Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. ó All-Star Ben Zobrist hit a three-run homer and had an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning that gave Tampa Bay a 10-9 victory over Toronto on Wednesday night.
Zobrist homered off starter Brian Tallet in the fourth inning. His winning hit off Scott Downs with two outs drove in Carl Crawford, who singled off Jason Frasor (5-2) before stealing second and third.
B.J. Upton stole home in the first inning and had an RBI single in the second for the Rays, who built two three-run leads that Scott Kazmir and Tampa Bay’s bullpen couldn’t hold. Toronto wiped out deficits of 5-2 and 9-6 before wasting an opportunity to go ahead when it stranded two runners in the eighth.
Tigers 3, Royals 1
DETROIT ó Detroit rookie Lucas French, making his second major-league start, outdueled Zack Greinke.
French (1-0) held the Royals to one run and six hits in 61/3 innings. Three Tigers relievers finished, with Fernando Rodney pitching the ninth for his 19th save in as many tries.
Red Sox 5, Athletics 4
BOSTON ó First-time All-Star Tim Wakefield earned his AL-leading 11th victory, and David Ortiz homered and drove in four runs for Boston.
Wakefield (11-3) left to a standing ovation in the seventh inning in his final scheduled start before the break. The 42-year-old knuckleballer is 9-0 in his last 11 starts at Fenway Park.
Yankees 4, Twins 3
MINNEAPOLIS ó A.J. Burnett won his third straight start, and Brett Gardner’s two-run single helped New York build an early lead.
Joe Mauer drove in runs for the Twins with a double and a homer.
White Sox 5, Indians 1
CHICAGO ó Jose Contreras allowed one run over 61/3 innings and Jermaine Dye had three RBIs for Chicago, which won for 16th time in 22 games.
Contreras (4-7) allowed six hits, walked one and struck out nine.
Orioles 5, Mariners 3
SEATTLE ó Baltimore took advantage of two errors by second baseman Jose Lopez to rally for five runs in the ninth inning.
National League
NEW YORK ó Oliver Perez won despite a wild return from the disabled list and New York finally mustered some offense Wednesday night, overcoming Manny Ramirez’s homer in a 5-4 victory over Los Angeles.
Brewers 5, Cardinals 4
MILWAUKEE ó Prince Fielder drove in the go-ahead run for Milwaukee with his two-out, eighth inning infield single.
Rookie Mat Gamel hit a two-run homer in the fourth, reliever Todd Coffey (4-1) got the win with two scoreless innings and Trevor Hoffman picked up his 19th save in 20 chances after working around Albert Pujols and out of a bases-loaded jam.
Phillies 3, Reds 2
PHILADELPHIA ó Shane Victorino’s RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning lifted Philadelphia.
Jayson Werth hit a solo homer for the NL East-leading Phillies, who are 5-1 since losing 14 of 18.
Astros 5, Pirates 0
HOUSTON ó Wandy Rodriguez pitched a five-hitter for Houston and tied his career high by striking out 11.
Marlins 7, Giants 0
SAN FRANCISCO ó Chris Volstad pitched a five-hitter for his first career complete game, Dan Uggla hit a three-run homer and Florida beat the Giants to avoid a sweep.
Braves 4, Cubs 1
CHICAGO ó Kenshin Kawakami shut down the Cubs for six innings and shortstop Yunel Escobar made a run-saving defensive play in the eighth.
Casey Kotchman homered for the Braves, who won a road series for the first time in nearly two months.
Rockies 10, Nationals 4
DENVER ó Jorge De La Rosa pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Ryan Spilborghs hit a bases-loaded triple to key a four-run fifth and Colorado beat Washington to complete a three-game sweep.
Diamondbacks 6, Padres 2
PHOENIX ó Felipe Lopez hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run rally in the eighth, Max Scherzer pitched seven sharp innings.