Kansas City improves to 17-4 with a 9-6 win

over Toronto.
By The Associated Press

TORONTO- Ken Harvey hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the ninth inning as the Kansas City Royals rallied for a 9-6 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.

Harvey drove in a career-high four runs for the Royals, who have won five of six. Kansas City improved to 17-4.

A crowd of 17,197, the largest since opening day, turned out three days after the World Health Organization warned against travel to Toronto because of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Mike Sweeney singled off Jeff Tam (0-2) and Raul Ibanez singled off Jason Kershner before Harvey hit a shot to center for his third home run of the season. Harvey went 3-for-5.

Yankees 7, Rangers 5

ARLINGTON, Texas – Alfonso Soriano homered and doubled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the 10th inning as the New York Yankees became the first team to reach 20 wins by beating the Texas Rangers 7-5.

Jason Giambi also homered for the Yankees (20-4), who won for the ninth time in 10 games and beat former manager Buck Showalter for the second straight night.

Athletics 6, Indians 3

OAKLAND, Calif.- John Halama held Cleveland hitless until the seventh inning and Erubiel Durazo hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly to lead the Oakland Athletics over the Indians 6-3.

Brandon Phillips singled with one out in the seventh for the Indians’ first hit. Halama carried a no-hit bid deeper than any major league pitcher has yet this season.

Devil Rays 10, Orioles 7

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Aubrey Huff homered, doubled and had four hits as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-7.

Rocco Baldelli, Rey Ordonez and Marlon Anderson all had two RBIs for the Devil Rays, who have come back to win after trailing by at least three runs six times this season – all at home.

White Sox 7, Twins 4

CHICAGO – Magglio Ordonez hit two home runs and Jon Garland pitched well before he was ejected as the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 7-4.

Frank Thomas and Carlos Lee also homered for Chicago. The benches cleared after Minnesota’s Doug Mientkiewicz was hit by a pitch for the second straight night.

National League

Expos 3, Astros 2

MONTREAL – Jose Macias hit his first homer of the season with one out in the 10th inning as the Montreal Expos extended their winning streak to three with a 3-2 victory over the Houston Astros.

Macias hit Montreal’s fourth game-winning homer of the season.

He connected off Billy Wagner (1-1), who was working his third inning of relief.

Marlins 5, Cardinals 3

MIAMI – Mike Lowell’s homer sparked a five-run seventh inning that helped the Florida Marlins beat St. Louis 5-3, the Cardinals’ sixth loss in seven games.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa served his one-game suspension for a fight between the Cardinals and Arizona last weekend.

Phillies 10, Giants 2

PHILADELPHIA – Bobby Abreu homered, scored four runs and knocked in three as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the San Francisco Giants.

Jim Thome also homered and drove in two runs for the Phillies, who have won four of five. Reds 7, Padres 6

CINCINNATI – Pinch-hitter Ruben Mateo drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting the Cincinnati Reds over the San Diego Padres 7-6.

Adam Dunn homered and later scored the winning run. The Reds moved out of a tie with idle Arizona for the worst record in the NL.

Rockies 8, Cubs 5

DENVER – Shawn Chacon threw seven crisp innings, and Chris Stynes and Jay Payton drove in two runs each as the Colorado Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs 8-5 to end a four-game losing streak.

Every Colorado starter had a hit by the fourth inning and the Rockies had 17 overall to win for the ninth time in 11 home games.

Dodgers 4, Pirates 3

PITTSBURGH – Shawn Green hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to help the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3.

With two outs and the bases empty, Green lifted a 2-1 pitch from Scott Sauerbeck (0-2) into the right-field seats for his third home run.

Braves 3, Brewers 2

ATLANTA – Marcus Giles hit a solo home run in the seventh and the Atlanta Braves rallied past the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2.

With one out, Giles lined the first pitch he saw from reliever Valerio De Los Santos (0-2) into the seats in right-center, a 410-foot shot that gave the Braves their 10th victory in 12 games.