BALTIMORE – Unbeaten Orlando Hernandez pitched seven innings of five-hit ball to win his eighth straight decision, and the New York Yankees beat Sidney Ponson and the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 Saturday.

Hernandez allowed one run and two walks in becoming the first Yankee starter to open the season 8-0 since Bob Wickman in 1993. The lone glaring flaw in his performance was a home run by Rafael Palmeiro, only the fifth allowed by the right-hander in 2004.

El Duque has given up more than three runs in a game only once in his 12 starts, against Minnesota on Aug. 19. He struck out four, including Javy Lopez three times, and permitted only two runners past second base in lowering his ERA to 2.49. The Yankees are 11-1 in his starts.

Derek Jeter had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run for the Yankees, who have won six of seven. New York started the day with a 2-game lead over second-place Boston in the AL East.

Cubs 5, Marlins 2

CHICAGO – Derrek Lee hit a three-run, eighth-inning double against his former team, and the Chicago Cubs rallied to beat the Florida Marlins 5-2 Saturday and maintain their NL wild-card lead.

The Cubs, who began the day one percentage point ahead of Houston and San Francisco, dropped the defending World Series champion Marlins 2 games back.

The Cubs came back from a 2-0 deficit and tied the game in the eighth on an RBI single by Sammy Sosa, who was dropped to sixth in the batting order for the first time in 10 years and was booed loudly after striking out in his first two at-bats.

Phillies 11, Mets 9

NEW YORK – David Bell’s second home run of the game broke a 13th-inning tie, and the Philadelphia Phillies overcame a four-run deficit Saturday in an 11-9 victory over the New York Mets.

Jim Thome beat out an infield hit that glanced off the glove of Vic Darensbourg (0-1), and Bell followed with his fourth hit of the game and 15th homer of the season.

Athletics 5, Indians 4

OAKLAND, Calif. – Rookies Bobby Crosby and Nick Swisher hit back-to-back homers in the eighth inning against Bob Howry, and the Oakland Athletics stopped their five-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday.

Scott Hatteberg had a two-run double for the A’s, who appeared headed to their longest losing skid of the season after C.C. Sabathia held them scoreless through six innings. Travis Hafner hit a three-run homer in the seventh, staking Cleveland to a 4-0 lead.

Rockies 13, Padres 2

DENVER – Matt Holliday and Clint Barmes had three RBIs each, Jeff Francis was a winner in his Coors Field debut and the Colorado Rockies had 18 hits in a 13-2 rout over the San Diego Padres on Saturday.

Garrett Atkins hit his first career homer, a two-run shot in the seventh inning, Barmes was 3-for-5 and every position player had a hit for Colorado, which has won seven of 10 – all against teams still in the playoff race.

Pirates 5, Astros 2

PITTSBURGH – The Houston Astros have gone from streaking to slumping in a hurry, all because of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ developing pitching staff.

Jason Bay homered and drive in four runs and Ryan Vogelsong limited Houston to one run over six innings in Pittsburgh’s 5-2 victory Saturday – the Astros’ third loss in four games following a 12-game winning streak.

Twins 3, Tigers 2

DETROIT – Cristian Guzman and Shannon Stewart each homered to lead the Minnesota Twins over the Detroit Tigers 3-2 Saturday night.

The Tigers lost their two All-Stars to right knee injuries. Shortstop Carlos Guillen sprained his knee while sliding awkwardly into third base in the fifth inning, and catcher Ivan Rodriguez left in the seventh with a bruised knee after being hit by foul tip. Guillen will have an MRI after the game. X-rays of Rodriguez’s knee were negative and he is day to day.

Jacque Jones hit a go-ahead, RBI single in the seventh off AL Levine (3-3) and Minnesota, heading to its third straight AL Central title, won its fourth straight and ninth in 11 games.

Jesse Crain (2-0) got an out in the sixth and two in the seventh for the win. Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his 40th save in 44 chances.

J.C. Romero retired the only batter he faced in the seventh inning, extending his Twins-record scoreless streak to 36 innings. Romero last allowed a run on June 11.

Guzman gave the Twins the early lead in the second inning with his first homer since Aug. 8. Stewart connected for his 10th homer in the third inning to put the Twins up 2-0.

Detroit pulled to 2-1 in the fourth. With one out, Carlos Pena walked, took third on Brandon Inge’s hit-and-run single and scored when Jason Smith beat out a potential 3-6-3 double play.

The same trio combined to tie it in the sixth. This time, Pena hit a leadoff double, moved to third on Inge’s groundout and, after Aaron Fultz replaced Kyle Lohse, Smith laid down a perfect suicide squeeze.

Detroit’s Gary Knotts, making his first start since July 27, allowed two runs in 4 2-3 innings, while Lohse gave up two runs in 5 1-3 innings for the Twins.

Notes: With the win, the Twins clinched the season series with the Tigers, and improved to 53-20 against Detroit since 2001. … The Tigers (64-76) are now a season-worst 12 games under .500, while the Twins (81-60) are 21 over for the first time since the end of the 2002 season. … Craig Monroe’s hitting streak ended at a career-best 12 games.

AP-ES-09-11-04 2209EDT