run homer in a seven-run eighth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays roughed up the New York Yankees in a 13-4 win in the American League on Friday. Yankees manager Joe Girardi was not in the dugout to watch the Rays batter New York pitching, missing the game because of an upper respiratory infection. The Rays took advantage of wildness from young pitcher Ian Kennedy to score five times in the third. In all, the Rays had 15 hits off six Yankees pitchers. The Yankees have scored just eight runs in the first three games of the season. White Sox 8, Tigers 5: In Detroit, A.J. Pierzynski drove in five runs, including a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the seventh inning that led Chicago over Detroit. The Tigers, the only winless team in the major leagues, are 0-4 for the first time since dropping their first nine games in 2003. That year, they lost an AL-record 119 times. Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 3: In Toronto, veteran slugger Frank Thomas doubled for the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as Toronto downed Boston. Shaun Marcum struck out eight batters as the Blue Jays improved to 24-8 in home openers before a sellout crowd of 50,171. Marcum allowed just three hits and walked only one over seven innings. Athletics 6, Indians 3: In Oakland, California, Justin Duchscherer allowed one run in five innings in his first start since 2003, helping Oakland beat Cleveland before leaving the game with biceps tendinitis. A reliever the past four years before taking a spot in the A's rotation, Duchscherer struck out six. He left in the sixth inning after giving up back-to-back singles. Elsewhere it was: Rangers 11, Angels 6; Orioles 7, Mariners 4; Twins 4, Royals 3.D'backs trounce Rockies Arizona pitcher Micah Owings struck out a career-best nine batters as the Diamondbacks pounded the struggling Colorado Rockies 8-1 in the National League on Friday. Owongs allowed just two hits over 6 2-3 innings, and at one point retired 17 straight batters. It was contrast to Colorado's previous visit to Arizona when it celebrated a sweep of 2007's NL championship series. Astros 4, Cubs 3: In Chicago, J.R. Towles homered in the fourth as Houston sent Chicago to its third loss in four games. Miguel Tejada added a go-ahead triple in the eighth for the Astros. Towles' two-run drive gave Houston a 2-0 lead and that held until the seventh. Houston immediately got two runs in the eighth thanks to some shoddy defense. Brewers 13, Giants 4: In Milwaukee, Bill Hall homered twice and had a career-high six RBIs, leading Milwaukee to a rout of San Francisco in its home opener. The Brewers have won three of their first four games after taking two out of three from Chicago in their season-opening series at Wrigley Field. In other games it was: Marlins 5, Pirates 4; Cardinals 5, Nationals 4; Phillies 8, Reds 4; Dodgers 7, Padres 1. __
