PITTSBURGH – Albert Pujols hit his major league-leading 17th home run, Tony Womack had four hits and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 Wednesday night.

Pujols’ two-run shot in the first inning gave him a home run in four of his last five games and helped the Cardinals win for the sixth time in seven games – including three straight.

St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter (6-1) allowed three runs and seven hits in seven-plus innings, striking out a season-high nine and sending Pittsburgh to its fourth consecutive loss.

Jason Kendall extended his hitting streak to 19 games for Pittsburgh.

Yankees 6, Orioles 5

NEW YORK – Gary Sheffield and Derek Jeter homered, and Ruben Sierra hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly, rallying the New York Yankees over the Baltimore Orioles 6-5.

Baltimore burst ahead with a five-run first inning, knocking out Jose Contreras just two outs into the game. But the Yankees’ bullpen, led by Tanyon Sturtze, held the Orioles scoreless the rest of the way.

Sheffield’s three-run homer closed the early cap and Jeter’s seventh homer pulled New York within a run. Jeter has driven in at least one run in a career-high nine straight games, but he also made a pair of errors at shortstop, giving him a team-high six.

Expos 8, Braves 4

ATLANTA – Backup catcher Einar Diaz drove in his first three runs of the season, and the Montreal Expos beat the Atlanta Braves 8-4 Wednesday night to avoid a three-game sweep.

Diaz had run-scoring singles in the third and fourth, and the Expos scored three runs in each inning off Mike Hampton (1-6). Diaz, who entered the game 4-for-28 (.143), added a sacrifice fly in the eighth and finished 2-for-4.

Rangers 5, Indians 3

CLEVELAND – Gary Matthews Jr. homered leading off the ninth inning and Hank Blalock connected with two outs, leading the Texas Rangers to a 5-3 win on Wednesday over the Cleveland Indians and sweep of the two-game series.

Matthews, who hit an RBI double in the second and a sacrifice fly in the sixth, connected on a 0-1 pitch from Rafael Betancourt (2-4) to break a 3-3 tie.

Mets 5, Phillies 3

PHILADELPHIA – Todd Zeile hit a tying three-run homer in the eighth inning and a two-run drive in the 10th Wednesday night, leading the New York Mets over the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 for a three-game sweep.

A night after Zeile hit the tying homer in the eighth and a go-ahead single in the 10th in New York’s 4-1 win, he did in the Phillies again.

Tigers 2, Royals 0

DETROIT – Jason Johnson pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning and last-minute replacement Brandon Inge homered to lead the Detroit Tigers over the Kansas City Royals 2-0 Wednesday night.

Inge played after catcher Ivan Rodriguez was pulled from the starting lineup because of inflammation in his right wrist. Inge hit a two-run homer in the second inning.

Athletics 3, White Sox 2

OAKLAND, Calif. – Mark Kotsay hit Oakland’s second straight game-ending home run, a 10th-inning drive Wednesday that gave the Athletics a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.

A day after Bobby Kielty’s 12th-inning homer beat the White Sox 6-4, Kotsay pinch hit for Kielty in the eighth inning. Then in the 10th against Jon Adkins (2-2), Kotsay homered for the first time since last Sept. 19 against Colorado.

Reds 3, Marlins 1

MIAMI – Sean Casey singled in the seventh inning to break up Dontrelle Willis’ perfect-game bid, then hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the ninth to lift the Cincinnati Reds over the Florida Marlins 3-1.

Casey’s homer off left-hander Matt Perisho – brought in to face the major leagues’ leading hitter – helped cap a three-game sweep of the Marlins, who hadn’t been swept at home since May 2003.

Padres 2, Rockies 1

SAN DIEGO – Jay Payton hit an RBI single past the glove of diving second baseman Aaron Miles with two outs in the 10th inning and the San Diego Padres beat Colorado 2-1 Wednesday to avoid being swept in consecutive home series.

The Padres started their winning rally when Brian Fuentes (1-2) grazed leadoff batter Sean Burroughs with a 2-2 pitch. Burroughs advanced on Mark Loretta’s sacrifice and Brian Giles’ groundout before scoring on Payton’s hit into right field off Vladimir Nunez, who came in during a double-switch.

Devil Rays 4, Twins 2

MINNEAPOLIS – Tampa Bay rookie Doug Waechter took a no-hit bid into the sixth and threw seven strong innings, leading the Devil Rays to a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.

Waechter (3-5) gave up three hits, two runs and two walks while striking out one.

Rocco Baldelli went 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.

, and Aubrey Huff had two RBIs to help Waechter withstand Corey Koskie’s two-run homer in the seventh.

A 23-year-old right-hander who gave up 14 home runs in his first seven starts this season, Waechter gave the Devil Rays’ struggling staff a big lift after watching the Twins score 16 runs the night before. Tampa Bay brought the third-worst ERA in the majors into this game.

Waechter walked Jose Offerman and Joe Mauer to start the third, but got Cristian Guzman to bounce into a fielder’s choice and Lew Ford to ground into a double play.

In the fifth, Torii Hunter hit a sharp liner that second baseman Rey Sanchez snagged with a quick move to his left. Jacque Jones followed with a deep drive to center field that was caught by Baldelli.

Finally, with two outs in the sixth, Ford singled up the middle for Minnesota’s first hit.

Doug Mientkiewicz started the seventh with an infield single, and Koskie spoiled Waechter’s shutout bid with a shot to right that hit the folded-up football seats.

Danys Baez got five outs for his ninth save in nine chances.

Twins starter Brad Radke (4-3) gave up nine hits and three runs in seven innings without a walk. He struck out three, taking his first loss in seven starts since April 26.

Baldelli singled with two outs in the seventh and made it 3-0 when he scored all the way from first on a long single to right-center by Huff. Sanchez drove in pinch-runner Jose Cruz Jr. with a two-out single in the eighth against J.C. Romero to put the Devil Rays up 4-2.

Sanchez, who is 9-for-16 in his career against Radke, led off the third with a single and scored on a triple by Baldelli. Huff drove him in with a sacrifice fly – a sinking liner to center field that three-time Gold Glove winner Hunter caught on a dive.

Hunter’s left wrist bent awkwardly underneath his body as he slid on the turf and grimaced in pain, but manager Ron Gardenhire and trainer Jim Kahmann checked him out and he stayed in the game.

Notes: Waechter threw the first nine-inning no-hitter in the history of the Tampa Bay organization while pitching for Class-A Hudson Valley on Aug. 10, 2000. He beat Pittsfield in a New York-Penn League game. … Twins 2B Luis Rivas (groin) could be sent on a minor league rehab assignment Thursday. … After a horrible start, Huff is 11-for-24 with nine RBIs in his last six games. He has hit in 11 straight.

AP-ES-06-02-04 2253EDT