Rookies Help A’s End Losing Streak

Rookies Bobby Crosby and Nick Swisher hit back-to-back homers in the eighth inning against Bob Howry, and the Oakland Athletics stopped their five-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians Saturday at Oakland.

Scott Hatteberg had a two-run double for the A’s, who appeared headed to their longest losing skid of the season after C.C. Sabathia held them scoreless through six innings.

Travis Hafner hit a three-run homer in the seventh, giving Cleveland a 4-0 lead.

With one out in the eighth, Crosby homered to left off Howry (1-1). Five pitches later, Swisher hit his second homer of the season, a drive to right.

Oakland beat Cleveland for only the second time in eight meetings this season. The victory helped the A’s increase their lead to two games over the Angels in the West Division.

New York 5, Baltimore 2 -- Orlando Hernandez pitched seven innings of five-hit ball at Baltimore to win his eighth consecutive decision.

He yielded one run and two walks in becoming the first Yankee starter to open the season 8-0 since Bob Wickman in 1993.

Mariano Rivera got three outs for his major-league leading 47th save in 50 chances. It was his 330th, tying former teammate John Wetteland for eighth place on the career list.

Minnesota 3, Detroit 2 -- Cristian Guzman and Shannon Stewart hit home runs to lead the Twins at Detroit. The Tigers lost shortstop Carlos Guillen, who sprained his knee while sliding awkwardly into third base in the fifth inning. Catcher Ivan Rodriguez left in the seventh with a bruised knee after being hit by a foul tip.

Tampa Bay 8, Kansas City 6 -- The Devil Rays stopped the second-longest losing streak in club history at 12 games, rallying past the Royals at Kansas City, Mo. Tampa Bay had not won since beating Seattle on Aug. 25.

Texas 10, Toronto 7 -- David Dellucci hit a go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning, and Francisco Cordero earned his 43rd save to tie the club record set by John Wetteland in 1999.

Boston 9, Seattle 0 -- Bronson Arroyo (9-9) pitched seven strong innings, and Manny Ramirez and Mark Bellhorn homered at Seattle, helping the Red Sox stay 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the East Division with their 28th win in 34 games.

Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki, who leads the majors with 229 hits, went 0 for 4 to drop his batting average to .373.

He has 21 games left to tie the single-season major league record of 257 hits set by George Sisler of the St. Louis Browns in 1920.