Mauer, Twins top Orioles; Red Sox take AL East lead

Joe Mauer homered and drove in 3 runs, helping Boof Bonser get a win out of the bullpen and leading the Minnesota Twins past the visiting Baltimore Orioles 7-5 on Wednesday night.

Mauer went deep for the first time this season against the New York Yankees on Monday. Stepping out with the same uppercut swing against Jamie Walker in the seventh inning, Mauer put one in the upper deck, above and just to the left of the foul pole, to give Minnesota a 2-run lead.

The Twins trailed 5-2 against Daniel Cabrera (5-2), but handed him his first loss in 6 starts when Jason Kubel's triple tied it in the sixth and Delmon Young's sacrifice fly put them in front.

Red Sox 5, Rays 1: Josh Beckett allowed 1 run in 6 strong innings, and Boston won their 12th straight home game to take the AL East lead from Tampa Bay with a win over the Rays.

Beckett (6-4) left after throwing 92 pitches, allowing 7 hits with 5 strikeouts and no walks.

Despite dropping a half-game behind the Red Sox and ending 10 days in first place, the Rays are a franchise-high 11 games over .500.

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 1: Mike Mussina (9-4) tied for the American League lead in wins, and Derek Jeter passed Mickey Mantle on the Yankees career hits list as host New York beat Toronto.

With catcher Jorge Posada back from the disabled list but not in the starting lineup yet, backup Jose Molina gave the Yankees an unexpected boost on offense. Wilson Betemit homered off Jesse Litsch (7-2), and the Yankees snapped a three-game skid by handing the Blue Jays only their seventh loss in 22 games.

Indians 15, Rangers 9: Ryan Garko drove in a career-high 6 runs, David Dellucci hit a 3-run homer, and visiting Cleveland outslugged Texas.

Dellucci, who had 29 homers for the Rangers in 2005, extended the Indians' lead to 11-6 in the sixth inning against Elizardo Ramirez (0-1) with his sixth homer. It came one batter after Garko's 2-run single had put Cleveland in front.

Angels 5, Mariners 4: Torii Hunter hit a 2-run single in a big first inning before Jered Weaver and three relievers preserved the victory for Los Angeles.

Weaver (5-6) allowed 10 hits for the fifth time in 13 starts this season -- but won for the third time in 4 starts.

Athletics 10, Tigers 2: Justin Duchscherer allowed 3 hits over 6½ innings, and Oakland completed a three-game sweep of visiting Detroit.

Tigers' starter Nate Robertson (3-6) took the loss after giving up 5 runs and 8 hits in 6½ innings. The left-hander had won his previous 2 decisions but remained winless in 5 starts on the road.

National League

Reds 2, Phillies 0: Joey Votto's two-out RBI double in the seventh inning spoiled Brett Myers' bid for a no-hitter, and Cincinnati beat host Philadelphia behind another impressive start by Edinson Volquez.

Ken Griffey Jr.. 1 home run shy of 600, wasn't in the Reds' lineup for the third consecutive game because of a sore knee. For the second straight game, he walked as a pinch hitter in the eighth.

Volquez (8-2) allowed 2 hits, struck out eight, walked two and hit two batters in 7 innings, lowering his ERA to a major-league-best 1.32.

Myers (3-7) retired the first 13 batters before he walked Adam Dunn with one out in the fifth. He gave up 1 run, 1 hit and walked a season-high six in 7½ innings, striking out eight.

Brewers 10, Diamondbacks 1: Corey Hart hit a 3-run, inside-the-park homer, and Russell Branyan followed with a solo homer shot to lift surging Milwaukee past visiting Arizona for its sixth straight win.

Brewers starter Manny Parra (4-2) tied a career high with 8 strikeouts in 7 innings, retiring his final 14 batters as the Brewers finished their homestand 8-1 and swept the Diamondbacks for the first time since 2000.

Marlins 6, Braves 4: Hanley Ramirez hit 2 homers, including a 2-run shot in a 4-run ninth inning, as visiting Florida rallied to defeat Atlanta.

Manny Acosta (3-3) recorded only one out while giving up 4 runs on 4 hits, 3 for extra bases, for his second blown save in five opportunities.

Rockies 2, Dodgers 1: Aaron Cook pitched 8 sharp innings, and Jeff Baker drove in both Colorado runs with his first home run of the season as the Rockies won at Los Angeles.

Cook (8-3) allowed 1 run and 6 hits, struck out six and walked one. Brian Fuentes pitched a perfect ninth inning for his eighth save in 11 chances.

Mets 5, Giants 3: Jose Reyes hit a leadoff double, then homered and singled to help John Maine (6-4) and visiting New York beat San Francisco.

Reyes scored twice, and Carlos Beltran added a 2-run double as the Mets won for the seventh time in nine games.

Pirates 5, Astros 2: Zach Duke allowed 2 runs over 7¿ innings, and Raul Chavez drove in 3 runs to lead host Pittsburgh over Houston.

Ty Wigginton hit a solo home run and Carlos Lee had an RBI single for the Astros, who have lost six of seven.

Cardinals-Nationals, ppd.: Wednesday night's game at Washington between St. Louis and the Nationals was postponed because of rain and lightning, It will be made up today as part of a day-night doubleheader.