KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Torii Hunter drove in three runs for the second straight game and the Minnesota Twins routed the Kansas City Royals again, 14-5.

A.J. Pierzynski had a two-run single on a wild play in the first inning that led to the ejection of Royals catcher Mike DiFelice. Taking the throw from shortstop Angel Berroa after Pierzynski’s pop fly dropped into shallow left, DiFelice appeared to make the tag as Hunter crashed into him.

But Hunter was ruled safe by plate umpire Jerry Layne and DiFelice went into a rage and was tossed. He then stomped into the dugout and began throwing coolers and a trash can onto the field.

Yankees 5, Orioles 4

BALTIMORE – Orioles rookie Jack Cust fell down and was tagged out 10 feet from an uncovered home plate Saturday night, ending a wild 12th-inning rundown and the New York Yankees’ 5-4 win over Baltimore.

Jeff Nelson walked Cust with two outs in the bottom half, and Larry Bigbie doubled to right-center. Cust tried to stop coming around third, but slipped to the ground.

Second baseman Alfonso Soriano made a low relay throw to third, and Cust was caught in a rundown. After a couple of throws, nobody covered the plate for the Yankees, and all Cust had to do to score the tying run was outrace third baseman Aaron Boone.

Cust couldn’t do it. As he saw the clear path to the plate and tried to get into high gear, he stumbled facefirst to the ground and was easily tagged out by Boone.

Athletics 6, Blue Jays 4

OAKLAND, Calif. – Tim Hudson won his fifth straight decision and Jose Guillen homered twice, lifting the Oakland Athletics to a 6-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Hudson left with a bruised right hand after getting hit by a line drive in the seventh inning and was taken for X-rays.

Rangers 12, White Sox 8

ARLINGTON, Texas – Todd Greene hit a three-run homer, Jason Jones and Hank Blalock added two-run shots, and the Texas Rangers rallied after wasting an early five-run lead to defeat the Chicago White Sox 12-8.

The Rangers scored nine runs in three innings against White Sox starter Bartolo Colon (10-11) as Texas improved its record in August to a major league best 11-4.