Rookie Baldelli Keys Devil Rays’ Victory

Rocco Baldelli has made quite an impression in his rookie season.

Baldelli’s two-run single and Toby Hall’s two-run double highlighted a six-run second inning that sent the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a 9-5 victory over the Blue Jays on Thursday at Toronto.

Baldelli went two for five, raising his average to .352.

“He’s a special kid, a special player,” Devil Ray Manager Lou Piniella said. “You start looking at Rocco and you say to yourself how many players in baseball would you trade him for, and I’m going to tell you what, there are not too many.”

Vernon Wells homered for the Blue Jays, who fell to 2-4 against Tampa Bay this season. Wells has a team-high 39 RBIs.

Kansas City 9, Minnesota 5 -- Joe Randa, in a two-for-43 slump, keyed a four-run 14th inning with a leadoff double at Minneapolis.

Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer in the first inning for the Royals, who split the four-game series.

Boston 12, Texas 3 -- Pedro Martinez gave up five hits in six shutout innings and David Ortiz was three for five with two RBIs as the Red Sox completed a three-game sweep at Boston.

Martinez (4-2) bounced back from a bad outing with eight strikeouts and one walk before he left with a 10-0 lead. Only one Texas baserunner reached third base against him.

Chicago 8, Baltimore 2 -- Bartolo Colon gave up five hits and Magglio Ordonez keyed a six-run seventh with a bases-loaded triple at Chicago.

Oakland 11, Detroit 2 -- Eric Byrnes hit a three-run triple in Oakland’s six-run first and Barry Zito (6-3) pitched six strong innings at Detroit. Oakland (25-15) has its best record after 40 games since 1990.

Seattle 9, Cleveland 1 -- Edgar Martinez hit a three-run homer in a rain-delayed game at Cleveland.

Martinez homered in the first inning off Jake Westbrook (2-3) and had a sacrifice fly in the eighth for the Mariners, who were already up 7-0 in the fourth when thunderstorms and steady rain caused a nearly three-hour delay.