Rangers Spoil Rodriguez Return

With his first swing, Alex Rodriguez silenced the booing fans who greeted his return to Arlington, Texas. A few innings later, the sellout crowd had plenty to cheer about.

Laynce Nix hit a pair of two-run homers, helping the Texas Rangers rally from a three-run deficit to beat the New York Yankees, 9-7, Friday night.

In his first game against Texas since being traded in February, Rodriguez had two hits in five at-bats, drove in two runs and scored twice. He got off to a dramatic start by hitting a two-run homer in his first at-bat.

As far as return trips go, Rodriguez said this one was nothing compared to how Seattle fans welcomed him back in 2001 after he signed a record $252-million, 10-year contract with the Rangers.

The Yankees stretched their lead to 4-1 in the fourth. Then the Rangers took the lead with four runs in the bottom of the inning off Kevin Brown (5-1), who yielded five runs and 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Oakland 7, Kansas City 0 -- Mark Mulder carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and pitched his third consecutive complete game, and rookie Bobby Crosby homered twice to lead the Athletics at Oakland.

Mulder finished with a three-hitter. Mike Sweeney lined a single to left leading off the seventh for the Royals’ first hit, and Wilton Guerrero followed with another single. Joe Randa then hit into a double play and Ken Harvey struck out.

Chicago 8, Minnesota 2 -- Mark Buehrle (4-1) pitched seven solid innings, and Timo Perez and Jose Valentin each hit two-run homers at Minneapolis. Buehrle improved to 12-4 against the Twins, the most victories he has against any opponent.

Tampa Bay 5, Cleveland 3 -- Jose Cruz Jr. went four for four with a home run and three doubles at St. Petersburg, Fla., to help the Devil Rays win consecutive games for the first time this season. They needed 40 games to record back-to-back victories.

Boston 11, Toronto 5 -- Manny Ramirez’s solo homer broke an eighth-inning tie and sparked a six-run rally at Fenway Park. Simon Pond hit his first major league homer for the Blue Jays to tie the score at 5-5 in the seventh.

Detroit 5, Seattle 0 -- Nate Robertson (3-3) threw seven shutout innings, and Carlos Pena hit a two-run homer at Seattle. Robertson held the Mariners to six singles in sending them to their 10th loss in 12 games.