By The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS – Carlos Silva pitched seven strong innings, a diluted Minnesota lineup knocked out Kevin Brown during a five-run sixth and the Twins beat the New York Yankees 9-3 on Sunday afternoon.

The Yankees, who finished a forgettable week by losing for the seventh time in eight games, dropped to 0-20 when scoring three runs or less this season. That’s the longest such streak in the majors.

Silva (4-3) gave up seven hits and two runs while striking out one without a walk. He has issued only three of them in 74 innings this year.

Brown (4-6), who won four starts in a row until a loss at Kansas City earlier this week, was given a 2-0 lead on a home run by rookie Robinson Cano and an RBI single by Jason Giambi.

But Brown struggled with his control in the sixth, hitting two batters to fuel the Twins’ rally. He plunked Torii Hunter on the shoulder with a one-out pitch. Hunter, hit for the second straight game, yelled at Brown, who barked back.

Jacque Jones singled Hunter to third, and Matthew LeCroy drove him in with a double off the right-field wall that Gary Sheffield could’ve caught. After an intentional walk to Michael Cuddyer, Brown hit Mike Redmond to force in Jones and tie it at 2. Rookie Luis Rodriguez laced a single to right to put the Twins in front, and Tanyon Sturtze relieved Brown.

On the first pitch, Michael Ryan bunted as Cuddyer raced home on a suicide squeeze play. He was safe, and Brent Abernathy followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2. The Twins batted around in the inning.

Athletics 12, Blue Jays 4

OAKLAND, Calif. – Oakland’s bats are back, all right.

Scott Hatteberg hit a three-run homer, Eric Chavez hit a two-run shot and Marco Scutaro also connected, helping the Athletics complete an impressive homestand with a 12-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

Dan Haren pitched his second straight gem with seven sharp innings as the A’s won for the sixth time in seven home games. They now hit the road for interleague play at Washington and Atlanta with a rediscovered swagger – a far cry from the beating their confidence took during a recent eight-game skid, all away from the Coliseum.

Dan Johnson drove in two runs with a sacrifice fly and a single, and Scutaro and Hatteberg both finished with three hits and three runs scored.

Mariners 6, Devil Rays 5

SEATTLE – Richie Sexson doubled home Adrian Beltre in the bottom of the ninth to give the Seattle Mariners a 6-5 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Sunday.

Beltre singled off Chad Orvella with one out for his 1,000th career hit, then Sexson drilled the first pitch he saw off the base of the left-field wall.

Brett Boone went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Randy Winn had four hits for Seattle, including an RBI double in the sixth to put the Mariners ahead 5-4.

Ron Villone (2-2) pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the win.

Orvella (0-1) allowed two hits and one run in one-third of an inning.

The Devil Rays’ record on the road dipped to 4-23. The team has lost every series away from home this season.

Orioles 6, Tigers 2

DETROIT – Daniel Cabrera pitched seven strong innings, Melvin Mora drove in a pair of runs and the Baltimore Orioles took advantage of several defensive miscues by the Detroit Tigers for a 6-2 victory Sunday.

The Tigers committed three errors and made several other mistakes that led to four unearned runs and helped Baltimore improve to 4-3 on their current 13-game road trip.

Cabrera (5-4) won for the fourth time in six starts. He allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings. He struck out four without walking a batter.

Mike Maroth (4-6) lost his fourth straight start, giving up six runs – two earned – on 10 hits in eight innings.

Detroit took a 2-0 lead in the first on Dmitri Young’s 10th homer, but didn’t get another runner in scoring position until Nook Logan stole second with one out in the sixth inning.

Baltimore took advantage of a slip and a throwing error by third baseman Brandon Inge to score four runs in the fifth. Rafael Palmeiro reached on an infield hit leading off when Tigers first baseman Chris Shelton fell down after fielding a grounder.

Rangers 8, Royals 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kenny Rogers pitched seven sharp innings to win his career-best eighth consecutive start and Mark Teixeira homered in the Texas Rangers’ 8-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

Rogers gave up five hits and a run, lowering his American League-leading ERA to 1.62. The left-hander, who last lost April 18 at Tampa Bay, won seven straight starts May 6-June 6, 1995.

The 40-year-old Rogers who had a 31-inning scoreless streak from April 27-May 20, had his shutout spoiled with two outs in the seventh inning when Joe McEwing hit an run-scoring double.

McEwing had three of the five hits off Rogers, who struck out three and walked two before being replaced by Kameron Loe to start the eighth.

The game ended with a brief confrontation when reliever Francisco Codero, who earlier in the ninth hit Shane Costa with a pitch, said something that was directed toward the Royals’ dugout after the final out. Several Kansas City players came onto the field, but the umpires quickly kept the teams apart.

Copy the Story Link