Associated PressANAHEIM, Calif. ó Torii Hunter hit a two-run homer, Joe Saunders pitched five effective innings in his return to the rotation and Los Angeles snapped a three-game skid with a 4-2 victory over Detroit on Wednesday.
Kendry Morales and Chone Figgins added run-scoring hits for Los Angeles, the only major league club without four straight losses.
Hunter hit his 18th homer in the first against Edwin Jackson (10-6), who took his first loss since July 19.
Adam Everett hit a two-run homer for the AL Central-leading Tigers, who had won eight of 12.
Saunders (10-7) made his first start since Aug. 7, and allowed four hits and two walks while striking out six. In his first appearance in eight days, closer Brian Fuentes hit two batters but hung on for his 36th save.
Indians 4, Royals 2KANSAS CITY, Mo. ó Grady Sizemore scored three runs and David Huff bounced back from a bad start in his previous outing for Cleveland.
Sizemore reached base four times after a day off, scoring in the first, third and fifth innings to put Cleveland up 3-2. Matt LaPorta hit his second homer of the season in the sixth off Luke Hochevar (6-7) and Jamey Carroll had three hits to back Huff (8-7), one of nine Indians riding a bus that was hit by a car on the way to the stadium. No one was hurt.
Red Sox 3, White Sox 2
BOSTON ó David Ortiz curled his second homer of the game around the Pesky Pole to break a ninth-inning tie.
It was Ortiz’s 10th career game-ending homer and franchise-record ninth with the Red Sox. Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx had eight.
All-Star Tim Wakefield pitched seven strong innings in his return from the disabled list, but the 43-year-old knuckleballer was deprived of a win when Jayson Nix homered off reliever Ramon Ramirez to make it 2-2 in the eighth.
Yankees 9, Rangers 2
NEW YORK ó Jorge Posada hit a three-run homer and Andy Pettitte finally gave New York a quality pitching performance.
Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira both drove in two runs, and Jerry Hairston Jr. added a solo homer for the Yankees, who have scored at least eight runs in four of their last five games.
Pettitte (11-6) allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings to win his third straight decision.
Blue Jays 3, Rays 2
TORONTO ó Marco Scutaro scored the winning run on a wild pitch after Tampa Bay closer J.P. Howell loaded the bases with three walks.
Orioles 5, Twins 1MINNEAPOLIS ó Jeremy Guthrie pitched seven easy innings and Felix Pie homered as Baltimore ended Minnesota’s season-high five-game winning streak.
Mariners 5, Athletics 3
SEATTLE ó Jose Lopez homered, and newly acquired Bill Hall drove in two runs.