Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. ó A.J. Burnett is already paying dividends on his big contract with the New York Yankees.
The free-agent catch took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning in his second start since signing an $82.5 million, five-year deal, and Nick Swisher homered for the third time in four games to help Burnett beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-2 on Tuesday night.
Mark Teixeira drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly off J.P. Howell (0-1) after missing New York’s previous three games with tendinitis in left wrist.
Derek Jeter added a three-run homer in the ninth.
Burnett (2-0) allowed one baserunner until the seventh, when Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford fouled off three 0-2 pitches before lining a single to left and later scoring on Carlos Pena’s RBI single.
The Rays added a second run in the inning on Pat Burrell’s sac fly to make it 2-all heading into the eighth.
Burnett allowed two runs and three hits, walked one and struck out nine in eight innings ó taming a torrid offense that had 17 hits in each of its previous two games, including a 15-5 rout of the Yankees on Monday.
Mariners 3, Angels 2 (10 innings)
SEATTLE ó Ken Griffey Jr. was a winner in his return to Seattle.
Franklin Gutierrez hit a leadoff double in the 10th inning and scoring the winning run on a throwing error by Angels pitcher Scot Shields.
Griffey went 1-for-3 with a walk in his first home game for the Mariners since Sept. 26, 1999.
Twins 3, Blue Jays 2 (11 innings)
MINNEAPOLIS ó Joe Crede’s double off the center-field fence in the 11th inning scored Justin Morneau from first base.
Glen Perkins held the highest-scoring team in the majors to two runs in eight innings for the Twins, who snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Blue Jays. That was the second-longest skid of its kind in the majors ó Milwaukee has beaten Pittsburgh 12 straight times.
Orioles 7, Rangers 5 (10 innings)
ARLINGTON, Texas ó Adam Jones hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the 10th and Baltimore handed Texas its fifth straight loss.
Luke Scott added a two-run double later in the four-run 10th as the Orioles batted around to make it 7-3.
Texas rallied for two runs against George Sherrill, but he got Nelson Cruz to fly out with runners on first and third to end it.
Royals 9, Indians 3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ó John Buck broke open a 5-3 game with a grand slam for his second homer of the night, and he had five RBIs.
National League
Marlins 5, Braves 1
ATLANTA ó Dan Uggla drove in three runs, and Chris Volstad and two relievers combined on a four-hitter.
The Marlins are a big league best 6-1 ó all against NL East opponents ó for their best start since opening 1997 with an 8-1 record.
Uggla drove in two runs with a third-inning single off Javier Vazquez, who struck out 12 in six innings.
Kelly Johnson led off the fourth with his third homer for Atlanta’s first hit off Volstad.
Reds 6, Brewers 1
MILWAUKEE ó Bronson Arroyo held the Brewers to four hits in six-plus innings, and Jerry Hairston Jr. hit a two-run homer for the Reds.
D’backs 7, Cardinals 6 (10 innings)
PHOENIX ó Eric Byrnes broke out of a slump with a two-out RBI single in the 10th inning. Long after the Cardinals lost starting pitcher Chris Carpenter to a ribcage injury, Byrnes, who had one hit in his first 17 at-bats, lined the first delivery from Brad Thompson into left field to score Justin Upton.