Yankees win sixth in a row behind Mussina

NEW YORK -- Mike Mussina, working on just three days' rest, allowed only four hits in 6 2/3 innings and the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory.

Mussina (6-2) struck out five and walked three while filling in for left-hander David Wells, who missed his turn because of back soreness.

Wells had an MRI exam earlier in the day and was diagnosed with a strained lower back. He was listed as day-to-day.

Steve Karsay got his first save with the Yankees.

Jason Giambi and Rondell White hit solo homers for the Yankees, giving them a major league-leading 74 in 43 games. New York has won 13 of its last 14.

Giambi began a two-run second against Blue Jays starter Luke Prokopec (2-6) by banking his 10th home run off the right-field foul pole.

WHITE SOX 8, RED SOX 3

BOSTON -- Magglio Ordonez had four hits, and Dan Wright pitched into the seventh inning for his second consecutive strong outing as the Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox.

Ordonez and Frank Thomas each drove in two runs, and Paul Konerko added three hits for Chicago.

The Red Sox lost for the first time in four games.

Wright (5-4), coming off his first career shutout Thursday against Texas, allowed three runs and five hits in 6 1-3 innings. He struck out a career-high seven.

Darren Oliver (4-3) lost his second straight decision after giving up five runs and nine hits in 4 1-3 innings.

TWINS 8, RANGERS 2

MINNEAPOLIS -- Torii Hunter homered, doubled and drove in five runs to lead the Minnesota Twins over Texas, the Rangers' fifth straight defeat.

David Ortiz went 4-for-5 for the Twins, who collected 15 hits, broke a three-game losing streak and improved to a major league-best 17-6 at home.

Eric Milton (6-3), who surrendered 11 runs in his last two starts, struck out a season-high seven in six innings.

Ismael Valdes (3-5) gave up a season-high 10 hits in five innings.

TIGERS 5, INDIANS 1

DETROIT -- Mark Redman pitched the first complete game of his career, Dmitri Young and Randall Simon hit consecutive home runs and the Detroit Tigers beat Cleveland for their first five-game winning streak in more than a year.

The Tigers' previous five-game winning string came May 8-12, 2001. Both streaks started with three-game sweeps of Texas.

The Indians have lost five of six.

Redman (1-5) scattered 10 hits in his 45th start in the majors. He gave up an unearned run, struck out three and walked three.

Redman, traded from Minnesota to Detroit last July 28, won for the first time with the Tigers in 11 starts.

Charles Nagy (0-1) took the loss in his first start since Aug. 17, giving up four runs on five hits and a walk in four innings.

Cubs 4-1, Pirates 3-12

CHICAGO -- Sammy Sosa hit his first homer in 10 games as the Chicago Cubs gained a doubleheader split against Pittsburgh, beating the Pirates 4-3 in the second game Tuesday night.

In the first game, Kevin Young and Chad Hermansen also homered for Pittsburgh. Giles tripled, drove in four runs and scored three. The inside-the-park homer was the first of his career, and it knocked Cubs left fielder Moises Alou from the game when he hurt himself diving for the ball.

EXPOS 5, BRAVES 4, 10 INNINGS

MONTREAL -- Brad Wilkerson drove in the winning run with a two-out dribbler in the 10th inning for Montreal.

Vladimir Guerrero singled off Darren Holmes (2-1) to open the 10th and Lee Stevens walked.

With the bases loaded, Wilkerson sent a slow roller up the third-base line. Reliever Chris Hammond fielded the ball but Wilkerson easily beat the throw to first base.

T.J. Tucker (2-0) recovered from allowing the go-ahead run in the ninth, pitching the final two innings for the win.

Montreal tied it in the ninth on Jose Vidro's two-out RBI single off closer John Smoltz. Vidro went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, extending his career-high hitting streak to 16 games.

REDS 6, MARLINS 1

CINCINNATI -- Austin Kearns hit his first career grand slam as Cincinnati took advantage of wildness by A.J. Burnett (5-4).

Kearns' fifth-inning slam -- the second by a Reds rookie this season -- helped Cincinnati rebound from a tough series in St. Louis. The NL Central leaders lost three of four to the Cardinals, slicing their lead to three games.

Chris Reitsma (3-0) escaped a bases-loaded, one-out threat in the fourth and gave up seven hits before leaving with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth.

Danny Graves got Charles Johnson on a groundout to end the eighth and finished for his 15th save in 19 chances.

The Marlins fell to 2-6 on a 14-game road trip, the longest in franchise history.

BREWERS 8, DODGERS 6

MILWAUKEE -- Tyler Houston and Geoff Jenkins hit three-run homers in an eight-run seventh inning to lead Milwaukee over Los Angeles.

The Dodgers got two homers from Shawn Green and took a 5-0 lead into the seventh before Kevin Brown tired and Giovanni Carrara (3-2) gave up five runs on three hits.

Mike Buddie (1-2) won despite allowing two runs on four hits in two innings. Mike DeJean got Paul Lo Duca to ground into a double play with two runners on to end it for his ninth save in 10 chances.

Brian Jordan returned to the Dodgers lineup with a home run and three hits.

PHILLIES 4, METS 0

PHILADELPHIA -- Vicente Padilla (6-3) pitched eight shutout innings and Pat Burrell hit a three-run homer in the eighth for Philadelphia.

The Phillies have won two straight after losing six consecutive games during a road trip. The Mets have dropped two in a row after a five-game winning streak.

It was scoreless when Jimmy Rollins doubled off Jeff D'Amico (3-4) with one out in the eighth. Scott Rolen hit an RBI single, and Burrell hit a three-run shot off David Weathers. Burrell has 11 homers and 33 RBIs in 109 career at-bats against the Mets.

The Phillies are 15-8 at home and 4-18 on the road.

-- From wire reports