Baltimore ? Alex Rodriguez hit two home runs to become the first player in the majors to reach 50 this season, and three of his teammates also connected as the Texas Rangers cruised past the Baltimore Orioles 11-2 Thursday.

Rodriguez, who hit 52 last year, is the fifth player in major league history to have successive 50-homer seasons. He follows Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey Jr.

Yankees outfielder Raul Mondesi hits a solo home run in the seventh inning against Detroit. The Yankees won Thursday's game 9-3 in New York.

Rodriguez homered twice against Jason Johnson, hitting a two-run drive in the first inning and a solo shot in the third. It was his ninth multihomer game of the season and the 29th of his career.

“It’s unbelievable, a shortstop hitting 50 home runs two years in a row,” Texas manager Jerry Narron said. “It’s amazing. You see him every day and you’re not surprised by it, but it’s still amazing.”

Carl Everett, Todd Hollandsworth and Michael Young all homered in a five-run fifth inning to give Texas an 11-1 lead.

Texas has homered in a team-record 23 straight games, two short of the major league record. Rodriguez has accounted for 13 of the Rangers’ 47 homers during the streak.

Rodriguez drove in three runs to boost his major league-leading total to 124.

Angels 10, Devil Rays 1

St. Petersburg, Fla. Garret Anderson homered twice and tied a career high with seven RBIs as Anaheim beat Tampa Bay for its seventh straight victory.

Anderson hit three-run homers in the fifth and six innings. It’s his second multihomer game this year and sixth overall.

Anderson finished 4-for-4, falling a triple short of the cycle. He also drove in seven runs on Aug. 29, 1996, against the New York Yankees.

The Angels lead Seattle by four games in the wild-card race. Anaheim moved within three games of AL West-leading Oakland.

Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 4

Boston Josh Phelps hit two home runs and Justin Miller (7-4) won his third straight decision as Toronto beat Boston.

Boston lost for the seventh time in 11 games and fell 7 1/2 games behind AL wild-card leader Anaheim. The Red Sox trail the Yankees by 9 1/2 games in the AL East.

Phelps hit solo homers off John Burkett in the fourth and sixth innings for his second multihomer game in his rookie year. Phelps added a tiebreaking double in the seventh off Dustin Hermanson (1-1).

Yankees 9, Tigers 3

New York Raul Mondesi homered, doubled and drove in three runs as New York defeated Detroit.

Orlando Hernandez (8-4), trying to boost his chances for a spot in the Yankees’ postseason rotation, gave up three runs in seven innings.

Hernandez allowed seven hits, including five doubles. He struck out seven, walked none and won for only the third time in 10 starts.

Steve Sparks (8-15) took the loss.

Indians 11, White Sox 6

Chicago Karim Garcia hit a grand slam and Jim Thome added a two-run homer as Cleveland defeated Chicago.

Ricardo Rodriguez (2-1), making his fourth career start for Cleveland, allowed four runs and five hits in five innings to earn the win.

Gary Glover (7-7) took the loss.