NEW YORK – Jason Giambi hit one of four Yankees homers and doubled twice, and Randy Johnson gave New York a much-needed long outing on short rest in a 12-3 victory Tuesday over the sinking Baltimore Orioles.
Alex Rodriguez also connected, while Giambi, Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui all homered for the second consecutive day. Derek Jeter and Ruben Sierra added three hits apiece for the Yankees, who swept the two-game series and have won four straight to move within a half-game of second-place Baltimore in the AL East.
With their pitchers struggling, the Orioles have lost 11 of 13.
Tigers 3, Indians 2
CLEVELAND – Mike Maroth cooled off Cleveland’s hitters and the Detroit Tigers won for the third time in 13 games with a 3-2 victory over the Indians.
The Indians, batting .297 and averaging 5.8 runs over their previous 29 games, lost for only the third time in 11 games.
Maroth (6-9) allowed one run and four hits over 6 2-3 innings to win for the second time in 10 starts. The left-hander, 2-7 since May 19, kept hitters off balance with a variety of slow breaking pitches, getting 13 outs on groundballs.
White Sox 6, Devil Rays 4
CHICAGO – Frank Thomas hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning, and the Chicago White Sox rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and improved to 30 games over .500.
Scott Podsednik started the eighth with a double off the left-field wall, and Tadahito Iguchi singled to right, putting runners at first and third. Thomas then hit a 1-0 pitch off Lance Carter (1-2) to left.
Royals 8, Mariners 6
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – David DeJesus drove in three runs, shaking Kansas City out of its offensive doldrums and leading the Royals to an 8-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
DeJesus had a two-run single and an RBI double and Angel Berroa had a two-run triple for the Royals, who had lost 14 of 16 and been shut out three of their last four games.
Athletics 10, Blue Jays 7
TORONTO – Scott Hatteberg hit a two-run single in the 11th inning and the Oakland Athletics reached .500 with a 10-7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Bobby Crosby hit an inside the park home run for the A’s, who have won 10 of 11 to move back to .500 (41-41) for the first time since May 2.
Oakland has gone 24-9 since they were a season-worst 15 games below .500 on May 29.
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