NEW YORK – Karim Garcia homered for the third straight game, and the New York Yankees overcame a sloppy seventh inning to beat the Kansas City Royals 6-3 on Tuesday night.

Alfonso Soriano and Bernie Williams also homered as the Yankees won their sixth in a row, and seventh in their last eight games to move a season-high 30 games over .500.

Andy Pettitte (15-7) took a shutout into the seventh, but was undone by three errors – two by Soriano. The left-hander allowed three runs – one earned – and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings to win for the 10th time in his last 11 decisions.

Jeff Nelson struck out two in 1 1-3 perfect innings and Mariano Rivera worked the ninth for his 26th save in 32 chances.

New York, which moved a season-high 61/2 games up on Boston in the AL East, looks for a three-game sweep of AL Central-leading Kansas City on Wednesday.

Trailing 6-0 in the seventh, the Royals took advantage of three Yankees miscues and scored three times.

Raul Ibanez led off with a sharp grounder to second that Soriano fielded, but his throw to first couldn’t be handled by first baseman Nick Johnson and the ball bounced into the stands. The play was ruled a single and an error on the throw.

Joe Randa followed with a single to center, scoring Ibanez from second. Ken Harvey singled, but Pettite struck out Mendy Lopez and Mike DiFelice flied out. Pettitte appeared to be out of the inning when Desi Relaford grounded to first, but the ball bounced over Johnson’s glove and through his legs and rolled into right field as Randa scored to make it 6-2.

Angel Berroa followed with a grounder to second that Soriano couldn’t handle, and Harvey came home on the error. Nelson relieved and got Mike Sweeney on a grounder back to the mound to escape further damage.

Devil Rays 9, Orioles 2

BALTIMORE – Rocco Baldelli drove in three runs to back a fine pitching performance by Jeremi Gonzalez, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays handed the Baltimore Orioles their eighth straight loss, 9-2 Tuesday night.

Baldelli doubled in a first-inning run and gave Tampa Bay the lead for good with a two-out, two-run single in the seventh.

Julio Lugo and Jared Sandberg homered in a five-run ninth.

The Devil Rays, who have won six of eight and are 19-13 since the All-Star break, improved to 11-6 against Baltimore this year. Tampa Bay started the Orioles’ season-long eight-game skid with a three-game sweep last week.

Mariners 9, Blue Jays 1

TORONTO – Edgar Martinez continued his torrid hitting against Kelvim Escobar, hitting a three-run homer and driving in four runs as the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-1 Tuesday night.

Martinez went 2-for-3 off Escobar, raising his career average against him to .520 (13-for-25).

The 40-year-old designated hitter went 4-for-5 in the game, raising his season average to .311. His 22nd homer, a three-run shot off Escobar, gave Seattle a 4-1 lead in the fifth.

Bret Boone homered and reached base four times for the Mariners, who remained four games ahead of second-place Oakland in the AL West. The Athletics beat Boston 3-2.

Boone’s 32nd homer, a two-run shot off Dan Reichert in the seventh, made it 7-1. Boone went 3-for-4 and was hit by a pitch.

The Blue Jays have lost three straight, falling to three games below .500 for the first time since May 15.

Rangers 5, Tigers 4

DETROIT – Alex Rodriguez hit a three-run homer and tripled as the Texas Rangers won their seventh-straight game, 5-4 over the Detroit Tigers Tuesday night.

Detroit has lost seven straight and 11 of 12, falling a franchise-worst 62 games under .500 at 31-93. The Tigers, 6-26 since the All-Star break, have had six losing streaks of seven or more games this year and need to win five of their next 11 to avoid losing 100 games before Sept. 1.

John Thomson (11-10) improved to 4-0 in his last six starts, giving up four runs and 11 hits in eight-plus innings.

Twins 8, Indians 2

CLEVELAND – Johan Santana stayed hot in August with eight strong innings and Matt LeCroy hit a three-run homer, leading the Minnesota Twins over the Cleveland Indians 8-2 Tuesday night.

Santana (7-3) struck out a season-high 10 and allowed eight hits. The left-hander is 3-0 this month and has given up just four earned runs in his last 30 innings.

LeCroy’s homer in the sixth inning off Jason Davis (7-10). Dustan Mohr added a two-run homer in the eighth for Minnesota, just 4-8 against Cleveland this season.

It wouldn’t have been a Twins-Indians game without a heated situation. And as usual, it involved Minnesota outfielder Torii Hunter, who struck out against Davis for the final out of the sixth.

Astros 12, Cubs 8

HOUSTON – Jeff Kent homered and drove in six runs, powering the Houston Astros over the Chicago Cubs 12-8 Tuesday night.

With the win, Houston remained a game ahead of St. Louis in the NL Central. The Cardinals beat Pittsburgh 13-5.

Chicago dropped into third place, 11/2 games back.

Brewers 6, Phillies 4

MILWAUKEE – Pinch-hitter Mark Smith hit a tiebreaking three-run home run in the eighth inning after reliever Mike DeJean worked out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the top half, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-4 Tuesday night.

Jim Thome hit his 34th homer for the Phillies, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. With the score 3-all, Richie Sexson singled off reliever Turk Wendell (3-3) to open the eighth. Brady Clark sacrificed him over and Keith Ginter was intentionally walked to set up a possible double play.

Cardinals 13, Pirates 5

ST. LOUIS – Scott Rolen hit a go-ahead, three-run double and a two-run single in a 10-run eighth inning, driving in six runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-5 Tuesday night.

Craig Wilson hit a three-run homer, and Jeff Reboulet and Jack Wilson had solo shots for the Pirates, who lost three of four to the Cardinals in Pittsburgh last week. Albert Pujols, who leads the major leagues with a .371 average and has a 30-game hitting streak, started serving a two-game suspension for punching Gary Bennett of the Padres on July 13.

Pujols, who dropped his appeal, had flu-like symptoms for the third straight day and wasn’t at the ballpark.