Slumping Rays scuffle with each other

Now the Tampa Bay Rays are fighting among themselves.

Rays starting pitcher Matt Garza and catcher Dioner Navarro had to be separated in the dugout -- minutes after an angry confrontation on the mound -- in a 6-3 loss at Texas in which Tampa Bay missed a chance for its first series sweep on the road this season.

"This wasn't pretty today. It was a bad day all around," left fielder Carl Crawford said.

"It was nothing, in-house kind of stuff, things that happen on occasion and we took care of it," manager Joe Maddon insisted, without being specific. "It was shoving, that was it. It's been taken care of."

After Rangers No. 9 hitter German Duran hit a 2-run homer for a 3-0 lead in the fourth, Garza and Navarro had a heated exchange on the mound, sticking their gloves into each other's face. Pitching coach Jim Hickey pushed Navarro back toward the plate when he visited the mound.

When the inning ended, Garza approached Navarro in the dugout. Television cameras caught them face-to-face in a scuffle that spilled into the tunnel leading to the clubhouse. Maddon, Hickey and others rushed to break up the fracas.

"It was just something that happened in the game and it's been taken care of," Navarro said. "It happens in the family. ... We're fine. We're brothers, a whole family. The oldest brother gets into fights sometimes. It's been straightened out."

Jason Hammel took over on the mound in the fifth, while Navarro remained in the game. Garza gave up 3 runs and 6 hits with 2 strikeouts.

"Just keep it in house and fix it. That's about it," Garza said, after meeting behind closed doors with Maddon for about 20 minutes. "We're both competitors. Whatever happens stays here and we'll definitely fix it."

Hickey said he didn't know if the disagreement was "over pitch selection or whatever. Obviously it was something that was bothering them."

The scuffle between pitcher and catcher came only three days after Tampa Bay was involved in a bench-clearing brawl at Boston.

Not only did Tampa Bay get swept in the three-game series by the Red Sox to lose their 10-day hold on the AL East lead, the Rays had five players suspended for a total of 23 games that were staggered. Jonny Gomes served the second of his five-game suspension Sunday.

Tampa Bay (37-26) dropped 1½ games behind Boston in the AL East after losing to Texas, which got home runs from David Murphy, Duran and Ramon Vazquez on a day that Josh Hamilton and Michael Young were out of the lineup.

Yankees 6, Royals 3: Joba Chamberlain bounced back from a disappointing first start with the Yankees, pitching into the fifth inning to help host New York beat Kansas City. Jason Giambi hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth, and Bobby Abreu finished with a home run and 3 RBI for the Yankees.

Tigers 5, Indians 2: Curtis Granderson homered, and Placido Polanco hit a key 2-run single as host Detroit beat Cleveland.

Red Sox 2, Mariners 1: Justin Masterson pitched 6 strong innings, and J.D. Drew hit a go-ahead homer for host Boston in a win over Seattle.

Blue Jays 5, Orioles 4: Roy Halladay won his fourth straight start, Vernon Wells homered and host Toronto snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Baltimore.

Athletics 7, Angels 3 (12): Mark Ellis hit a grand slam with two outs in the 12th inning, and host Oakland ended Los Angeles' season-best seven-game winning streak.

National League

Cardinals 5, Astros 4: Brendan Ryan hit a 2-run single to cap a comeback fueled by 2 Houston errors and St. Louis beat the host Astros.

Brewers 3, Rockies 2: Jeff Suppan and three relievers limited host Colorado to 6 hits as Milwaukee snapped a six-game slide at Coors Field.

Phillies 6, Braves 3: Ryan Howard (3-for-5, 4 RBI) drove in 2 runs in the ninth inning with his third double of the game, and Philadelphia beat host Atlanta to complete a three-game sweep.

Marlins 9, Reds 2: Hanley Ramirez homered twice, and Ryan Tucker pitched 5 effective innings to win his major-league debut, leading host Florida past Cincinnati. The Reds; Ken Griffey Jr. remained 1 home run shy of becoming the sixth player to reach 600. He went 0-for-1 with 2 walks.

Padres 8, Mets 6: Pinch hitter Tony Clark connected for a go-ahead, 3-run homer off Billy Wagner with two outs in the eighth inning to give host San Diego a four-game sweep of New York.

Pirates 6, Diamondbacks 4: Jason Bay's 2-run double completed host Pittsburgh's 5-run fourth inning, and the Pirates shook off Mark Reynolds' 2 home runs to beat Arizona.

Giants 6, Nationals 3: Barry Zito earned his second win of the season, and Ray Durham finished with 4 hits to lead San Francisco past host Washington.