 1-3 innings but didn’t get the win. LaTroy Hawkins (6-2) pitched two-thirds of an inning in relief for the win, and Eddie Guardado allowed Eric Chavez’s RBI double in the ninth before finishing for his 21st save – his first since June 28.

Mariners 6, Royals 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Ichiro Suzuki hit a grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning off All-Star closer Mike MacDougal, sending the Seattle Mariners to a 6-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

Mike Cameron also homered for the Mariners, who scored five runs off MacDougal (3-4) with two outs in the ninth.

With Seattle trailing 3-1, Edgar Martinez drew a leadoff walk. Ben Davis’ one-out single and Willie Bloomquist’s two-out single loaded the bases. Pinch-hitter John Mabry’s infield single off MacDougal’s left leg made the score 3-2.

It was the sixth blown save in 30 chances for MacDougal. The rookie had converted 10 opportunities in row.

White Sox 7, Tigers 5

CHICAGO – Mark Buehrle won his sixth straight decision and Paul Konerko had a homer and two RBIs as the Chicago White Sox held off the Detroit Tigers 7-5 Friday night.

Buehrle (8-10) has won six of seven starts after losing nine straight decisions. He gave up 10 hits and four runs, one earned, while striking out five and walking one in 6 2-3 innings.

Konerko, a 2002 All-Star who has been in a year-long funk, went 2-for-4, raising his average from .198 to .203. Over his last six games, he is 9-for-22.

The White Sox jumped out to a 5-0 lead against Detroit starter Matt Roney (1-4), who gave up nine hits in five innings.

Yankees 10, Indians 4

NEW YORK – Armando Benitez made a successful debut in pinstripes.

The former Mets closer pitched two innings and held a four-run lead to help preserve Roger Clemens’ 302nd win as the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 10-4 Friday night.

Jason Giambi homered twice, Ruben Sierra also connected and Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run double for New York, which rallied against Cleveland for the second straight night.

Clemens (9-6) failed to hold a 3-0 lead, allowing three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth. But the Yankees rallied for five runs off Brian Anderson (7-7) and Jason Boyd in the sixth.

, an inning interrupted by a 61-minute rain delay.

Benitez entered with an 8-4 lead to a mixture of cheers and boos, and he struggled slightly with his control, throwing balls on 10 of 26 pitches over two innings and falling behind in the count at some point on six of seven batters. He also nearly hit plate umpire Laz Diaz trying to exchange baseballs after his second batter.

But Benitez escaped without allowing any runs, giving up one hit and striking out two. When he blew a 3-2 pitch by Milton Bradley to end the seventh, Yankees captain Derek Jeter gave the reliever a glove slap on the behind as he ran past.

Clemens also had a hectic week as he starts the final half-season of his 20-year career in the major leagues. He was a late All-Star selection, flying around a hurricane to get to Tuesday’s game in Chicago, then went right back home to Houston before traveling on to New York.

He allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings before the rain, and struck out eight, raising his career total to 4,045.

New York went ahead in the second on an error by second baseman John McDonald, who bounced a throw trying to complete what should have been an inning-ending double play on Raul Mondesi’s grounder. Giambi crushed a pitch an inning later for a two-run homer.

But Clemens stumbled in the fourth, when Tim Laker hit an RBI double and scored on a two-run single by McDonald. Ben Broussard, who had been 1-for-9 against Clemens, hit a go-ahead single in the fifth for a 4-3 lead.

Giambi walked leading off the sixth, Bernie Williams tied it with a double and Hideki Matsui hit a sharp single as Williams stopped at third. As rain fell harder, Cleveland manager Eric Wedge made a trip to the mound, and umpires called for the tarp.

Boyd relieved when play resumed and walked Jorge Posada, loading the bases. Mondesi, 2-for-14 this year with the bases full, hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly, Sierra singled for a 6-4 lead and Soriano doubled with two outs.

Giambi homered off the right-field foul pole against Alex Herrera in the seventh.

Notes: The Indians traded OF Shane Spencer and RHP Ricardo Rodriguez to Texas for OF Ryan Ludwick. … Giambi has 22 multihomer games, including three this season. … Clemens, who plans to retire after this season, is 91 strikeouts behind Steve Carlton, who is second on the career list behind Nolan Ryan (5,714). Clemens improved to 27-8 against the Indians. … Antonio Osuna pitched the ninth for New York.

AP-ES-07-18-03 2311EDT