By The Associated Press

SEATTLE – New York Yankees starter Jaret Wright was knocked out of the game by Raul Ibanez’s sixth-inning line drive, and Miguel Ojeda’s first home run with Seattle sent the Mariners to a 5-1 victory Thursday.

Wright left after being hit on the right collarbone and the right side of his neck. X-rays were negative.

The right-hander stayed down on the mound for a few minutes as players rushed to his aid and then helped him to his feet. Without taking any warmups, he walked to the dugout under his own power.

Wright pitched 5 1-3 innings, allowing one run and three hits. It was his eighth start of the season, his fourth since coming off the 60-day disabled list on Aug. 15 following a shoulder injury.

After Wright came out, Tanyon Sturtze (4-3) walked Richie Sexson. Sturtze got Adrian Beltre to fly out, but Dave Hansen singled to score Ibanez from second and tie the score at 1.

That broke a streak of 19 scoreless innings by Yankees pitchers in the series. But they managed only a four-game split before heading to AL West-leading Oakland.

Ojeda, a light-hitting catcher acquired in a trade with San Diego on July 30, connected off Sturtze with one out in the seventh, his 13th major league homer. It came in his fifth game with the Mariners.

In the ninth, Ibanez singled and scored from first on Adrian Beltre’s double off Ramiro Mendoza to make it 3-1. Jose Lopez added a two-run homer, his first of the season.

The Yankees began the day 21/2 games behind first-place Boston in the AL East and one game ahead of the Los Angeles Angels in the wild-card race.

Orioles 5, Blue Jays 3

TORONTO – Jay Gibbons and B.J. Surhoff hit back-to-back homers in the sixth inning to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night.

The Orioles, who have won two straight after losing 10 of 11, released pitcher Sidney Ponson before the game because of his conduct and problems with alcohol.

Miguel Tejada led off the sixth with a bunt single before scoring on Gibbons’ 20th homer. Surhoff followed with his fifth to give Baltimore a 4-3 lead. Both homers were off Dustin McGowan (1-3).

Baltimore’s Bernie Castro went 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk and stolen base in his major league debut. Castro, called up from Triple-A Ottawa on Thursday, showed his speed, beating out a grounder to third base in the third inning for his first major league hit.

The Blue Jays have lost 10 of 13 and dropped below .500 (66-67) for the first time since July 19. Baltimore’s Hayden Penn (3-2) – recalled from Double-A Bowie on Thursday – allowed three runs – two earned – and seven hits, striking out four and walking two in five-plus innings. The 20-year-old right-hander is in his second stint with the Orioles this season.

White Sox 12, Tigers 3

CHICAGO – Jose Contreras won his third straight start and A.J. Pierzynski went 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs to lead the Chicago White Sox over the Detroit Tigers 12-3 Thursday night.

Jermaine Dye and Carl Everett also homered for the White Sox, who broke the game open with six runs in the eighth inning.

Contreras (10-7) was perfect until the fifth, when former White Sox All-Star Magglio Ordonez led off with a single. The Cuban right-hander allowed only one hit until the seventh, when the Tigers got three straight hits, including a two-run homer by Brandon Inge.

Craig Monroe added a solo shot in the eighth to end Contreras’ night. Contreras gave up three runs and five hits in seven-plus innings. He struck out five, and walked none for the third straight game. Cliff Politte worked a perfect eighth, preserving a 6-3 lead.

Pinch-hitter Tadahito Iguchi, a late scratch from the starting lineup for personal reasons, hit a two-run single in the bottom half. Scott Podsednik and Pablo Ozuna followed with RBI doubles, and Everett capped the outburst with a two-run homer.

Contreras got plenty of run support as the White Sox scored three in the fourth, then two in the sixth on consecutive homers by Dye and Pierzynski.

Phillies 3, Mets 1

NEW YORK – Jon Lieber, David Bell and Ryan Howard helped the Philadelphia Phillies leave New York with the NL wild-card lead.

Lieber allowed four hits in seven innings, and Bell blooped a two-run single in the first after Tom Glavine misplayed a potential inning-ending grounder to lead Philadelphia over the Mets 3-1 Thursday.

Howard added a ninth-inning homer for Philadelphia, which began Thursday with a half-game lead in the wild-card race. The Phillies won two straight after wasting a lead in the opener of the three-game series and headed to Washington to complete their 12-game trip. The team then returns to Philadelphia for a homestand against wild-card rivals Houston and Florida, and NL East-leading Atlanta.

New York, which dropped 21/2 games behind the Phillies, starts a trip Friday that takes it to Florida, Atlanta and St. Louis. The Mets were in position to take the wild-card lead before Pedro Martinez failed to hold a 2-0 lead against the Phillies in an 8-2 loss Wednesday night.

Astros 3, Reds 1

HOUSTON – Roy Oswalt remained perfect against the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros swept the three-game series with a 3-1 victory on Thursday night.

The right-hander improved to 15-0 in 19 appearances against the Reds, the most wins without a loss by any pitcher against one team in major league history.

Oswalt (16-11) is 4-0 against the Reds this season and the Astros remained one-half game behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL wild-card race.

He went 5 2-3 innings and had a season-high 11 strikeouts. Ken Griffey Jr. singled and Adam Dunn walked with two outs in the sixth. Mike Gallo relieved and got Sean Casey to fly out to end the inning.

Oswalt, who allowed five hits and one walk, is 2-3 with two no-decisions in his last seven starts.

Brad Lidge pitched the ninth for his 32nd save in 35 opportunities.

Cincinnati had won 14 of its previous 16 road games before this series.

Padres 6, Brewers 5

MILWAUKEE – Khalil Greene hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and the San Diego Padres crept back above .500 with a 6-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night.

Joe Randa hit his career-high 37th double with one out in the eighth. After Xavier Nady grounded out, Greene hit a foul ball that fell into the stands, three rows beyond the reach of Brewers first baseman Lyle Overbay. On the next pitch, and an 0-2 count, reliever Kane Davis (1-1) left a fastball over the middle of the plate, and Greene hit his 11th homer of the season.

It was the third straight win for the Padres (67-66), who are above .500 for the first time since Aug. 12. They remain in first place in the NL West – 51/2 games in front of Los Angeles – and have gained two games in the standings since last being above .500.

Rangers 5, Royals 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kenny Rogers won for the first time since July 16, and Rod Barajas homered twice and drove in four runs to lead the Texas Rangers past the Kansas City Royals 5-4 Thursday night.

Making his fifth start since serving a 13-game suspension for shoving two TV cameramen, Rogers allowed four runs – three earned – and 11 hits in seven innings. The All-Star lefty was backed by three double plays in the first three innings.

Rogers (12-7) was 0-3 in his previous six starts, but he improved to 3-0 against the Royals this season with his first win since beating Oakland 10-8 on July 16. His ERA rose slightly to 3.18.

Barajas has a career-high 16 home runs, giving the Rangers a major league-record nine players with at least 15. Seven teams, including the 1991 Rangers, had eight players with 15 or more.

Alfonso Soriano opened the fourth with a double and scored on Hank Blalock’s one-out double. After rookie left-hander J.P. Howell (1-5) walked Phil Nevin, Barajas hit a 3-1 pitch off the left-field foul pole for a 4-2 Texas lead.

Barajas led off the seventh with a home run on the first pitch from rookie reliever Ambiorix Burgos. It was the third multihomer game of Barajas’ career, and his first since June 24, 2004, against Seattle.

Angel Berroa’s eighth-inning single off Steve Karsay scored Terrence Long, who had doubled, to cut the Rangers’ lead to 5-4. Brian Shouse struck out Denny Hocking looking to end the eighth with the bases loaded.

Francisco Cordero worked the ninth for his 30th save.

Howell, winless in 10 starts since winning his big league debut on June 11 at Arizona, gave up four runs and five hits in six innings. He struck out seven and threw a career-high 108 pitches.

The Royals scored an unearned run in the second when Berroa singled with two outs and advanced to second when left fielder Kevin Mench had trouble picking up the ball for an error. Matt Diaz singled to center to score Berroa.

The Royals made it 2-0 in the second. Hocking led off with a double and scored on Long’s single up the middle.

Hocking also opened the fifth with a walk and scored on Joe McEwing’s single.

Rangers shortstop Michael Young went 0-for-3, including two strikeouts – ending his 11-game hitting streak. Young and Boston’s Johnny Damon are tied for the AL lead with a .323 batting average.

Notes: Royals manager Buddy Bell had a hole-in-one Thursday at Lakewood Country Club. Bell, who was playing with bullpen coach Brian Poldberg and former Royals manager John Wathan, said he used an 8-iron on the 140-yard, No. 14. … The Rangers recalled C Gerald Laird, who was hitting .310 with 17 home runs in 75 games with Triple-A Oklahoma. … The Rangers have won nine of their past 11 games against the Royals. … Kansas City 1B Mike Sweeney sat out his fourth consecutive game with lower back problems.

AP-ES-09-01-05 2325EDT

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