NEW YORK – Gary Sheffield hit a three-run homer, Enrique Wilson also connected and the New York Yankees battered the Toronto Blue Jays 10-3 Wednesday night in their first meeting of the season.

The AL East-leading Yankees play the last-place Blue Jays in 19 of their final 70 games. This one was over quickly, with New York taking an early seven-run lead and Alex Rodriguez’s infield single giving every starter a hit by the fifth inning.

Despite playing minus injured Derek Jeter and ailing Jason Giambi, the Yankees sent Toronto to its eighth loss in nine games. Slumping Bernie Williams added a pair of RBI singles for New York before a robust crowd of 53,031.

Sheffield’s three-run shot was his 19th of the season and 398th of his career, tying Dale Murphy and Andres Galarraga for 39th place on the all-time list.

Sheffield made it 9-2, connecting on the first pitch from Bob File after he relieved Pat Hentgen in the third inning.

Hentgen (2-9) extended the longest losing streak of his career to seven decisions.

Rangers 3, Angels 2

ARLINGTON, Texas – Ryan Drese threw seven solid innings in another impressive home start, and Michael Young’s tiebreaking double sent the Texas Rangers to a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Angels.

Alfonso Soriano homered for the AL West-leading Rangers (54-38).

Tigers 4, Royals 2

DETROIT – Ivan Rodriguez, Rondell White and Marcus Thames homered to help the Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2.

Mike Maroth (7-7) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings for the win.

White Sox 14, Indians 0

CLEVELAND – Mark Buehrle retired his first 19 batters and pitched a two-hitter, facing the minimum 27 batters to lead the Chicago White Sox over the Cleveland Indians 14-0.

Buehrle (10-3), who was miffed he didn’t make the AL All-Star team earlier this month, didn’t allow a runner until Omar Vizquel lined a 3-2 pitch out of the reach of shortstop Jose Valentin with one out in the seventh.

Twins 12, Devil Rays 2

MINNEAPOLIS – Backup catcher Henry Blanco went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, helping the Minnesota Twins forget their batting woes for a night in a 12-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Cubs 5, Reds 4

CHICAGO – Sammy Sosa hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning following a rain delay, and the Chicago Cubs overcame a two-run deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 and stop a three-game losing streak.

Sosa hit his 18th homer of the year off Todd Van Poppel (3-4) as Chicago won for only the fourth time in its last 13 games,

Todd Wellemeyer (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings, stranding the bases loaded in the seventh when he threw a called third strike past John Vander Wal in the pouring rain just before a 54-minute delay. Vander Wal had fouled off three straight 3-2 pitches.

LaTroy Hawkins pitched ninth for his 13th save in 17 chances. Derrek Lee and Moises Alou hit two-run homers for Chicago.

Pirates 4, Braves 2

ATLANTA – Kris Benson made another enticing start before the trade deadline, pitching eight strong innings to lead the streaking Pittsburgh Pirates over the Atlanta Braves 4-2.

Tike Redman had three RBIs for the Pirates, including a two-run homer. Benson, in the final year of his contract and unlikely to re-sign with the Pirates, is being scouted by about a half-dozen teams as the July 31 deadline approaches for trades without waivers. After the first, Benson (8-7) didn’t give up a hit until Andruw Jones’ opposite-field single with one out in the eighth.

Phillies 2, Marlins 1

PHILADELPHIA – Ricky Ledee hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning and Kevin Millwood pitched seven strong innings, helping Philadelphia beat Florida 2-1 on Wednesday to end the Phillies’ nine-game losing streak against the Marlins.

Ledee, starting in left field for the struggling Pat Burrell, also made an outstanding leaping catch on a drive by Damion Easley in the fifth that appeared headed over the wall.

The Phillies, who blew a slim wild-card lead over World Series champion Florida down the stretch last season, hadn’t beaten the Marlins since Sept. 18 at the now-demolished Veterans Stadium, losing six straight this season and 18 of 20 overall.

Philadelphia moved one game ahead of Atlanta in the NL East. The Marlins are three games behind in a four-team race that includes the New York Mets.

Mets 5, Expos 4

NEW YORK – Nick Johnson dropped a routine throw to first base with two outs in the eighth inning Wednesday night, allowing Ty Wigginton to score the go-ahead run for the New York Mets in their 5-4 victory over the Montreal Expos.

Cardinals 1, Brewers 0

ST. LOUIS – Woody Williams threw seven innings of five-hit ball in 93-degree heat, singled twice and scored in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 1-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.