AL Roundup: A look at Sunday's games

Alex Rodriguez was back in the Yankees' lineup, but that didn't mean much to the homer-happy Toronto Blue Jays.

Aaron Hill and Vernon Wells each hit two-run homers and John Buck also went deep for Toronto, which beat New York 7-3 on Sunday to snap a three-game skid.

New York had been riding a season-high eight-game winning streak while their star third baseman was on the disabled list with a nagging calf injury. They'd won 11 of their last 14 and pulled ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays by 2 1/2 games in the brutal AL East.

"He came out of it fine," New York manager Joe Girardi said of Rodriguez, who went 2 for 5 and drove in a run while making several nice plays at third. "He hasn't played in a while, but there were no issues."

The three long balls gave the Blue Jays a major league-leading 208 on the season. The franchise record is 244 home runs, set in 2004.

"It's a great win for us," Toronto manager Cito Gaston said. "Today was a good win."

Elsewhere in the AL it was: Chicago White Sox 7, Boston 5; Baltimore 8, Tampa Bay 7; Kansas City 2, Detroit 1; Minnesota 6, Texas 5; Los Angeles Angels 7, Oakland 4; and Seattle 3, Cleveland 0.

At New York, Rodriguez had been out since Aug. 20 with a strained left calf and was eligible to come off the disabled list on Sunday. Girardi thought about giving him an extra day, but A-Rod said he felt fine after a simulated game Saturday and taking batting practice in the indoor cage Sunday.

The three-time AL MVP produced some offence for New York, but he also grounded out with a runner aboard in the first inning, dribbled one back to the pitcher with two on in the third, and struck out looking with a runner on third base to end the game.

"It felt great. It felt great to be in the box," Rodriguez said afterward. "I haven't hit for a long time, so I'm just trying to feel my way. But I felt pretty good."

The biggest issue early on for Rodriguez wasn't so much his ailing body as Brett Cecil (12-7), who's been a pain for New York all season. The Blue Jays starter survived 6 1-3 innings to improve to 3-0 in five tries against the team with the best record in the majors.

"I've had some good games against these guys this year," Cecil said. "It helps and it hurts you to see these guys a lot, because they see you a lot too. But as long as you make pitches."

Cecil also managed to beat Phil Hughes (16-7) for the second time in just over a week.

The Yankees' young right-hander allowed Hill's two-run homer in the first and Well's two-run shot in the third, putting him in another early hole. Hill added a sacrifice fly in the fifth, Buck went deep in the sixth and Wells walked with the bases loaded in the seventh.

Hughes wound up allowing seven hits and matched a season high by giving up six runs. It was also the third time in four starts he's allowed at least five earned runs against Toronto.

"It's almost always about location," Hughes said. "A fastball right in the middle of the plate on 0-2? That's probably the worst pitch you can make, and I did it a couple times today."

The Yankees barely threatened on offence, and each time they did Cecil shut them down.

Brett Gardner followed hits by Greg Golson and Ramiro Pena in the third with a sacrifice fly that made it 4-1, but Derek Jeter flied out and A-Rod grounded out to end the inning.

In the sixth, Marcus Thames reached base on a fielder's choice and went to second on a wild pitch, before Jorge Posada's double made it 6-2. This time, Cecil got Curtis Granderson to fly out and then struck out Golson to end the inning.

Rodriguez added his RBI single off reliever Casey Janssen in the seventh, but Thames popped up with two runners on base to end the inning. The Blue Jays bullpen held on from there.

Twins 6, Rangers 5

At Minneapolis, Texas third base coach Dave Anderson was called for interfering with runner Michael Young for the final out, giving the Twins a win over the Rangers.

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At Baltimore, Corey Patterson homered and had three RBIs, and the Orioles withstood four home runs by the Rays.

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At Kansas City, Mo., Alex Gordon homered and Kyle Davies beat Detroit for the first time in six home starts, leading the Royals past the Tigers.

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At Boston, Gordon Beckham's bases-loaded walk with two outs pushed Chicago ahead in a four-run ninth inning that lifted the White Sox to their sixth straight win and an improbable comeback victory over the Red Sox.

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At Seattle, Felix Hernandez scattered four hits over eight innings and the Mariners scored just enough runs for him in a victory over the Indians.

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At Oakland, Calif., Bobby Abreu hit a home run and drove in three runs, leading the Angels to a victory over Oakland, avoiding their first sweep by the A's in six years.