By The Associated Press

NEW YORK – For one day at least, Mike Mussina stopped the bleeding for the New York Yankees.

Mussina restored some order to the staggering Yankees on Saturday, pitching a four-hitter in New York’s 5-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

The win ended a four-game losing streak that had dropped the seven-time defending AL East champions into a last-place tie with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, nine games behind first-place Baltimore.

Mussina (3-2) dominated the Athletics with his 22nd career shutout and first since Aug. 17, 2003 – which was also the last complete-game victory by a Yankees pitcher. He struck out three, walked two and allowed only two runners to reach second base in his 131-pitch outing.

New York managed just five hits against Joe Blanton and two relievers, but gave Mussina an early lead.

The Yankees picked up a quick run against Blanton (0-3) in the first inning when Derek Jeter drew a leadoff walk and scored on a double into the left-field corner by Gary Sheffield.

In the second, Tino Martinez hit Blanton’s first pitch for his fifth home run of the season, making it 2-0.

The Yankees doubled their lead an inning later. Tony Womack singled with one out and Sheffield walked. The runners advanced on an infield out and Alex Rodriguez doubled them home.

Rodriguez singled home another run in the eighth.

Rangers 6, Indians 1

ARLINGTON, Texas – Alfonso Soriano had his second straight two-homer game, this one in a victory as the Texas Rangers beat Cleveland 6-1 on Saturday night.

Soriano’s home run leading off the second inning was his third in three at-bats, after a pair of two-run homers Friday in an 8-6 loss to the Indians. After an RBI double in the third, he led off the fifth with another homer, his 10th this season.

Soriano hit five homers in three games, a stretch in which he went 9-for-14 with 10 RBIs. Twelve of his last 15 hits have gone for extra bases. He even made a diving catch at second base for the final out of the game.

The last Texas player with consecutive multihomer games was Alex Rodriguez in August 2002 against Toronto. A-Rod followed a three-homer game with two more shots the next night against the Blue Jays.

Orioles 5, Royals 3

BALTIMORE – Brian Roberts homered on the first pitch in the bottom of the first inning to back an impressive pitching performance by Bruce Chen, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals 5-3 Saturday.

Miguel Tejada hit a tainted two-run double for the first-place Orioles, who have won 11 of 13 to move 11 games over .500 (20-9) for the first time since 1997, their last winning season.

Chen (4-1) allowed two unearned runs in seven innings. The left-hander gave up four hits, struck out three and walked none in winning his third straight start and lowering his ERA to 3.12.

B.J. Ryan struck out Eli Marrero with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth, then got three more outs for his seventh save.

Roberts gave the Orioles the lead for good by hitting the opening pitch from Jose Lima (0-3) over the right-field scoreboard. It was his ninth homer, four more than his previous career high.

White Sox 10, Blue Jays 7

TORONTO – Paul Konerko homered twice and drove in five runs, a day after ending an 0-for-26 slump, and the Chicago White Sox won their seventh straight, 10-7 over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.

Tadahito Iguchi, Juan Uribe and Aaron Rowand also homered to help the White Sox improve their major league-best record to 23-7.

Staked to 6-1 lead in the second, Jon Garland became the American League’s first six-game winner. Garland (6-0) tossed shutouts in his previous two starts, but Shea Hillenbrand ended his 23-inning scoreless streak with a RBI grounder in the first.

Garland allowed six runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings. He has won eight straight starts dating to last season, the longest streak by White Sox pitcher since James Baldwin also won eight in a row in 2000.

Konerko hit a two-run homer off Ted Lilly (1-3) in the first and a three-run shot off Matt Whiteside in the fourth, his second multihomer game this season and the 13th of his career.