A's nip Royals for 19th straight win

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Miguel Tejada and the Oakland Athletics simply refuse to lose -- even when the degree of difficulty gets higher and higher.

Tejada got his second straight game-ending hit as the A's matched the longest winning streak in AL history with their 19th straight victory Monday, beating the Kansas City Royals 7-6.

David Justice homered and drove in four runs as Oakland overcame a 5-0 deficit to equal the 19 straight wins recorded by the 1906 White Sox and matched by the 1947 Yankees.

With their second straight victory in their final at-bat, the A's recorded the fifth-longest streak in major league history and the third longest since 1900.

With the bases loaded and the score tied at 6 in the ninth, Tejada drove a sharp one-out single against Jason Grimsley (3-5) through five drawn-in infielders. The hit sparked a replay of the raucous Coliseum celebration on Sunday, when Tejada's dramatic three-run homer beat Minnesota.

Billy Koch (8-2) pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth for the win.

Red Sox 8, Yankees 4

NEW YORK -- Nomar Garciaparra drove in three runs, and Casey Fossum (3-3) won for the first time in seven starts this season as Boston beat New York.

Shea Hillenbrand had three hits and scored twice for the Red Sox, who trimmed New York's AL East lead to 6 1/2 games on a rainy day at Yankee Stadium.

Rey Sanchez and Jason Varitek added two-run singles. Boston, which had lost four straight to its longtime rivals, is 4 1/2 games behind Anaheim in the wild-card race.

Alfonso Soriano hit his 35th homer, stole his 38th base and knocked in two runs as New York lost for the fourth time in five games. Mike Mussina (16-8) took the loss.

Mariners 5, Twins 2

SEATTLE -- Pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra hit a tiebreaking two-run single with two outs in the eighth inning as Seattle handed AL Central-leading Minnesota its season-high fifth consecutive defeat.

Sierra singled to right off LaTroy Hawkins after Bret Boone singled and Edgar Martinez walked to open the inning against Johan Santana (8-6).

Arthur Rhodes (8-3), who struck out the side in the eighth, got the victory. Kazuhiro Sasaki pitched the ninth for his 34th save in 39 opportunities as the Mariners closed within two games of Anaheim in the wild-card race.

White Sox 5, Blue Jays 3

TORONTO -- Joe Borchard homered for his first career hit and Chicago won its season-high sixth straight game.

Borchard, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Charlotte before the game, hit a two-run homer off Corey Thurman (2-3) in the fourth inning for a 4-1 lead.

Jon Garland (10-10) won his second straight start against Toronto.

Indians 11, Tigers 1

DETROIT -- Karim Garcia homered twice and had a career-high six RBIs as Cleveland handed Detroit its ninth straight home loss.

Garcia hit three-run homers in the first and sixth innings. Detroit has lost five straight overall and 11 of 12. The Tigers haven't won at home since beating Seattle 6-3 on Aug. 20.

C.C. Sabathia (10-10) allowed one run and five hits in seven innings, improving to 4-1 in his last six starts.

Brian Powell (1-5) lost his third straight start.

National League

Braves 5, Pirates 1

ATLANTA -- Greg Maddux won for the first time in a month, pitching eight strong innings as Atlanta won its fourth in a row.

Maddux (12-5) allowed seven hits and also sparked a three-run rally in the third, singling up the middle and scoring Atlanta's first run on a wild pitch.

Chipper Jones hit his 22nd homer for the Braves, who lost two of three at Pittsburgh last week.

Brian Meadows (1-4) took the loss.

Brewers 4-4, Cubs 2-17

CHICAGO -- Sammy Sosa hit his 494th career homer and Kerry Wood won for only the second time since the All-Star break as Chicago routed Milwaukee and salvaged a split of a doubleheader.

Wood (10-8) tied a major league record with four strikeouts in the fourth inning and also hit a two-run homer, his first since May 2, 2000. Bill Mueller, Alex Gonzalez and Todd Hundley homered for the Cubs, whose 17 runs were a season high.

In the first game, Ronnie Belliard homered twice, ex-Cubs Eric Young and Jose Hernandez added solo shots and Glendon Rusch (8-13) won his seventh straight against Chicago.

Sosa broke a tie with Lou Gehrig and moved into 18th place on the career list with his 494th homer.

Expos 5, Phillies 1

MONTREAL -- Tomo Ohka pitched his second career complete game, a six-hitter that led Montreal past Philadelphia.

Ohka (13-6) got his second complete game in four starts, improving to 5-0 in his last seven starts. Ohka struck out one and walked two.

Philadelphia had won its previous eight road games and four straight overall. The only other loss for the Phillies in their last 12 games was 6-3 to Ohka on Aug. 28.

Pat Burrell drove in the Phillies' run with a two-out double in the eighth.

Brian Schneider had three RBIs, hitting a two-run double in the second off Joe Roa (3-2).

Interleague

Rangers 7, Astros 2

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Kevin Mench drove in three runs and Chan Ho Park won his third straight start as Texas beat Houston.

The game, the last interleague game until the World Series, was the makeup of a June 30 rainout.

Park (7-6) held the Astros scoreless until Alan Zinter's one-out homer in the seventh. Park, who got out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth with a strikeout and a double-play grounder, gave up one run and eight hits over 6 2-3 innings with seven strikeouts.

Michael Young had a pair of RBI singles and Alex Rodriguez got his major league-leading 120th RBI with a sixth-inning double. Todd Greene homered to lead off the seventh, giving the Rangers a homer in 20 straight games, one short of a team record.

Jeriome Robertson (0-1) lost in his major league debut.

--From wire reports