TORONTO – Alex Rodriguez helped the New York Yankees end their five-game losing streak with his bat – and his mouth, apparently.

Rodriguez appeared to distract Toronto third baseman Howie Clark on a key popup late in the game, touching off arguments all over the field, and the Yankees beat the Blue Jays 10-5 Wednesday night.

Rodriguez hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth that made it 7-5. Jorge Posada followed with a high pop and Rodriguez ran hard, cutting between Clark and shortstop John McDonald.

It seemed as if Rodriguez said something, and Clark backed off at the last second. McDonald was only a few steps behind Clark, but couldn’t make the catch and ball dropped for an RBI single.

Athletics 6, Rangers 1

OAKLAND, Calif. – Dan Haren has emerged as ace for the Athletics, and he pitched that way again Wednesday.

Haren won his sixth straight decision, Dan Johnson drove in three runs and Milton Bradley hit an RBI double after coming off the disabled list in Oakland’s 6-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.

Haren (6-2) lowered his ERA to an AL-leading 1.64. He gave up four hits in eight innings and kept Sammy Sosa in check, too.

Devil Rays 5, Tigers 3

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – James Shields settled after a shaky first inning to throw the second complete game of his career, Elijah Dukes and Brendan Harris backed the right-hander with solo homers, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 5-3 on Wednesday night.

Shields (4-0) yielded three runs and five hits in the opening inning, then allowed just three runners to reach base over the next eight innings. He earned his first win in nearly four weeks.

Dukes hit his 10th homer of the season in the fifth and Harris snapped a 3-3 tie against left-hander Nate Robertson (4-5) in the sixth. Jorge Cantu, Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton also drove in runs for the Devil Rays.

Twins 7, White Sox 6

MINNEAPOLIS – Torii Hunter walked with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, forcing in the winning run and lifting the Minnesota Twins over the struggling Chicago White Sox 7-6 Wednesday for a three-game sweep.

The Twins handed the White Sox their fourth straight loss and moved past Chicago into third place in the AL Central after rallying from a 6-1 deficit after 21/2 innings against Jon Garland.

Facing Mike MacDougal (1-2) in the ninth, Jason Tyner drew a one-out walk and moved to second when Nick Punto hit a chopper to Paul Konerko for a possible double play. Konerko’s throw appeared to graze Tyner before hitting shortstop Alex Cintron in the right knee for an error on the first baseman.

Braves 9, Brewers 3

MILWAUKEE – Brian McCann hit a go-ahead, three-run double in a seven-run eighth inning, and the Atlanta Braves beat Milwaukee 9-3 Wednesday to send the Brewers to their seventh loss in eight games.

Tim Hudson (6-3) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings for the Braves, who trailed 2-1 before rallying.

D-backs 4, Phillies 3

PHILADELPHIA – Give this matchup of the aging lefties to Randy Johnson.

Johnson returned from tendinitis to toss one-hit ball over six innings, and Eric Byrnes homered twice to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 4-3 win over Jamie Moyer and the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night.

Padres 9, Pirates 0

PITTSBURGH – Chris Young dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates again, allowing four hits over seven innings in the San Diego Padres’ 9-0 victory Wednesday night.

Young, a former Pirates farmhand, walked one and struck out seven. Pittsburgh has managed seven hits in 23 2-3 career innings against Young (6-3).

Khalil Greene’s grand slam in the eighth inning gave San Diego a 7-0 lead.

Dodgers 5, Nationals 0

WASHINGTON – Derek Lowe pitched seven scoreless innings, reached base three times and scored once as the Los Angeles Dodgers shut out the Washington Nationals for the second straight game, 5-0 Wednesday night.

Los Angeles opened the three-game series Tuesday with a 10-0 victory. Lowe combined with relievers Joe Beimel and Rudy Seanez on a four-hitter.

Giants 3, Mets 0

NEW YORK – Barry Zito outpitched Tom Glavine over seven sharp innings and the San Francisco Giants beat the New York Mets 3-0 Wednesday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Pedro Feliz drove in three runs and Rich Aurilia tied a career high with four hits for the Giants, who bounced back from a difficult loss in the series opener against New York. The Mets won 5-4 in 12 innings Tuesday night when Armando Benitez balked in the tying run and surrendered a game-ending homer to Carlos Delgado.

Marlins 9, Cubs 0

CHICAGO – Dan Uggla homered twice, and Miguel Cabrera and Josh Willingham went deep to lead Florida to a 9-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night, but Marlins starter Sergio Mitre left early with a hamstring injury.

Uggla and Cabrera hit solo shots in the first inning, and Uggla added a two-run drive in the seventh off Cubs starter Ted Lilly. Willingham added a two-run homer off Angel Guzman in the eighth, but the good vibe of a three-game sweep was tempered by Mitre’s hamstring injury.

Reds 4, Astros 3

HOUSTON – Aaron Harang pitched a six-hitter for his first complete game of the season, and the Cincinnati Reds beat Houston 4-3 Wednesday night to send the Astros to their 10th consecutive loss. Alex Gonzalez had three hits and two RBIs for the Reds, who’ve won three in a row for the first time in a month. Norris Hopper also had three hits and scored twice on hits by Gonzalez.