ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Carlos Pena’s three-run homer capped a six-run rally in the ninth inning that carried the Tampa Bay Rays past the Cleveland Indians 10-7 on Wednesday.

Eric Hinske had an RBI double in the ninth and Gabe Gross tied it 7-all with a two-run homer off Edward Mujica, who was trying for his first major league save.

Masa Kobayashi (4-5) replaced Mujica and gave up an infield single to Akinori Iwamura. The right-hander then walked Ben Zobrist before Pena homered to center for his fifth career game-ending homer, setting off a raucous celebration at Tropicana Field.



Angels 9, Orioles 4

ANAHEIM, Calif.—Vladimir Guerrero homered and drove in four runs, Garret Anderson had three hits and two RBIs, and the Angels rolled past the Orioles.

Ervin Santana (13-5) allowed four runs and eight hits over seven innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. The first-time All-Star got as much run support in this outing as he did over his previous four starts combined, including a 5-2 loss at Camden Yards on July 27.

Baltimore left fielder Luis Montanez homered on the second pitch he saw in the major leagues, trimming the Angels’ lead to 4-1 in the third. The only other player in Orioles history to homer in his first big league at-bat was relief pitcher Les “Buster” Narum on May 3, 1963.



Twins 7, Mariners 3

SEATTLE—Rookie Denard Span drove in a career-high four runs and robbed Adrian Beltre of a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning, leading the Twins to a victory.

Nick Blackburn (9-6), who began the season at Double-A New Britain, allowed three runs in six innings to tie Detroit’s Armando Galarraga for most wins by an AL rookie.

Beltre had two hits and two RBIs for Seattle. The Mariners were denied a season-high fourth consecutive win and first three-game sweep of an AL team in their lost season.



White Sox 5, Tigers 1

CHICAGO—Jim Thome hit a three-run homer and John Danks worked efficiently into the seventh inning, helping the Chicago White Sox to a 5-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.

The White Sox remained a game ahead of the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central, while the Tigers dropped 8 1/2 games out of first place.

Red Sox 8, Royals 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Jacoby Ellsbury hit a three-run homer and Tim Wakefield’s baffling knuckleball shut down Kansas City on four hits through six innings, helping the Boston Red Sox to an 8-2 victory over the Royals on Wednesday night.

Jed Lowrie and J.D. Drew drove in two runs apiece for the Red Sox, who finished their season series 6-1 against the Royals.

Wakefield (7-8) threw knuckleballs almost exclusively, tossing practically each delivery toward the plate in the 63 mph range while winning for the first time in four starts.



NATIONAL LEAGUE

Pirates 2, Diamondbacks 0

PHOENIX—Jeff Karstens has given the Pittsburgh Pirates a perfect start.

Almost a perfect game, too.

The recently acquired right-hander set down his first 23 batters before Chris Young’s two-out double in the eighth inning and finished with a two-hitter in a 2-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Karstens (2-0) has tossed 15 scoreless innings—against a pair of first-place teams—since coming to Pittsburgh in a six-player trade July 26 that sent outfielder Xavier Nady and reliever Damaso Marte to the New York Yankees. This masterpiece followed a 3-0 victory Friday over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.



Cubs 11, Astros 4

CHICAGO—Mark DeRosa hit a grand slam and Alfonso Soriano had a three-run homer during an eight-run third inning that carried Chicago past Houston.

DeRosa’s fourth career slam made it 5-4 and propelled the Cubs to their ninth win in 11 games. The surging Soriano capped the burst with his second three-run shot in two days. He has 20 hits, six homers and 14 RBIs in his last 11 games after going 2-for-5 while driving in three runs.

DeRosa had two hits and drove in five runs after going 3-for-5 with three RBIs the previous day.



Brewers 6, Reds 3

CINCINNATI—Struggling leadoff hitter Rickie Weeks matched his career high with four hits, and the slumping bottom of Milwaukee’s batting order chipped in, too, setting up a victory over Cincinnati.

The Brewers took two of three in a series that started with slugger Prince Fielder shoving pitcher Manny Parra in the dugout twice during a 6-3 loss Monday night, when Milwaukee’s NL wild-card lead was trimmed to a half-game over St. Louis.





Fielder apologized a day later, and the Brewers were on their best behavior the rest of the way. They even managed to get some clutch hits, the thing they’ve missed the most during their recent slide of seven losses in 11 games.

Jeff Suppan (7-7) handled the Reds’ free-swinging lineup for the third time this season, allowing an RBI groundout and a two-run homer by Jay Bruce. Eric Gagne struck out Edwin Encarnacion with two runners aboard to end the eighth. Salomon Torres pitched the ninth for his 22nd save in 26 chances.

Weeks drove in a pair of runs with his second single off Homer Bailey (0-6).



Giants 3, Braves 2

SAN FRANCISCO—Tim Lincecum pitched eight innings for his first win in more than three weeks and Aaron Rowand homered and drove in three runs to help San Francisco beat Atlanta.

Randy Winn added four hits, including the 1,500th of his career, and scored twice for the Giants. San Francisco won for the fourth time in six games after going 4-8 following the All-Star break.

Brian Wilson pitched a perfect ninth for his NL-leading 32nd save in 34 chances.

Lincecum (12-3) is 11-2 in 19 starts following a Giants loss. The NL strikeout leader allowed five hits and struck out eight to earn his first win since July 13.

San Francisco did all its damage early against Chuck James (2-5), making his second start since being called up from the minors last week.



Phillies 5, Marlins 0

PHILADELPHIA—Kyle Kendrick pitched six scoreless innings, Ryan Howard homered and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Florida Marlins 5-0 on Wednesday night.

The NL East-leading Phillies moved 2 1/2 games ahead of Florida. The New York Mets entered the day two games behind.

Kendrick (10-5) allowed four hits and pitched around five walks to win at home for the first time since beating Cincinnati on June 2. Kendrick matched his win total from his rookie year when he came from nowhere last season and bailed out a depleted staff to help the Phillies win the division.

Chad Durbin tossed two scoreless innings, and Ryan Madson finished to complete the five-hitter.

Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez (1-1) gave up four runs—three earned—and five hits in five innings in his second start since returning from shoulder surgery.



Padres 4, Mets 2

NEW YORK—Jody Gerut hit Pedro Martinez’s first pitch for a home run and Mets third baseman David Wright committed a costly error, helping the San Diego Padres beat New York 4-2 on Wednesday night.

Cha Seung Baek baffled the Mets again, allowing two runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA in two starts against New York this season.

Brian Giles and Chase Headley also homered for the last-place Padres, who improved to 5-1 against the Mets this year.