ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Jason Bartlett drove in a career-high five runs as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the struggling Oakland Athletics, 13-4, on Monday for a season-best four-game winning streak.
Rookie Jeff Niemann (4-3) allowed four runs and eight hits in eight innings to win for the fourth time in his last five decisions. He struck out three and walked none in the longest outing of his career.
Bartlett went 3 for 3 with a walk to raise his batting average to .384. He had a two-run single off Sean Gallagher (1-2) in the first, as well as a run-scoring triple in the fifth and a two-run single in the sixth.
The A’s, swept at Detroit last weekend, have been outscored 47-13 during a four-game losing streak in which their starting pitchers have yielded 31 runs (23 earned) in 13 innings.
At New York, Mark Teixeira homered from both sides of the plate, combining with Alex Rodriguez for back-to-back drives in a six-run first inning as New York completed a four-game sweep of Minnesota, 7-6.
After stringing together three straight walk-off wins for the first time since 1972, the Yankees overcame a 2-0 first-inning deficit and hung on to extend their winning streak to a season-high six.
Andy Pettitte (4-1) won consecutive starts for the first time this year, allowing four runs and 12 hits in 6 2-3 innings.
Justin Morneau had four hits and Michael Cuddyer and Denard Span homered for the Twins.
Glen Perkins (1-3) lasted just nine batters and got two outs, allowing six runs and seven hits. Minnesota dropped to 4-12 on the road but is 14-9 at home.
At Toronto, Alex Rios hit a go-ahead triple in the eighth inning as Toronto completed a four-game sweep of Chicago, 3-2.
Jim Thome tied it in the top of the eighth with a two-run homer, the 548th of his career, but Toronto rallied against Octavio Dotel (1-1).
Chicago lost its season-high fifth straight and has dropped 10 in a row at Toronto.
Dotel had not allowed a run in 14 games this season, a span of 12 1-3 innings, when he relieved in the eighth with the score 2-all. (AP)