New York ? Somehow, the team with the worst pitching in the majors made the New York Yankees look absolutely pitiful at the plate.

Ismael Valdes came off the disabled list and combined with three perfect relievers to silence the Yankees, and the Texas Rangers took advantage of two tough errors to win, 5-2, Saturday.

Rangers pitchers retired the last 16 batters, and that was a real surprise. Texas began the day with the highest ERA in baseball, and had allowed the most runs and hits in the AL.

“This is exactly what we needed,” said Francisco Cordero, who struck out the side in the eighth inning.

Manager Buck Showalter’s last-place team sent his former club to its third straight series loss — the Yankees had not dropped three series in a row since May 11-20, 1999.

Overall, the first-place Yankees lost for the fifth time in six games.

“We’re about as flat as a pancake,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “You try to eliminate the highs and lows, but we certainly need to go out there and make something happen.”

Valdes (3-2) had been sidelined since April 19 because of tendinitis in the back of his right shoulder.

Other than allowing a two-run homer to Robin Ventura, Valdes was sharp. He surrendered five hits in five innings and left with a 5-2 lead.

“I’m pleased,” he said. “I can, I hope, move on to higher and higher pitch counts.”

The Texas bullpen was even more impressive, a day after it held New York to one run over seven innings in an 8-5, 12-inning victory.

Texas pitcher Ismael Valdes delivers against New York. Valdes came off the disabled list and allowed five hits in five innings as the Rangers defeated the Yankees, 5-2, Saturday in New York.

Brian Shouse struck out two in two perfect innings and Cordero struck out John Flaherty, Alfonso Soriano and Derek Jeter.

Ugueth Urbina finished the Yankees in the ninth for his 12th save in 13 chances.

“I have always been saying that if we get some good innings out of our starting pitching, we’re going to win a lot of games because the bullpen is there,” Cordero said.

Texas scored three times in the second, with singles by Juan Gonzalez, Rafael Palmeiro and Herbert Perry opening the inning and producing a run. With one out, Todd Greene hit a hard grounder to third base that Ventura could only knock down, and he was charged with an error that loaded the bases.

With two outs, Carl Everett grounded a 2-2 pitch up the middle for a 3-0 lead.

Twins 3, White Sox 1

Minneapolis — Joe Mays took a shutout into the seventh inning to beat Chicago for the eighth time in 10 career decisions. Torii Hunter helped preserve the lead by robbing Carlos Lee of a potential home run in the seventh inning. After Magglio Ordonez’s infield single leading off, Lee hit a drive to straightaway center. Hunter ran back to the fence, leaped and backhanded the ball about 4 feet above the 7-foot fence.

Mays (4-3) allowed one run and seven hits in 62¼3 innings, yielding consecutive two-out singles to Paul Konerko, Joe Crede and Miguel Olivo in the seventh.

J.C. Romero relieved with the bases loaded and retired D’Angelo Jiminez on a routine fly ball to Hunter.

Indians 4, Athletics 2

Cleveland — Matt Lawton singled in the go-ahead run, and Omar Vizquel squeezed in another run in the eighth inning to give the Cleveland a win over Oakland. Lawton, in a season-long slump, hit a one-out single to right off former Indians reliever Ricardo Rincon (2-3) to score pinch-hitter Brandon Phillips, who had walked.

Lawton’s hit scooted under right fielder Terrence Long’s glove, allowing Lawton to go to third. Vizquel followed with his squeeze to make it 4-2.

Orioles 2, Devil Rays 0

Baltimore — Pat Hentgen allowed two hits in seven innings to win for the first time in two years and Baltimore snapped a six-game losing streak. Hentgen (1-0), who missed most of the 2001 and 2002 seasons following ligament replacement surgery in his elbow, walked four and struck out four in his third start this season.

The victory was his first since May 16, 2001, when Hentgen beat Detroit at Camden Yards. Hentgen, who went 0-4 last season after returning from the surgery, was inserted into the rotation earlier this month.

Angels 6, Red Sox 2

Boston — Troy Glaus hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning as Anaheim came from behind for the second consecutive game to beat Boston. Jarrod Washburn (4-4) allowed one earned run and seven hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out three. Brendan Donnelly pitched 11¼3 scoreless innings to protect his perfect ERA before Troy Percival recorded the last two outs for his seventh save.

Derek Lowe left with a 2-1 lead after allowing Tim Salmon’s single one-out single in the eighth.

Mariners 6, Tigers 3

Detroit — Bret Boone homered twice and drove in four runs to back Jamie Moyer and lead Seattle past Detroit. Both of Boone’s homers cleared Comerica Park’s new fence in left and fell short of the old one. He became the first player to hit two new-fence homers in the same game. Ichiro Suzuki added three hits, including a homer.

Moyer (6-2) allowed three runs and 10 hits in 62¼3 innings, striking out a season-high eight. Shigetoshi Hasegawa and Kazuhiro Sasaki finished, with Sasaki pitching a perfect ninth for his sixth save in 10 tries.