KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kevin Appier reintroduced himself to the Kauffman Stadium crowd with six innings of three-hit ball as the Kansas City Royals routed New York 11-0 and won their first home series from the Yankees since 1993.

Mike Sweeney drove in four runs and Brent Mayne had four hits and two RBIs for the Royals, whose $41 million payroll is less than one-quarter of the $180 million carried by the Yankee franchise that has dominated them for almost a decade.

Rangers 7, Tigers 3

ARLINGTON, Texas – Rafael Palmeiro hit a three-run homer and Alex Rodriguez had a two-run shot as the Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers 7-3.

Palmeiro’s 29th homer in the second inning gave the Rangers a 6-1 lead. Rodriguez’s 32nd put Texas ahead 2-0 in the first.

Devil Rays 6, Orioles 5

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – After Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella was ejected during a hat-kicking tirade in the ninth inning, the Devil Rays beat Baltimore 6-5 on Travis Lee’s RBI double in the 10th. Carl Crawford had three of Tampa Bay’s team-record six stolen bases.

Angels 2, White Sox 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Tim Salmon hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth inning, and Jarrod Washburn outpitched Mark Buehrle as the Anaheim Angels beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1.

Buehrle (10-12) gave up hits to all three batters he faced in the eighth. Singles by Alfredo Amezaga and Garret Anderson put runners at the corners and Salmon lined the left-hander’s 98th and last pitch to the wall in right-center.

Francisco Rodriguez (6-2) got the victory, allowing one hit over 1 2-3 innings.

National League

Cubs 6, Astros 4

CHICAGO – Moises Alou hit a three-run homer and Chicago’s bullpen didn’t allow a run over the final 4 2-3 innings as the Cubs beat the Houston Astros 6-4 Wednesday.

The Cubs moved within 11/2 games of the Astros in the NL Central.

Diamondbacks 3, Reds 1

CINCINNATI – Luis Gonzalez hit a two-run homer, capping an eighth-inning rally that sent the Arizona Diamondbacks to their 16th consecutive win over the Cincinnati Reds, 3-1.The Reds avoided their third straight shutout, but lost for the seventh time in eight games. They have not beaten Arizona since May 21, 2001.

Pirates 6, Cardinals 5

PITTSBURGH – Randall Simon’s pinch-hit single with the bases loaded in the ninth gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 6-5 victory over St. Louis, preventing the Cardinals from gaining a first-place tie in the NL Central.

The Cardinals trailed 2-0, only to go ahead 4-2 with a four-run sixth keyed by Albert Pujols’ second three-run homer in as many nights.

Braves 7, Padres 1

ATLANTA – Mike Hampton extended his winning streak to seven, Chipper Jones and Vinny Castilla homered, and the Atlanta Braves got some payback with a 7-1 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Hampton (10-5) allowed only three hits in eight innings.

Marlins 2, Dodgers 1

MIAMI – Utility infielder Mike Mordecai hit the second game-winning homer by a reserve for the Florida Marlins in as many nights, and they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 in 11 innings.

Third-string catcher Ramon Castro beat the Dodgers with a two-out homer in the 13th inning Tuesday.

Phillies 11, Brewers 4

PHILADELPHIA – Jim Thome homered twice and Kevin Millwood pitched seven solid innings, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to an 11-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Keith Ginter hit a three-run homer for Milwaukee.

Mets 9, Giants 2

NEW YORK – Mike Piazza homered and drove in five runs in his long-awaited return to the lineup, propelling the New York Mets to a 9-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Playing his first major league game since severely straining his right groin May 16 in San Francisco, he grounded out his first time up, then connected for a two-run shot off Jerome Williams in the third inning.

Expos 6, Rockies 5

MONTREAL – After an electrical failure briefly plunged the ballpark into complete darkness, Brian Schnieder and Javier Vazquez provided the power for the Montreal Expos in a 6-5 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Schneider hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and Vazquez had an RBI triple.

and a single after a delay of 1 hour, 16 minutes.