Blue Jays Lose, Then Get Rid of Hillenbrand

Kevin Millwood earned his 10th win and Gary Matthews Jr. hit a go-ahead double in a four-run seventh inning Wednesday, leading the Texas Rangers to a 5-4 victory over Toronto on a troubling night for the Blue Jays.

Shea Hillenbrand was cut by the club after he was chastised during a team meeting and he refused to sit in the dugout with his teammates.

Hours before, Hillenbrand criticized the organization and said he expected to be traded. The designated hitter and corner infielder was upset because he wasn’t in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game and nobody in Toronto’s front office, he said, congratulated him on adopting a baby girl last weekend.

The Blue Jays held a meeting before Wednesday night’s game. Hillenbrand, reached by the Toronto Star during the game, said Manager John Gibbons admonished him in front of the team.

“Gibby called a team meeting and then he stood up and reamed me out in front of my teammates,” Hillenbrand said. “I’m very disappointed about what he did and I find it very unprofessional.”

Hillenbrand was designated for assignment during the game and was not in the locker room afterward. “It will do wonders for the clubhouse,” Gibbons said.

General Manager J.P. Ricciardi cited irrevocable differences and said: “His version of events are different from ours.”

Hillenbrand was batting .301 with 12 home runs, 15 doubles and 39 runs batted in. The Blue Jays have 10 days to trade, release or send him outright to the minors.

Mark DeRosa hit a tying homer for the Rangers, who rallied from a 3-1 deficit. Akinori Otsuka pitched the ninth for his 20th save in 22 chances.

Toronto’s Troy Glaus sat out his third straight game because of a sore right knee.

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ROUNDUP

at Minnesota 7, Tampa Bay 2: Rondell White hit two home runs to lead the Twins to their sixth straight victory. Brad Radke (8-7) won his fourth straight decision for Minnesota, which has won 18 of 23 overall and 19 of the last 20 at home.

at Detroit 5, Chicago 2: Craig Monroe hit Detroit’s first grand slam of the season and Jeremy Bonderman gave up two runs over 7 1/3 innings as the Tigers beat the defending World Series champions for only the second time in eight games.

Seattle 3, at New York 2: Ichiro Suzuki touched off Seattle’s go-ahead rally in the eighth inning with his third hit of the afternoon and the Mariners ended a four-game losing streak. The loss ended a five-game winning streak for the Yankees, who had won nine of their last 10.

Oakland 5, at Baltimore 1: Barry Zito pitched seven innings of five-hit ball and Frank Thomas homered and drove in three runs for the Athletics. Ramon Hernandez drove in the lone run for the Orioles, who dropped to 9-23 when the opposition starts a left-hander.

at Boston 1, Kansas City 0: Josh Beckett, who agreed to a three-year contract extension after the game, held the Royals to four hits over eight innings. Beckett (12-5) struck out seven and walked none to join Toronto’s Roy Halladay as the AL’s only 12-game winners.