New York ? In a game full of little twists, Hideki Matsui turned things in the New York Yankees’ favor. Matsui produced three hits and a nifty bit of baserunning, and Mike Mussina stopped his four-game losing streak as the Yankees beat Houston, 5-3, Tuesday night, ending the Astros’ seven-game winning string.

Jorge Posada added a two-run homer as the Yankees won the first regular-season game between the teams.

“We have a long homestand and we haven’t played that well here,” Mussina said. “Hopefully, this is a good start.”

Starting a stretch of 10 games in a row at home, the Yankees took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning. Matsui led off with a double and moved up on a groundout, but was trapped off the bag on Raul Mondesi’s sharp grounder to third baseman Morgan Ensberg.

“He was stuck in no man’s land,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said.

But Matsui twisted away from the tag — he stepped on the grass in foul territory to get away — and ran home when Ensberg threw to first. Ensberg seemed shocked to find out third-base umpire Dana DeMuth had called Matsui safe, and Astros manager Jimy Williams came out to argue.

“I never really learned it anywhere,” Matsui said of his move, through a translator. “I actually thought I was out, and when I looked at the umpire, he said I was safe. When I saw the third baseman throw to first, I ran home.”

Ensberg was sure he tagged Matsui, although TV replays indicated he missed.

“I felt the tag, I touched him. He ran into my glove,” he said. “You tag, and you turn and throw.”

Summed up Mussina: “You come to this game and every day you’re going to see something you’ve never seen before. That was today’s.”

Houston was trying to post its longest winning streak since taking 12 in a row in 1999. Craig Biggio and Ensberg homered for the Astros.

Mussina (8-4) had struggled since winning his first seven starts of the season. He matched the longest losing skid of his career over a span of five starts, going winless since May 7.

New York's Mike Mussina delivers against Houston. Mussina stopped his four-game losing streak, and the Yankees stopped the Astros' seven-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night in New York.

He blanked Houston on three hits over the first five innings before giving up Biggio’s two-run homer. Mussina escaped a bases-loaded jam later in the sixth when Richard Hidalgo lined into a double play, and left after the seventh.

“The biggest pitch of the day was that rocket to third base that turned into a double play,” Mussina said.

Antonio Osuna yielded Ensberg’s homer on his first pitch in the eighth. Mariano Rivera worked the ninth for his sixth save in seven chances.

Posada’s homer and a lucky bounce helped the Yankees take a 3-0 lead in the fifth against Wade Miller (4-7).

Alfonso Soriano had an infield hit with one out and Derek Jeter followed with a grounder that skipped up and handcuffed second baseman Jeff Kent. Instead of turning a double play, Kent could only throw out Jeter.

Cubs 4, Orioles 0

Baltimore — Sammy Sosa doubled and scored Chicago’s first run, and Shawn Estes pitched seven innings of six-hit ball. Hours after appealing his eight-game suspension for using a corked bat on June 3, Sosa went 2-for-5 to raise his batting average to .290. A decision on his punishment could come as soon as today.

If the Cubs get the kind of pitching Estes gave them, they might not miss their stellar cleanup hitter all that much.

Estes (6-5) struck out five, walked two and allowed only one runner past second base. Aided by two double plays, the left-hander handcuffed a team that averaged 6.9 runs over its last 19 games.

Athletics 4, Braves 3

Oakland, Calif. — Jermaine Dye homered in the 12th inning to lead Oakland past Atlanta. Dye, in a season-long slump that left him with a .160 average coming in, connected off Jung Keun Bong (5-1) to improve Oakland’s record in extra-inning games to 4-2. He also had an RBI single. Chad Bradford (5-3) pitched two scoreless innings, helping stop Atlanta’s five-game winning streak.

Expos 7, Mariners 3

Seattle — Montreal ace Javier Vazquez pitched six solid innings and Endy Chavez homered and drove in a career-high four runs, leading the Expos past Seattle for their fifth consecutive win. Orlando Cabrera added a two-run homer for Montreal. Playing the Mariners for the first time, the Expos sent Seattle’s Gil Meche (8-3) to his first loss in five starts since May 10.

Angels 2, Phillies 1

Anaheim, Calif. — John Lackey allowed one run over 61¼3 innings and Tim Salmon scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by Brandon Duckworth as Anaheim beat Philadelphia. Lackey (4-5) allowed five hits and two walks in his first career appearance against the Phillies.

Dodgers 3, Tigers 1 (12)

Detroit — Alex Cora hit a two-run single in the top of the 12th to lead Los Angeles past Detroit. With two outs in the 12th, Steve Sparks (0-3) surrendered a walk to Jolbert Cabrera and a single to Adrian Beltre, then allowed both to advance on a wild pitch. Cora then singled up the middle, pumping his fist as the ball got past shortstop Omar Infante. Paul Shuey (3-1) held the Tigers scoreless in the 10th and 11th innings, striking out four and lowering his ERA to 0.83. Eric Gagne pitched the 12th for his 22nd save in 22 opportunities.

Rangers 9, Mets 7

Arlington, Texas — Rafael Palmeiro hit his 504th career homer, Michael Young and Hank Blalock each hit a two-run shot and Texas beat New York to avoid its first 10-game losing streak since 1995. Palmeiro connected leading off the seventh inning against Pedro Feliciano to make it 9-4, tying Eddie Murray for 18th on the career list — one behind Sammy Sosa. Two innings earlier, rookie Mark Teixeira homered to center off Feliciano.

Indians 8, Padres 5

Cleveland — Rookie Brandon Phillips hit a two-run single in Cleveland’s six-run first inning as the Indians rallied. Cleveland trailed 4-0 before coming up for the first time.

Phillips, who had just one hit in his previous 35 at-bats, capped a wild first frame of interleague play between clubs whose only other meetings came in Cactus League spring training games in Arizona.

Blue Jays 13, Pirates 8

Toronto — Carlos Delgado hit his AL-leading 20th home run, and Orlando Hudson and Josh Phelps connected for consecutive homers as Toronto beat Pittsburgh. Delgado, who leads the majors with 70 RBIs, reached 20 home runs for the eighth time — surpassing Joe Carter’s club record of seven.

Rockies 5, Twins 0

Minneapolis — Preston Wilson, Charles Johnson and Greg Vaughn each hit first-pitch home runs in support of Jason Jennings to lead Colorado past Minnesota. Vaughn also doubled and went 2-for-4 for the Rockies, who brought the worst road record in the majors to the game and are 8-22 away from Coors Field. Jennings (5-5) allowed three hits and four walks in 72¼3 innings and struck out seven. The veteran Vaughn, who signed a minor league contract with Colorado in April after his release by Tampa Bay, hit his first homer as a Rockie.

Reds 4, Devil Rays 2

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Austin Kearns, Aaron Boone and Jose Guillen hit solo homers as Cincinnati beat Tampa Bay for the Devil Rays’ fifth straight loss. Guillen, facing his former team for the first time, snapped a 2-2 tie with his 11th homer on the first pitch of the sixth inning. The strong-armed right fielder preserved the one-run lead in the seventh when he threw out a runner trying to score on Travis Lee’s single.

Cardinals 9, Red Sox 7

Boston — Scott Rolen’s double broke a ninth-inning tie and St. Louis beat Boston in their first meeting since the Cardinals beat the Red Sox in the seventh game of the 1967 World Series at Fenway Park. J.D. Drew hit a three-run homer and Albert Pujols added a two-run shot as the Cardinals built a 7-2 lead. Boston came back with three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth before St. Louis scored twice in the ninth off Brandon Lyon (2-3).

White Sox 5, Giants 3

Chicago — Miguel Olivo and D’Angelo Jimenez hit consecutive homers in the seventh inning as Chicago overcame a long Barry Bonds home run to beat San Francisco. Jon Garland (4-5) struck out a season-high seven for the White Sox.