No. 499 for Palmeiro in Loss to Blue Jays

Rafael Palmeiro got within one swing of his 500th homer -- then struck out to end the game.

After leading off the eighth inning with No. 499, ending a weeklong homer drought, Palmeiro struck out with one on in the ninth and the Texas Rangers lost, 8-6, to the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday at Arlington, Texas.

“It was really no different than any other at-bat. I was trying to keep the rally going, keep the game going,” Palmeiro said.

Palmeiro’s homer in the eighth was his ninth of the season. It put him within one of becoming the 19th player in the 500-homer club, and got the Rangers to 8-5.

Michael Young led off the Texas ninth with a homer and Carl Everett reached on a single before Palmeiro came up as the potential tying run with two out.

After taking three pitches for a 2-and-1 count, Palmeiro swung and missed at a pitch high and out of the strike zone. Cliff Politte then threw a ball outside for a full count before Palmeiro swung and missed again.

New York 16, Seattle 5 -- Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run homer in New York’s 10-run third inning, and Jason Giambi later added a three-run shot at Seattle.

The Yankees set a season high for runs and scored 10 runs in an inning for the first time since Sept. 25, 1996.

Minnesota 5, Tampa Bay 0 -- Kyle Lohse pitched a five-hitter at St. Petersburg, Fla., and the Twins completed a sweep of their six-game season series with the Devil Rays.

Oakland 8, Chicago 5 -- Miguel Tejada had a three-run homer among his three hits at Oakland. The A’s beat Chicago for the fourth time in six games over the last 10 days.

Baltimore at Kansas City -- Reports of tornadoes forced postponement of the game, which will be made up today as part of a doubleheader.