Major Leagues: American League roundup

Published 12:00 am Sunday, July 17, 2011

Associated Press
The American League roundup …
MINNEAPOLIS ó Jim Thome hit his 596th career home run and Joe Nathan picked up the save for the second day in a row to lift the Minnesota Twins to a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.
Thomeís tiebreaking three-run drive off Felipe Paulino soared into the upper deck in right-center field in the sixth inning, leaving him four shy of becoming the eighth player to hit 600 home runs.
Jeff Francoeur homered and Melky Cabrera added two hits for the Royals. Paulino (1-3) struck out eight in seven innings, yielding four runs and seven hits.
Yankees 7, Blue Jays 2
TORONTO ó Phil Hughes pitched six effective innings to earn his first win of the season as the Yankees salvaged a split of the four-game series.
Brett Gardner had three hits and Curtis Granderson finished with three RBIs for the Yankees, who were outscored 23-8 over the first two games in the set.
Orioles 8, Indians 3
BALTIMORE ó Robert Andino homered and had a career-high four RBIs, and Baltimore secured its first winning streak in nearly a month.
Tigers 4, White Sox 3
DETROIT ó Carlos Guillen hit a tiebreaking RBI single in Detroitís three-run sixth inning, leading the Tigers to the victory.
Athletics 9, Angels 1
OAKLAND, Calif. ó Conor Jackson hit his first career grand slam to highlight an eight-run first inning and the Oakland Athletics cruised to a win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Hideki Matsui added a two-run single when the A’s sent 14 batters to the plate.
Rangers 3, Mariners 1
SEATTLE ó Matt Harrison continued Texas’ nearly perfect pitching, allowing just one run in 72/3 innings, Mitch Moreland hit a three-run homer and the Rangers won their 11th straight with a win over the Mariners.
Red Sox-Rays
Boston and Tampa Bay were still battling in a scoreless game in the 12th inning at deadline.
Boston left-hander Jon Lester could rejoin the rotation in about one week, while left fielder Carl Crawford will be back in the lineup Monday. Crawford has been sidelined by a strained left hamstring.