By The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS – Scott Seabol’s first career homer, a two-run, pinch-hit shot in the seventh inning, provided the go-ahead run in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 5-3 victory over the sputtering New York Yankees on Sunday.

The Cardinals concluded a high profile week by taking two of three from the Yankees, New York’s fifth straight series loss, after taking two of three from the Red Sox in a World Series rematch.

Randy Johnson’s strong outing helped the Yankees win the middle game on Saturday, but the Cardinals haven’t lost two straight games since May 6-7.

Eighth-place hitter Yadier Molina was 3-for-3 and scored twice, and singled ahead of Seabol’s homer on the first pitch he saw from Tanyon Sturtze (1-1) with one out in the seventh. Seabol, who made his major league debut in 2001 and got one at-bat with the Yankees, hit his first homer in 37 career at-bats for a 3-2 lead.

Jim Edmonds added a two-run double to help the Cardinals win for the 18th time in 21 interleague games dating to 2003. Ray King (1-1) gave up the go-ahead run on Hideki Matsui’s single in the seventh but retired Bernie Williams for the final out of the inning.

The Yankees wasted a strong outing by Carl Pavano and wrapped up a dismal 3-9 trip that dropped them two games below .500. Jorge Posada homered, and Alex Rodriguez and Matsui each drove in a run for the Yankees, who have lost 11 of 14 overall despite a payroll of more than $200 million.

Astros 3, Blue Jays 0

HOUSTON – Roy Oswalt pitched his first career two-hitter and won his sixth straight home start, leading the Houston Astros over the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 for their season-high fifth straight victory.

Oswalt retired 24 of his final 25 batters and needed only 88 pitches for his second complete game of the season and seventh of his career. He struck out three and walked none.

Athletics 11, Braves 5

ATLANTA – Eric Chavez was 5-for-5 with a pair of homers and four RBIs, helping the Oakland Athletics beat the Atlanta Braves 11-5 Sunday for their first road series win since the opening week of the season.

Mark Kotsay also drove in four runs. His three-run homer in a six-run seventh inning helped the A’s put away the game and send the Braves to their fifth straight series loss.

Angels 4, Mets 3

NEW YORK – Pinch-runner Robb Quinlan scored the go-ahead run on David Wright’s error in the ninth inning, and the Los Angeles Angels rallied against Pedro Martinez and the New York Mets for a 4-3 victory Sunday.

Trailing 3-0 going into the fifth inning – thanks partly to Martinez’s first RBI in nearly nine years, the Angels bounced back after blowing a 3-2 lead in the 10th inning Saturday night and took two of three from the Mets.

Martinez, who has won five straight decisions, was removed to start the eighth inning having allowed three runs and six hits with four walks. He struck out a season-low three.

Phillies 6, Brewers 2

PHILADELPHIA – Pat Burrell and Chase Utley homered, and Cory Lidle pitched seven strong innings as the Philadelphia Phillies capped a 12-1 homestand with a 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.

Lidle (6-4) gave up one run on four hits to earn his first win in his last three starts. He struck out three and walked one.

Rangers 6, Marlins 2

MIAMI – Ricardo Rodriguez pitched five effective innings in his season debut and Richard Hidalgo homered to help the Texas Rangers snap a season-high five-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory Sunday over the Florida Marlins.

Rodriguez (1-0), recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma before the game, allowed two runs and seven hits, walked one and struck out five.

John Wasdin, whose contract was purchased from Oklahoma earlier Sunday, pitched four perfect innings for his first save of the season. It was the fourth save of his career, and first since July 16, 2000, against Montreal while he with Boston.

Reds 10, Orioles 6

CINCINNATI – Ken Griffey Jr. hit a go-ahead home run, helping the Cincinnati Reds overcome Sammy Sosa’s two homers in a 10-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Griffey finished a triple short of the cycle. Rich Aurilia homered and drove in a season-high four runs for the Reds.

Sosa has eight homers this season and 582 for his career, one short of tying Mark McGwire for sixth place.

Indians 5, Giants 3

SAN FRANCISCO – Casey Blake had two hits, including a three-run homer, and the Cleveland Indians completed a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 5-3 victory Sunday.

Cliff Lee (7-3) allowed five hits over seven innings to win for the third time in four decisions as the Indians completed their second series sweep of the season, and their first on the road.

Dodgers 4, Twins 3

LOS ANGELES – Hee-Seop Choi hit home runs in his first three at-bats, including a go-ahead solo shot in the sixth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Sunday.

The Dodgers won two of three games in the interleague series, including a 6-5 victory Friday night in which Choi homered in the ninth for the winning run.

Nationals 3, Mariners 2

WASHINGTON – Junior Spivey hit a two-run homer, Tony Armas Jr. waded through trouble for five scoreless innings, and the Washington Nationals completed a 12-1 homestand by beating the Seattle Mariners 3-2 Sunday.

Washington stretched its winning streak to 10 games, tying a franchise record and setting a high for the NL this season. The team has swept three straight series and four overall; as the Montreal Expos, the team had three sweeps in all of 2004.

Rockies 7, Tigers 3

DENVER – Preston Wilson homered twice and Byung-Hyun Kim pitched six strong innings for his first win in nearly a year, lifting the Colorado Rockies to a 7-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Wilson ended a 1-for-10 slump with three hits against the Tigers on Saturday and seemed to gain confidence from his breakout game.

Devil Rays 7, Pirates 5

PITTSBURGH – Alex Gonzalez hit a two-run home run in the 13th inning after Tampa Bay blew a three-run lead for the fifth time in eight games, and the Devil Rays ended a seven-game losing streak by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5.

Franklin Nunez (1-0), called up from Triple-A Durham following an 18-2 loss Saturday night, pitched 2 1-3 scoreless innings for Tampa Bay’s second victory in 14 games since May 27.

White Sox 8, Padres 5

SAN DIEGO – Aaron Rowand hit a three-run homer off Trevor Hoffman in the 10th inning to give the Chicago White Sox an 8-5 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.

The White Sox, who have the best record in the majors at 42-20, started the winning rally with one-out singles by Tadahito Iguchi and Scott Posednik. Rowand, who stayed in the game after pinch-hitting in the ninth, then hit an 0-2 fastball to into the second deck of the Western Metal Supply Co. building that borders the left-field foul line to beat Hoffman (0-3) and the Padres.

Royals 9, D-backs 4

PHOENIX – Mark Teahen’s broken-bat single in the 12th inning scored Ruben Gotay, starting a six-run rally that lifted the Kansas City Royals to a 9-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.

Ryan Jensen (3-1) couldn’t hold one-run leads in either the 10th or 11th, but stayed in to finish the game.

The Royals have won three of four series since Buddy Bell became manager.

Gotay walked to lead off the 12th against Javier Lopez (1-1), the Diamondbacks’ fourth pitcher, and went to second on a groundout. Greg Aquino, activated from 60-day disabled list before the game, hit Emil Brown with a pitch and struck out Jensen on a foul bunt before surrendering Teahen’s broken-bat bloop single to right.

Brown later scored on a balk to make it 5-3 and Teahen scored on Tony Graffanino’s sharp single to center. Alberto Castillo walked and Graffanino went to third when catcher Kelly Stinnett threw the ball into center field.

David DeJesus singled, scoring Graffanino to make it 7-3, and Angel Berroa hit a two-run triple into right to cap the inning.

Tony Clark homered in the bottom of the 12th.

Aquino allowed five runs on three hits with a walk, a strikeout and a hit batter in his first appearance since opening day.

The Diamondbacks used three consecutive two-out hits off Royals starter D.J. Carrasco to take the lead in the fourth. Shawn Green singled and moved to third on Clayton’s single to center. Chris Snyder followed with a line drive into right, scoring Green for a 1-0 Arizona lead.

Carrasco allowed six hits over six innings with one intentional walk and three strikeouts.

The Royals tied it in the seventh against Arizona starter Brandon Webb.

Teahen singled, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on Castillo’s single to center. Castillo went to third on consecutive wild pitches but Webb struck out DeJesus to end the inning.

Webb struck out five, walked two and recorded 15 groundball outs.

Notes: The game was Kansas City’s longest of the season. … Craig Counsell matched his career high for home runs with four, set in 2001. … To make room for Aquino, the Diamondbacks and optioned RHP Edgar Gonzalez to Triple-A Tucson. Aquino had been on the DL since appearing in the season opener and experiencing pain in his right elbow. Gonzalez had pitched in one game since his recall Thursday, allowing four runs on two hits and a walk in one-third of an inning for a 108.00 ERA. … Arizona moved RHP Brandon Lyon to the 60-day DL from the 15-day DL. Lyon lead the NL in saves early in the season before he was sidelined since May 13 with a strained right elbow.

AP-ES-06-12-05 2040EDT

Copy the Story Link