MLB ROUNDUP \ Sunday’s other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

White Sox 12, Twins 2

CHICAGO — Nick Swisher and Alexei Ramirez homered as Chicago routed Minnesota for a sixth straight win. The latest outburst came exactly one week after manager Ozzie Guillen lashed out at his struggling hitters. They responded with 54 runs during this streak, and have scored 10 or more in three consecutive games for the first time since July 15-17.

Red Sox 2, Mariners 1

BOSTON — Justin Masterson pitched six strong innings and J.D. Drew hit a go-ahead homer for Boston. Masterson (3-0) gave up one run on three hits and struck out four for Boston, which has won 15 of its last 16 at home and eight of 10 overall. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his 18th save.

Yankees 6, Royals 3

NEW YORK (AP) — Joba Chamberlain bounced back from a disappointing first start with the Yankees, pitching into the fifth inning to help New York beat Kansas City. Jason Giambi hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth and Bobby Abreu finished with a home run and three RBIs for the Yankees, who have won four of five.

Blue Jays 5, Orioles 4

TORONTO — Roy Halladay won his fourth straight start, Vernon Wells homered and the Toronto Blue Jays snapped a four-game losing streak. Marco Scutaro drove in two runs for Toronto, which avoided a three-game sweep. Luke Scott hit two homers for the Orioles, a solo shot in the second inning and a two-run drive in the sixth. It was the third multihomer game of his career.

Rangers 6, Rays 3

ARLINGTON, Texas — David Murphy hit one of Texas’ three homers and the Rangers beat bickering Tampa Bay despite playing without ailing hitting stars Josh Hamilton and Michael Young. German Duran and Ramon Vazquez also homered for the Rangers. The Rays missed out on their first road sweep this season with a loss that included a scuffle between pitcher Matt Garza and catcher Dioner Navarro.

Athletics 7, Angels 3, 12 innings

OAKLAND, Calif. — Mark Ellis hit a grand slam with two outs in the 12th inning, and Oakland ended Los Angeles’ season-best seven-game winning streak.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Phillies 6, Braves 3

ATLANTA — Ryan Howard drove in two runs in the ninth inning with his third double of the game as the Phillies completed a three-game sweep. Howard finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs.

Marlins 9, Reds 2

MIAMI — Hanley Ramirez homered twice and Ryan Tucker pitched five effective innings to win his major league debut. Ken Griffey Jr. remained one home run shy of becoming the sixth player to reach 600. He went 0-for-1 with two walks before being replaced in the seventh. Ramirez hit a pair of two-run shots off Aaron Harang (2-9), giving him five homers in his last five games. Dan Uggla had two doubles and three RBIs, and Jorge Cantu added two hits and an RBI for the Marlins.

Padres 8, Mets 6

SAN DIEGO — Pinch-hitter Tony Clark connected for a go-ahead, three-run homer off Billy Wagner with two outs in the eighth inning to give San Diego a four-game sweep of New York. Wagner (0-1) relieved Duaner Sanchez with two outs and runners on first and second. The left-hander gave up an RBI single to Jody Gerut that cut New York’s lead to 6-5. Clark then hit a full-count fastball over the center-field wall to extend the Padres’ season-high winning streak to five games. The pinch-hit homer was the 11th of Clark’s career and the first of the season for San Diego. It also deprived a shaky Pedro Martinez of his second win since he returned from the disabled list Tuesday.

Cardinals 5, Astros 4

HOUSTON — Brendan Ryan hit a two-run single in the seventh inning to cap a St. Louis comeback fueled by two Houston errors. Kyle Lohse (7-2) gave up a three-run homer to Lance Berkman, but otherwise pitched six strong innings to beat the Astros for the third time this season.

Giants 6, Nationals 3

WASHINGTON — Barry Zito earned his second win of the season and Ray Durham finished with four hits, leading San Francisco past Washington. Aaron Rowand’s bad-hop single gave San Francisco the go-ahead run and capped a four-run fifth inning. Randy Winn hit a two-run single to tie it, and John Bowker’s two-run homer in the seventh sealed the victory. T

Brewers 3, Rockies 2

DENVER — Jeff Suppan and three relievers limited Colorado to six hits as Milwaukee snapped a six-game slide at Coors Field.

Associated Press