ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. —Joba Chamberlain pitched eight scoreless innings and Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano homered and drove in two runs apiece to lead the New York Yankees to a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.

With Yankees owner George Steinbrenner watching from his private suite at Tropicana Field, the AL East leaders won for the 11th time in 13 games since the All-Star break. They dropped the defending division champion Rays a season-high 7½ games off the pace in third place.

Chamberlain (7-2) limited the sputtering Rays to three singles – two by Jason Bartlett – while allowing only one runner to reach second base. The right-hander struck out five and walked two, with both of the free passes coming in the fifth inning.

 Angels 9, Indians 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Howie Kendrick homered and drove in a career-high five runs and Los Angeles beat Cleveland 9-3 on Wednesday, hours after the Indians traded away reigning AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee.

Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco were sent to Philadelphia for a package of four minor leaguers.

John Lackey (7-4) gave up a run and three hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked four.

Aaron Laffey (4-3) gave up seven runs and seven hits in four-plus innings.

Kendrick singled home a run in the first, had a two-run single off reliever Chris Perez in the fifth and added a two-run homer in the seventh off rookie Tony Sipp.

Cleveland scored in the fourth when Shin-Soo Choo doubled and Jhonny Peralta had a sacrifice fly, giving him 14 RBIs in his last eight games.

The Angels had five runs in the fifth to take a 7-1 lead.

Mariners 3, Blue Jays 2

SEATTLE — Ken Griffey Jr. doubled twice and drove in the decisive runs in the seventh inning, and Seattle tagged Roy Halladay with a season-high 11 hits.

The Mariners won for the second consecutive time after a four-game losing streak.

They got a solo homer from Jose Lopez, then loaded the bases on three singles in the seventh against Halladay (11-4), whom Toronto has declared open for bidding on the non-waiver trade market that closes Friday afternoon.

Griffey golfed the first pitch from Halladay into the right-field corner to score Michael Saunders and Ichiro Suzuki.

Ryan Rowland-Smith carried a no-hitter into the seventh in his third start of the season, before Aaron Hill singled leading off. Adam Lind homered to right-center for a 2-1 lead.

Rowland-Smith (1-1) allowed three hits and two runs in seven innings for his first win since Sept. 27.

David Aardsma pitched the ninth for his 25th save.

 Giants 1, Pirates 0
SAN FRANCISCO — Randy Winn lined an RBI single down the first-base line with two outs in the 10th inning and San Francisco beat Pittsburgh 1-0 on Wednesday for a three-game sweep.

Matt Cain allowed three hits over nine innings for the Giants and Brian Wilson (3-4) worked the 10th for the victory.

Eugenio Velez led off the 10th against Matt Capps (2-6) with a single. He was sacrificed to second and scored on Winn’s lone hit in five at-bats.

The Pirates lost their fifth straight to finish a 1-7 trip.

After the game, San Francisco acquired Pittsburgh All-Star second baseman Freddy Sanchez for minor league pitcher Tim Alderson. The Pirates traded shortstop Jack Wilson and pitcher Ian Snell to Seattle earlier Wednesday for shortstop Ronny Cedeno, Triple-A catcher Jeff Clement and three minor league pitchers.

Zach Duke of the Pirates gave up six hits over seven innings.
Cubs 12, Astros 0

CHICAGO — Randy Wells pitched eight innings and Alfonso Soriano hit a three-run homer during Chicago’s six-run first inning.

Aramis Ramirez homered and drove in two runs for the Cubs, who battered Mike Hampton and improved to 10-3 since the All-Star break.

Wells (7-4) is the first Cubs rookie with seven victories since Kerry Wood won 13 in 1998. He gave up six singles, walked two, struck out one and let only one runner get as far as second base.

Mitch Atkins, making his major league debut after getting called up from Triple-A Iowa, completed the Cubs’ third shutout of the season by working a hitless ninth.

Hampton (6-8) allowed nine runs in four innings for Houston, which has lost four of five.

The Cubs sent 10 batters to the plate in the first, with Soriano’s homer breaking open the game. Ramirez homered in the second, giving him at least one extra-base hit in seven straight games.

 Padres 7, Reds 1

CINCINNATI — Rookie Mat Latos and two relievers combined on a one-hitter and San Diego beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 on Wednesday night, the Padres’ first consecutive wins in a month.

Latos (2-1) earned his second straight victory by allowing only Jerry Hairston Jr.’s homer in the fourth inning. Greg Burke and Mike Ekstrom both pitched one inning to complete the Padres’ first one-hitter since Sept. 22, 2006, against Pittsburgh.

Adrian Gonzalez and Kyle Blanks homered off struggling Aaron Harang, and San Diego won two straight games for the first time since June 27-28. The Padres have lost 20 of 26 since July 1.

The Padres scored five times in the first off Harang (5-12), who leads the majors in losses. Gonzalez had a two-run shot – his third homer in three games – and Blanks hit a three-run homer.

Harang hasn’t won since May 25, going 0-8 in 12 starts. It’s the longest losing streak of his career and the longest by a Reds pitcher since Danny Graves lost eight straight decisions in 2003.

Like the Padres, the Reds have been in a midseason meltdown, losing 14 of their last 18. They have fallen 10 games under .500 (45-55) for the first time this season.

 Marlins 6, Braves 3

MIAMI — Josh Johnson’s bat was just as potent as his pitching.

Johnson hit a three-run homer in another solid start, lifting the Florida Marlins to a 6-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night.

Johnson’s shot with two outs in the fourth off Kenshin Kawakami (5-8) went well over the center-field wall for only the second home run of his career. The homer earned him a curtain call from fans and gave the Marlins their seventh win in the last eight games.

Johnson (10-2) allowed eight hits in six innings before the bullpen shut out the Braves the rest of the way. Leo Nunez gave up a triple in the ninth to Kelly Johnson before striking out Nate McLouth for his eighth save in 11 chances.

Casey Kotchman’s home run leading off the fifth, and Garret Anderson’s two-run homer in the sixth were all the Braves could squeeze out of Florida’s ace.

Atlanta has done little to slow Florida, and not even another ejection from manager Bobby Cox to extend his major-league record to 147 could spark a rally against the streaky Marlins.

After getting swept by the division-leading Philadelphia Phillies in a four-game series less than two weeks ago, the Marlins’ playoff hopes looked grim. A 5-1 West Coast trip against the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers and two straight over the Braves have put Florida in the thick of the wild-card chase with a cluster of teams

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