hit grand slam capped a seven-run eighth inning, rallying the Tampa Bay Rays to an 8-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins Saturday. The defeat spoiled a big day for Twins slugger Jim Thome. He homered twice to move past Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew into 10th place on the career list, with 574. Minnesota starter Francisco Liriano struck out 10 and allowed just one run in seven innings, but the Twins' normally reliable bullpen couldn't hold a 4-1 lead in the eighth. The Twins pulled back two runs in the ninth on a double by Thome and a single, but Rays closer Rafael Soriano got Orlando Hudson to ground out, notching his 20th save in 21 chances. Tampa Bay's Randy Choate (1-2) pitched one inning for the win. Yankees 11, Blue Jays 3: In New York, Brett Gardner hit his first career grand slam and Alex Rodriguez drove in four more runs during the Yankees' biggest offensive inning in five years, carrying New York to a rout of Toronto. The high-powered Yankees scored 11 times during their 37-minute third inning, sending 15 batters to the plate. It was their most prolific outburst since scoring 13 times in the eighth against Tampa Bay in 2005. Gardner's slam chased Toronto starter Ricky Romero (6-5) after 2 2-3 innings, the shortest start of his career. He allowed eight of the 11 runs, the most given up by Toronto in an inning since Kansas City also scored 11 times in the seventh in 1979. New York starter Andy Pettitte (10-2) limited the Blue Jays to a two-run homer in the first and a solo shot in the sixth. In other games it was: Rangers 3, White Sox 1; Royals 4, Angels 2; Tigers 6, Mariners 1; Red Sox 9, Orioles 3; Indians 5, Athletics 4. Braves beat Marlins Atlanta starter Tommy Hanson did not give up an earned run as he recovered from back-to-back ugly losses to steer the Braves to a 4-1 win over the Florida Marlins in the National League Saturday. Hanson (8-5) allowed an unearned run with eight strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings. His return to form came after he yielded a combined 15 runs in two straight losses while failing to complete the fourth inning in both starts. Hanson, who has never lost more than two consecutive decisions, struck out four straight batters in the sixth and seventh. He is 3-0 in four career starts against Florida, which has lost three straight. Gregor Blanco hit a two-run single off Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez (7-5) among four runs in the fourth for Atlanta, which moved a season-best 15 games over .500. Giants 11, Rockies 8: In Denver, San Francisco tagged Ubaldo Jimenez for seven runs in the third inning, lost a big lead and then rallied against Colorado's beleaguered bullpen to snap a seven-game skid. Struggling Rockies pitcher Manny Corpas (2-5) was charged with two runs in the seventh after the Rockies had fought back from a 7-1 deficit. Corpas allowed a leadoff triple and a tying RBI single before Pablo Sandoval hit a sacrifice fly to give the Giants a 9-8 lead. Aubrey Huff added an insurance two-run homer in the ninth. San Francisco's Denny Bautista (2-0) got two outs in the sixth for the win. Nationals 6, Mets 5: In Washington, Ivan Rodriguez capped a three-run comeback in the ninth inning with an RBI single as Washington rallied to edge New York. Trying to protect a 5-3 lead, Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez (2-2) opened the ninth by walking Cristian Guzman. Willie Harris' one-out single and a walk to Ryan Zimmerman loaded the bases. Elsewhere it was: Cubs 3, Reds 1; Brewers 12, Cardinals 5; Padres 1, Astros 0; Dodgers 14, Diamondbacks 1; Phillies 12, Pirates 4.
