Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

New York’s Alex Rodriguez, left, pats teammate Bobby Abreu after Rodriguez hit a ninth-inning, two-run homer Monday.

AP photo

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two more homers by Alex Rodriguez couldn’t pull the New York Yankees out of a tailspin.
A-Rod tied the major league record for home runs in April, hitting his 13th and 14th of the season in a 10-8 loss to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Monday night.
Rocco Baldelli and B.J. Upton offset the Yankees star by combining to drive in seven runs for Tampa Bay.
Baldelli hit a three-run homer off Kei Igawa (1-1) in the second inning. Upton lined a solo shot off the left-field foul pole in the fourth for a 5-3 lead, then added a three-run double off reliever Luis Vizcaino to finish with a career-high four RBIs.
The Yankees, swept during a weekend series in Boston, dropped their fourth straight despite getting homers in the second and ninth innings from A-Rod. Rodriguez’s average rose to .400 after going 4-for-5 with three RBIs and four runs scored.
The second-inning solo shot off Casey Fossum (2-1) was the 477th of A-Rod’s career and extended his hitting streak to 18 games to start this season and 23 in a row dating to last September. The two-run shot off Al Reyes in the ninth gave him 34 RBIs and tied the mark for homers in April set by Albert Pujols in 2006.
Igawa allowed seven runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings. New York pitchers have given up six runs or more in five straight games and nine of 18 this season.
Rodriguez lined a 2-2 pitch into the left-field stands off Fossum, who also yielded a solo homer to Robinson Cano in the fifth. The Devil Rays left-hander allowed six runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings and benefited from the Yankees hitting into four double plays.
Derek Jeter singled in the seventh inning, giving him a 14-game hitting streak. He and Hideki Matsui, activated from the disabled list earlier Monday, drove in runs for the Yankees with sacrifice flies.
Josh Phelps drew a bases-loaded walk and Jason Giambi added an RBI single as New York pulled within 7-6 in the sixth. But the Yankees bullpen couldn’t keep the Devil Rays from pulling away again.
Tampa Bay loaded the bases in the seventh on a double and two walks. Upton doubled down the left-field line and all three runners scored easily.
Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 3
BOSTON — Frank Thomas hit his 490th homer, a go-ahead, two-run drive off Tim Wakefield in the sixth inning that led the Toronto Blue Jays over the Boston Red Sox.
Aaron Hill had four hits, including a two-run homer in the ninth, as Toronto ended a five-game losing streak and stopped Boston’s five-game winning streak. Hill has four homers in 19 games after getting six in 155 last year.
Tomo Ohka (1-2) allowed three runs — two earned — and six hits in five-plus innings to win in a rematch of Boston’s 4-1 victory at Toronto last Wednesday. It was his first win in eight starts since Aug. 24 at Colorado.
Athletics 6, Orioles 5
BALTIMORE — Nick Swisher hit two home runs, including a drive that sparked a five-run fourth inning against Erik Bedard, and the Oakland Athletics ended the Baltimore Orioles’ four-game winning streak.
Swisher hit a two-run homer in the fourth and added a solo shot against Danys Baez in the ninth. It was his seventh career two-homer game, and the third time he homered from both sides of the plate.
Mariners 5, Rangers 4
ARLINGTON, Texas — Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-5 with a three-run triple as the Seattle Mariners snapped a six-game losing streak with a victory over the Texas Rangers.
Rookie Brandon Morrow (1-0) pitched 3 1-3 innings of one-hit shutout relief for his first major league victory, and the Mariners’ first win since beating Texas at home on April 15. J.J. Putz got four outs for his first save.
Jose Lopez had three hits for Seattle, which improved to 3-1 against Texas this season and 3-8 against the rest of the American League.
Hank Blalock had a two-run homer for Texas, which has lost four of six.
White Sox 7, Royals 4
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mark Buehrle didn’t pitch another no-hitter. Paul Konerko made sure didn’t need to.
Buehrle allowed five hits in seven innings, leading the Chicago White Sox over the Kansas City Royals.
Konerko, who had not homered since opening day, hit a pair of two-run homers and drove in five runs for the White Sox, the 20th multihomer game of his career.