By The Associated Press

BALTIMORE – Brian Roberts hit a three-run homer off Tom Gordon to cap a five-run seventh inning, and the Baltimore Orioles rallied to beat the slumping New York Yankees 7-6 Saturday.

Roberts went 2-for-4 with two walks to raise his batting average to .444. The 5-foot-9 second baseman already has five home runs, matching his career high.

The Orioles trailed 6-2 before sending eight batters to the plate in the seventh. After Javy Lopez and Jay Gibbons hit RBI singles off Tanyon Sturtze, Roberts sent a 2-1 pitch from Gordon (0-2) over the right-field scoreboard to give Baltimore its first lead.

Steve Kline (2-1) pitched one scoreless inning, and B.J. Ryan got four outs for his second save. Ryan struck out Hideki Matsui on a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth.

Gary Sheffield homered, drove in three runs and scored twice for the Yankees, who have lost three straight and five of six to fall into last place in the AL East. New York (4-7) is off to its worst start in 14 years.

Miguel Tejada singled in a run for the Orioles. Sammy Sosa, Gibbons and Melvin Mora got two hits apiece.

Twins 6, Indians 4

CLEVELAND – Lew Ford and Torii Hunter each hit three-run homers Saturday to help the Minnesota Twins to their sixth straight win, 6-4 over the Cleveland Indians.

Dave Gassner (1-0) worked six strong innings to become the first Twins pitcher to win his major league debut since Eric Milton beat Kansas City on April 5, 1998.

Tigers 7, Royals 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo – Jeremy Bonderman rebounded from a rough start last week to shutdown the Kansas City Royals for eight innings and help the Detroit Tigers snap a five-game losing streak with a 7-1 victory Saturday.

Bonderman (2-1) allowed six hits and a run six days after giving up six runs on five hits in the first inning of a loss to the Cleveland Indians.

Ivan Rodriguez and Carlos Guillen each had three hits including a pair of doubles for the Tigers.

Reds 3, Astros 2

CINCINNATI – Left-hander Eric Milton finally pitched like a pricey and prized acquisition, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-2 victory Saturday that ended their 12-game losing streak against the Houston Astros.

Milton (2-1) gave up three hits in seven innings, his first impressive showing in three starts for the team that made him the centerpiece of its offseason overhaul.

The Reds had to beat left-hander Andy Pettitte (0-1) to break one of the longest head-to-head losing streaks in franchise history.

Athletics 1, Angels 0

OAKLAND, Calif. – After Rich Harden and Jarrod Washburn dueled through eight scoreless innings, Nick Swisher scored from first base on reliever Scot Shields’ throwing error in the 10th inning of the Oakland Athletics’ 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

The A’s hadn’t scored in 14 innings before their extra-inning rally against Shields (2-1), who threw just six pitches.

Kiko Calero (2-0) pitched two perfect innings of relief for the victory, while Harden and Washburn got no decisions despite outstanding starts.

Mets 4, Marlins 3

NEW YORK – Ramon Castro singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning, and the New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins 4-3 for their sixth straight victory.

Pedro Martinez struck out nine in a stellar home debut for New York, but the Mets’ new ace was outpitched by their old one, Al Leiter. The left-hander allowed only three hits in seven innings and left with a 2-1 lead before New York rallied against reliever Todd Jones in the eighth.

Carlos Beltran tied it with a two-out single and Mike Piazza followed with a go-ahead double to give the Mets a 3-2 edge, overcoming Martinez’s career-high three wild pitches.

White Sox 2, Mariners 1

CHICAGO – Mark Buehrle pitched a three-hitter and struck out 12, and Paul Konerko hit a pair of home runs to lead the Chicago White Sox over the Seattle Mariners 2-1 Saturday.

Buerhle (2-1) lost his shutout bid in the ninth inning when Ichiro Suzuki tripled and scored on Adrian Beltre’s groundout to first. Suzuki had all three Mariners’ hits.

Cardinals 5, Brewers 3

MILWAUKEE – Scott Rolen snapped out of his early-season slump with a two-run homer and two singles, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3 Saturday.

St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter (2-1) left in the seventh inning with a 5-0 lead and the bases loaded. Brady Clark greeted reliever Al Reyes with a three-run double to make it 5-3.

Nationals 9, D-backs 3

WASHINGTON – Clearly, Vinny Castilla and the Washington Nationals love their new home. Castilla has yet to make an out at RFK Stadium, going 3-for-3 and driving in four runs for the second straight game to help the Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-3.

John Patterson (1-1) threw seven shutout innings, and Washington broke open a tight game by sending 11 men to the plate and scoring seven runs in the seventh.

Phillies 2, Braves 1

PHILADELPHIA – Jon Lieber outdueled John Smoltz and Chase Utley had a tiebreaking RBI single and game-saving catch, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.

Cubs 4, Pirates 3

PITTSBURGH – Neifi Perez doubled in the go-ahead run in the seventh and Aramis Ramirez hit a three-run homer to carry Chicago past the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 Saturday night, only the slow-starting Cubs’ second victory in five games.