Yankees Are Showing Championship Form

For the New York Yankees, the game served as evidence that the two-time defending World Series champions are back on course after a lengthy malaise.

For the Baltimore Orioles, it was yet another embarrassment in a season that long ago turned sour.

Paul O’Neill had six runs batted in, four hits and a homer, and Bernie Williams hit a grand slam Tuesday night as the Yankees routed the Orioles, 19-1, at Baltimore.

Derek Jeter, Ryan Thompson and Clay Bellinger also homered and Jose Vizcaino had four of the Yankees’ season-high 20 hits. New York (53-42) has won eight of 11 to move 11 games over .500 for the first time since May 12.

“We’re on a roll now,” Williams said. “It seems like all the aspects of our game are clicking--our pitching, we’re hitting the ball great, we’re hitting in scoring position. It just seems like everything is coming together.”

An eighth-inning homer by B.J. Surhoff enabled the Orioles to avoid the worst shutout loss in franchise history. Baltimore’s most lopsided defeat was to the Texas Rangers, 26-7, in 1996.

“It was just one of those games. It was ugly, you’re glad you get through it healthy and you move on,” Oriole Manager Mike Hargrove said. “It certainly isn’t fun.”

Hargrove used five pitchers, and each gave up at least a run.

“We just didn’t pitch well. That may be the understatement of the season,” he said.

Detroit 6, Tampa Bay 4--Deivi Cruz, batting cleanup for the first time in his career, hit a two-run triple in the first inning for the Tigers at Detroit.

Cruz was Detroit’s No. 4 batter because Juan Gonzalez and Tony Clark are on the disabled list and Dean Palmer rested an ailing shoulder. Bobby Higginson, 0 for 4 as the fourth hitter in Tuesday night’s 4-2 loss to the Devil Rays, moved back to the third slot.

Minnesota 4, Boston 2--Joe Mays pitched seven strong innings and David Ortiz had two hits at Boston as the Twins won for the fifth time in six games.

Mays (6-11) struck out seven and gave up two runs on seven hits and a walk before leaving in the eighth inning. Ortiz went two for three and drove in an insurance run in the eighth. He is 18 for 30 in his last eight games.

Cleveland 10, Toronto 3--Roberto Alomar returned to the lineup by hitting a two-run homer, and the Indians scored seven runs in the eighth inning at Toronto.

Alomar, who sat our four games because of a sore left ankle, homered in the first. He also doubled and scored a run in the fourth.

Oakland 8, Seattle 7--Gil Heredia beat the Mariners for the fifth consecutive time and the Athletics broke a 4-4 tie in the seventh at Seattle on Ben Grieve’s RBI single and Matt Stairs’ run-scoring double against Aaron Sele (11-6) and Jeremy Giambi’s two-run double against Jose Mesa.

Kansas City 6, Chicago 1--Jermaine Dye hit two two-run homers at Chicago as the Royals ended a three-game losing streak.