Surprising Devil Rays roll through Tigers, stay unbeaten

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Randy Winn hit a pinch-hit grand slam and Ben Grieve, Brent Abernathy and Chris Gomez also homered as the surprising Tampa Bay Devil Rays remained unbeaten Thursday with a 9-2 rout of the Detroit Tigers.

The Devil Rays became just the seventh team to start a season 3-0 after losing 100 or more games the previous season. They joined the 1905 Philadelphia Phillies, 1906 Brooklyn Dodgers, 1929 Boston Braves, 1952 St. Louis Browns, 1971 Chicago White Sox and 1994 New York Mets.

Rangers 7, Athletics 5

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Alex Rodriguez was hit by a pair of pitches, causing the benches to empty, and the Texas Rangers ended the Oakland Athletics' 20-game home winning streak.

Blue Jays 7, Twins 2

TORONTO -- Roy Halladay pitched eight strong innings, rookie Eric Hinske hit three doubles and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Minnesota in their home opener.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Pirates 3, Mets 2

NEW YORK -- Kevin Young hit a two-run homer and the Pittsburgh Pirates moved over .500 for the first time since 1999, defeating the New York Mets.

Jimmy Anderson allowed just three hits over 6 2/3 innings as the low-budget Pirates beat the high-priced Mets for the second day in a row.

Astros 6, Brewers 3

HOUSTON -- Lance Berkman tied a club record for home runs at the start of a season with his third in three days, leading Shane Reynolds and the Houston Astros over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The game at Astros Field drew 21,528, the smallest crowd in three seasons at the park formerly called Enron Field. That broke the mark set Wednesday night when 23,381 fans showed up.

Braves 11, Phillies 2

ATLANTA -- Gary Sheffield homered for the third straight game, and Andruw Jones and Chipper Jones homered during a seven-run sixth inning as the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies.

Reds 3, Cubs 1

CINCINNATI -- Sammy Sosa hit his second homer, but Fred McGriff's error set up two Cincinnati runs and the Reds held on to beat the Chicago Cubs.

Sosa's 452nd career homer moved him into a tie with Carl Yastrzemski for 24th place.

Marlins 1, Expos 0

MONTREAL -- Brad Penny pitched a four-hitter and Derrek Lee homered for the third straight game to lead the Florida Marlins over the Montreal Expos.

-- From wire reports