By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Vinny Castilla’s triple rattled around in the right-field corner, bringing home the first major league runs in this city in 34 years. Most of the 45,596 fans rose and jumped in place, making ol’ RFK Stadium sway once again.

The national pastime was back in the nation’s capital.

Castilla had three hits and four RBIs, Livan Hernandez was nearly flawless until the ninth, and the first-place Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3.

Devil Rays 12, Orioles 7

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Carl Crawford hit a three-run homer and Travis Lee and Josh Phelps also drove in three runs apiece to lead the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a 12-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

The Devil Rays snapped a three-game losing streak with a season-high 14 hits in support of right-hander Rob Bell (1-0), who allowed nine hits and four earned runs in six innings, including a two-run homer to Melvin Mora.

Mariners 10, Royals 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The road seems a lot smoother for Seattle when it runs through Kansas City.

The Mariners, who struggled away from home last season, got three RBIs apiece from Richie Sexson and Jeremy Reed and beat the punchless Royals 10-2 Wednesday for a three-game sweep.

Mets 4, Astros 3

NEW YORK – Jose Reyes’ speed keyed a three-run New York rally in the seventh inning and the Mets rallied Thursday night to beat the Houston Astros 4-3 for their fourth straight victory.

New York was trailing 3-1 against Brandon Backe when David Wright walked to open the seventh. After Backe struck out Chris Woodward, Victor Diaz doubled.

Blue Jays 2, Rangers 1

ARLINGTON, Texas – Roy Halladay pitched a five-hitter for his 16th career complete game, and pinch-hitter Russ Adams drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI groundout to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 2-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Thursday night.

Halladay (2-0) started the night with a 9.20 ERA in six career appearances at the Rangers’ hitter-friendly ballpark, but he was in control as he struck out nine and walked one in his third start of the season.

It was Halladay’s first complete game since last April 15 at Detroit.

With the game tied at 1, the Blue Jays put runners on second and third in the seventh against Pedro Astacio (0-1) when Alexis Rios led off with a single and went to third on Gregg Zaun’s double.

Zaun’s hit came on a fly ball to shallow right that hit the foul line ahead of a diving right fielder Richard Hidalgo.

Adams dribbled a grounder to first that scored Rios and helped the Blue Jays to their fifth victory in six games.

The Blue Jays improved to 7-3, their best start since also winning seven of their first 10 in 2001.

Halladay, limited to 21 starts due to right shoulder problems last year, retired the first nine Rangers in order before Alfonso Soriano led off the fourth with a double.

Meanwhile, Astacio allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings. He struck four and walked two.

Astacio was seeking his first AL win, and his first victory since May 22, 2003, while with the New York Mets. Astacio appeared in only five games last season with the Boston Red Sox because of right shoulder problems, compiling a 10.38 ERA.

Toronto took a 1-0 lead in the first on Vernon Wells’ sacrifice fly. Texas tied it at 1 in the fifth on an run-scoring infield single by Gary Matthews Jr.

Notes: Rangers manager Buck Showalter used his ninth different lineup. … Rangers RHP Frank Francisco pitched a scoreless inning in a rehab assignment for Double-A Frisco on Thursday night. Francisco is on the 15-day disablied list due to a sore right elbow. Showalter wants to see how Francisco’s arm holds up after pitching on consecutive days.

AP-ES-04-14-05 2226EDT