Oriole Win Streak Ends in 12 Innings

Gregg Zaun broke a tie with a two-run single in the 12th inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays ended the Baltimore Orioles’ eight-game winning streak with a 6-2 victory Monday night at Baltimore.

The Blue Jays, who held Baltimore without a hit over the final six innings, have won six of seven. They had lost six in a row to the Orioles, including three in Toronto from April 22 to April 24 that got Baltimore started on its eight-game run.

Although the Orioles came in with the second-best record in the majors, the smallest crowd in the 14-year history of Camden Yards, 15,641, showed up on a chilly night.

Vernon Wells led off the 12th with a single off Todd Williams (3-1), who had given up only one earned run in 12 innings. Wells went to third on a single by Corey Koskie before Shea Hillenbrand hit a grounder to shortstop, producing a rundown that retired Wells and left runners at second and third.

Williams then intentionally walked to Eric Hinske before Zaun grounded a 2-0 pitch up the middle to break a tie that had endured since the sixth inning.

Texas 3, Oakland 2 -- Kenny Rogers pitched eight scoreless innings to improve to 21-4 in 41 starts at Oakland, and David Dellucci homered and scored twice for Texas.

The 40-year-old Rogers (2-2) retired his first 14 batters and finished with five strikeouts. He lost at the Oakland Coliseum last Sept. 16 to end a stretch of 18 consecutive winning decisions in the stadium dating to a loss Aug. 7, 1994.

Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his American League-leading ninth save in 11 opportunities.

Detroit 8, Boston 3 -- Carlos Pena broke a tie with a two-run homer in the sixth inning and added a home run in the bottom of the eighth to help the Tigers to their sixth victory in eight games.

Boston dropped to 3-6 in its last nine games. Manager Terry Francona returned to the dugout after serving a three-game suspension for his role in the Red Sox’s bench-clearing brawls in Tampa Bay on April 24.

New York 6, Tampa Bay 2 -- Mike Mussina pitched seven solid innings and Gary Sheffield was three for four with a run batted in at St. Petersburg, Fla., and the Yankees extended the Devil Rays’ losing streak to a season-high eight games.

Rey Sanchez had a two-run single, and Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada also drove in runs for New York, which had lost six of nine games at Yankee Stadium during a homestand that concluded Sunday with an 8-6 loss to Toronto.