CLEVELAND -- Rookie Julio Borbon homered twice in the first game and Marlon Byrd had seven hits over the doubleheader to help Texas complete a two-game sweep over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.
Texas won the first game 11-9 and the nightcap 10-5 to pull within two games of Boston for the AL wild card. Byrd raised his average 10 points in the two games to .286. He went 4 for 4 in the first game, including the home run, and 3 for 5 in the nightcap.
Brandon McCarthy (7-2) started the second game and didn't allow a hit until the fourth, but tired quickly. He was making his second start after spending three months on the disabled list with a stress fracture in his right shoulder blade. McCarthy was charged with five runs in 6 1/3 innings, allowing a solo homer to Kelly Shoppach in the fifth and a two-run blast to Asdrubal Cabrera in the sixth.
Indians starter Aaron Laffey (7-5) lasted just 3 1/3 innings, equaling the shortest start of his career. He was charged with seven runs and 12 hits.
Texas' Chris Davis went 3 for 4 in the nightcap, including a three-run homer.
In addition to Borbon and Byrd, David Murphy homered in the first game for Texas, while Matt LaPorta and Travis Hafner homered for Cleveland.
Borbon now has three homers in 70 major league at-bats after hitting just nine in 1,091 career minor league at-bats.
"He's capable of doing that," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "I don't know if you'll see him hit 15 or 20 this year, but he certainly has a line drive stroke and sometimes he can catch it and hit it out."
Indians pitcher Chris Perez and Texas' Neftali Feliz entered the day 1-2 among relievers with consecutive scoreless innings streaks. Both of them ended in the first game, although Feliz (1-0) picked up his first major league victory in the process.
Perez had gone 20 2/3 innings, the best in baseball, before Byrd pounded a 2-1 pitch into the bleachers in left in the seventh, breaking a 5-all tie. Texas led the rest of the way.
It was the first run Perez allowed since July 7, a span of 20 appearances.
"He's done a tremendous job for us, but not today," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "You're not going to be perfect, that's for sure."
Feliz's streak was next to go thanks to Hafner's solo homer in the seventh, ending his at 20 1/3 innings.
"He's only human," Washington said of Feliz, who had retired 18 consecutive batters. "I don't think I can remember any pitcher that came to the big leagues and had a 0.00 ERA. He's going to give up something."
Jensen Lewis (2-4) pitched 1 1/3 innings to take the loss.
An estimated crowd of less than 1,000 witnessed the start of the first game. Monday's rainout pushed the start time up two hours, impacting the late-arriving crowd. The official attendance for the day was 12,976.
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NOTES -- Rangers SS Elvis Andrus extended his hitting streak to 11 games. ... DH Andruw Jones, activated off the DL earlier in the day, went 1 for 4 in the nightcap. ... Indians RHP Joe Smith, who hasn't pitched since Aug. 29, is battling a sore left knee. He is hoping to return sometime next week. ... CF Michael Brantley is the second Indian in the last 50 years to hit safely in each of his first eight games. Josh Bard hit in his first nine in 2002. ... C Lou Marson made his major league debut in the first game, going 1 for 4. ... The Indians purchased the contract of infielder Niuman Romero from Triple-A Columbus. ... The Indians and Class A Lake County Captains have agreed on a four-year extension to their Player Development Contract (PDC) through the 2014 season.
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Red Sox 10, Orioles 0: BOSTON -- Clay Buchholz pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, and Dustin Pedroia hit two of Boston's season-high six homers in a 10-0 victory over Baltimore on Tuesday night.
David Ortiz homered in the seventh inning, his 269th as a designated hitter, tying him with Frank Thomas for the most all-time by a DH.
Kevin Youkilis, J.D. Drew and Alex Gonzalez also homered for the Red Sox, whose first five hits were homers as they opened an 8-0 lead after three innings and improved to 12-2 against Baltimore this year. For Pedroia, the reigning AL MVP, it was the first two-homer game of his career.
Michael Bowden got the last six outs to finish off the combined five-hitter.
Buchholz (5-3) struck out five and walked one to improve to 4-0 over his last five starts.
David Hernandez (4-7) lasted 2 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on four homers.
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Yankees 3, Rays 2: NEW YORK -- Nick Swisher hit his second home run of the game, connecting with one out in the ninth inning and New York sent Tampa Bay to its season-high seventh straight loss.
The switch-hitting Swisher connected from both sides of the plate. He won it with a left-handed shot off Dan Wheeler (4-4).
Derek Jeter struck out three times and remained stuck in his longest slump of the year, moving no closer to the Yankees hit record held by Lou Gehrig. He is in an 0-for-12 rut and still four hits behind Gehrig's total of 2,721.
Mariano Rivera (2-2) pitched a perfect ninth as the Yankees won for the 12th time in 15 games.
Jason Bartlett greeted Yankees reliever Phil Hughes with a leadoff home run in the eighth, tying it at 2. Evan Longoria hit his 30th homer the previous inning off starter Chad Gaudin.
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Blue Jays 6, Twins 3: TORONTO -- John McDonald hit a three-run homer to key Toronto's six-run sixth inning.
Minnesota has lost 10 of 12 in Toronto and has not won consecutive games in Canada since May 2005. The Twins have lost 13 of 15 overall against the Blue Jays.
McDonald went 3 for 4 with three RBIs, boosting his season total to seven.
Ricky Romero (12-7) earned the victory by allowing three runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. Jason Frasor closed it out in the ninth for his seventh save.
Jon Rauch (2-1) relieved Brian Duensing after the first three batters reached safely in the sixth but gave up a sacrifice fly, a walk and a game-tying two-run single to Edwin Encarnacion. One out later, McDonald hit his second homer.
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Royals 7, Tigers 5: KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Billy Butler drove in two runs and Kansas City's bullpen pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings to end Detroit's six-game winning streak.
The Royals had 11 hits and a rare strong performance from their bullpen to win consecutive games for the first time since July 27-28 against Baltimore.
Yasuhiko Yabuta (1-1) allowed two hits in 2 1/3 innings for his second career victory, Roman Colon pitched a perfect eighth and Joakim Soria survived two hits in the ninth for his 23rd save.
The AL Central-leading Tigers scored five runs off Royals starter Bruce Chen, but went through six pitchers and had two costly outfield miscues.
Marcus Thames and Aubrey Huff drove in two runs each and Ryan Raburn homered for Detroit.
Butler had a double, sacrifice fly and run-scoring single off Bobby Seay (5-3) in the seventh.
Chen, who allowed five runs and seven hits, replaced Brian Bannister (shoulder fatigue) for his first start since he ended a four-year winless streak on Aug. 6.
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Athletics 11, White Sox 3: CHICAGO -- Jack Cust hit a three-run homer and Mark Ellis followed with a solo shot in Oakland's five-run first inning.
Ryan Sweeney matched a career high with four hits, all singles, and had two RBIs.
Brett Tomko (4-3) allowed three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings for the A's, who had 20 hits.
White Sox starter Carlos Torres (1-1) recorded only two outs. He walked leadoff man Adam Kennedy and gave up singles to Rajai Davis and Sweeney, loading the bases with no outs. After a strikeout and sacrifice fly, Cust hit his 21st homer. Two pitches later, Ellis connected to make it 5-0 and chase Torres.
Oakland got two more runs in the second, with Sweeney getting an RBI single.
Paul Konerko homered for the White Sox.
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Phillies 5, Nationals 3: WASHINGTON -- Philadelphia hit five solo home runs -- including three in the seventh inning -- and became the 12th team in major league history with a 30-homer foursome in a 5-3 win over Washington on Tuesday night.
Raul Ibanez went long for the 29th and 30th times this season and Chase Utley hit No. 30, joining Ryan Howard (38) and Jayson Werth in Philadelphia's 30-homer club. Werth hit his 32nd, and Carlos Ruiz his ninth for the Phillies, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Pedro Martinez (4-0) allowed three runs and seven hits with four strikeouts and one walk over 6 2/3 innings. Brad Lidge, who had his 10th blown save in his last appearance, retired one batter before a single, a hit batter, a wild pitch and a walk.
He was replaced by Ryan Madson, who struck out Ryan Zimmerman and got Adam Dunn on a groundout to record his fifth save.
Four homers came off John Lannan (8-11), who allowed only four other baserunners in 6 2/3 innings.
Willie Harris homered and doubled for the Nationals, who have lost nine of 10.
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Cardinals 4, Brewers 3: MILWAUKEE -- Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer off Trevor Hoffman in the top of the ninth for St. Louis.
Hoffman, trying to protect a 3-2 lead, walked Albert Pujols with one out before serving up a 2-1 pitch that Holliday drove over the wall in center.
It was only the third blown save for Hoffman (1-2) this season, but it spoiled what would have been a remarkable victory for Carlos Villanueva. He was forced to fill in when starter Manny Parra had neck spasms after retiring the Cardinals in the first.
Blake Hawksworth (3-0) picked up the win with a scoreless eighth. Kyle McClellan pitched the ninth for his third save.
Prince Fielder's 38th home run, a two-run shot in the bottom of the first pushed his major league RBI total to 125 and gave Villanueva a 2-0 lead to start the second.
Pujols hit a solo shot off David Weathers in the seventh for his major league-leading 45th home run and cut the Cardinals' deficit to one.
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Rockies 3, Reds 1: DENVER -- Jason Marquis scattered four hits over 7 1/3 innings and Eric Young Jr. hit his first major league homer for Colorado.
The win was the fifth straight by the Rockies, and moved the NL wild-card leaders 19 games above .500 (79-60) for the first time in franchise history.
Marquis (15-10) allowed one run and struck out a season-high seven. He got 12 groundball outs as he matched his career-high in wins.
Franklin Morales, filling in for the injured Huston Street, pitched the ninth for his fifth save in six chances.
Todd Helton and Carlos Gonzalez each drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, while Yorvit Torrealba's single in the second extended his hitting streak to a career-best 16 games.
Matt Maloney (0-4), recalled from Double-A Carolina before the game, lasted five innings, giving up one run and four hits before leaving with a blister on his middle finger.
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Braves 2, Astros 1: HOUSTON -- Javier Vazquez struck out nine in seven shutout innings and Atlanta snapped a five-game losing streak.
Adam LaRoche and Nate McLouth hit solo homers off Felipe Paulino for Atlanta.
Vazquez (12-9) allowed three hits and Rafael Soriano gave up a run in the ninth, but earned his 22nd save as Atlanta snapped Houston's four-game winning streak.
Miguel Tejada led off the ninth with a triple and scored on Hunter Pence's single. Geoff Blum grounded into a double play and pinch-hitter Aaron Boone lined out to end it.
Paulino (2-8) gave up four hits and struck out six in six innings to lose his fourth straight decision. The Astros have lost his last seven starts.
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Marlins 4, Mets 2: NEW YORK -- Hanley Ramirez and Cameron Maybin hit long two-run homers as Florida kept up its surprising playoff push.
The Marlins remained six games behind first-place Philadelphia in the NL East. The Marlins, who opened the season with a major league-low $37 million payroll, remained 5 1/2 behind Colorado for the NL wild card.
Carlos Beltran returned to the Mets' lineup after missing 70 games and nearly hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning.
Brian Sanches (4-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the win and Leo Nunez got three outs for his 19th save.
Ramirez, the NL's leading hitter, drove a pitch from Tim Redding (2-5) to deep left in the third. Maybin connected off Redding in the fourth with a shot that sailed over the home run apple nestled behind the 408 sign on the center-field fence.
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Cubs 9, Pirates 4: PITTSBURGH -- Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto and Kosuke Fukudome had two-run hits in a record-tying first inning for Chicago, which handed Pittsburgh its 11th loss in 12 games.
Chicago tied a major league record with eight consecutive hits to start the game. No team had done so in 19 years, when the New York Yankees did it against Baltimore on Sept. 25, 1990.
Micah Hoffpauir hit his ninth homer and Jeff Baker went 3 for 4 with a walk for the Cubs, who have won three of four.
Garrett Jones hit his 19th homer for the Pirates, who are 18-42 since July 1. They established a record among major North American professional sports teams by clinching their 17th straight losing season Monday.
Fukudome's two-run double was the eighth straight hit and it gave the Cubs a 6-0 lead.
Dempster (9-8) was effective for 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs and eight hits.
Duke (10-14) was charged with eight runs and 12 hits in four innings.
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