By The Associated Press

NEW YORK – Hideki Matsui’s two-run double in the ninth inning capped a big comeback, and the New York Yankees took advantage of four walks by an exhausted Francisco Rodriguez to beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-7 Saturday.

Bernie Williams and Jason Giambi homered for the Yankees, who got a stellar debut from starter Shawn Chacon and defeated the Angels for only the third time in nine meetings this season.

Juan Rivera connected for the AL West leaders and Paul Byrd threw seven solid innings, but Los Angeles’ normally dependable bullpen blew a 7-3 lead in the last two innings – perhaps Thursday’s 18-inning game in Toronto took a toll.

White Sox 9, Orioles 6

BALTIMORE – A.J. Pierzynski and Jermaine Dye hit successive homers in a four-run eighth inning, and the Chicago White Sox rallied to beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-6 Saturday.

Joe Crede also connected for the White Sox, who made up deficits of 4-2 and 6-4 in handing the Orioles their 12th loss in 14 games. The defeat dropped Baltimore (51-52) under .500 for the first time since April 9.

Rangers 3, Blue Jays 2

TORONTO – Joaquin Benoit and four relievers combined on a six-hitter and Adrian Gonzalez homered to the lead the Texas Rangers to their fourth straight victory, 3-2 over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.

Phil Nevin didn’t play for Texas. Acquired a day earlier from San Diego in a trade for Chan Ho Park, Nevin arrived at the Rogers Center just before game time. Manager Buck Showalter said Nevin will DH on Sunday.

Devil Rays 7, Royals 3

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Jonny Gomes had the first three-homer game in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ franchise history on Saturday night, a 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

Gomes hit solo shots off Zack Greinke (3-13) in the third and fifth innings and another solo homer off Mike MacDougal in the eighth. The rookie has 12 homers in 44 games. Between the majors and Triple-A Durham this season, Gomes has gone deep 26 times.

Athletics 9, Tigers 5

OAKLAND, Calif. – Jay Payton hit a grand slam and drove in five runs to help Barry Zito win his seventh straight start and the Oakland Athletics win for the 10th time in 11 games, 9-5 over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.

Payton’s homer was the big blow against Nate Robertson (5-9) in a six-run fourth inning that also featured the ejection of Detroit catcher Ivan Rodriguez. Scott Hatteberg added a two-run homer in the frame for the streaking A’s, who have won 30 of 37 to move within 2 games of the Angels in the AL West – their smallest deficit since being two back after games of May 2.

Brewers 7, Giants 1

MILWAUKEE – Ben Sheets pitched a six-hitter and Geoff Jenkins hit a tiebreaking three-run double in the sixth inning, leading the Milwaukee Brewers past the San Francisco Giants 7-1 on Saturday night.

Sheets (7-7) struck out eight in his ninth career complete game and first since Oct. 2 against St. Louis.

Marlins 3, Nationals 0

MIAMI – Given the way A.J. Burnett threw Saturday, he might be worth whatever the Florida Marlins want in a trade.

Making his final start before Sunday’s trade deadline, Burnett pitched seven dominant innings to win his third start in a row, and the Marlins extended their winning streak to four games by beating the slumping Washington Nationals 3-0.

D-backs 3, Cubs 2

CHICAGO – Rookie Conor Jackson got his first two major league hits, including a go-ahead double in the eighth inning, as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 Saturday.

Making his first start in the majors, at first base, Jackson hit an RBI double to left in the eighth inning off Roberto Novoa to score Troy Glaus and break a 2-all tie.

He singled in the second inning for his first hit in his second at-bat.

Astros 2, Mets 0

HOUSTON – Andy Pettitte baffled the New York Mets for eight shutout innings and Jason Lane spoiled an equally strong outing by Tom Glavine with a towering home run in the seventh inning, sending the Houston Astros to a 2-0 victory Saturday night that vaulted them 10 games over .500.

The Astros have won a season-best seven straight games and 13 of 14. They’re also on a 25-5 roll and are 42-17 since bottoming out at 15 games under .500 in late May.

Cardinals 9, Dodgers 4

LOS ANGELES – Jim Edmonds and John Mabry hit two-run homers early and David Eckstein added a three-run shot late, powering the St. Louis Cardinals to a 9-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

Braves 9, Pirates 6

ATLANTA – Rookie Jeff Francoeur homered and drove in four runs, and the Atlanta Braves used a seven-run sixth inning to rally past the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-6 Saturday night, their fifth straight victory.