Stalwart Guillen delivers

Left fielder's walkoff homer in 11th lifts Angels

? One constant through this injury-riddled season for the Anaheim Angels has been left fielder Jose Guillen.

Again, Guillen was there for them after three regulars were forced out of the game with injuries. He hit a two-run, walkoff homer in the 11th inning Saturday to give the Angels a stunning 9-8 victory over the beleaguered Seattle Mariners.

Curtis Pride, who took over in the outfield for an injured Vladimir Guerrero, led off the 11th with a single against Eddie Guardado (2-2). Guillen, who had a team-leading 25 RBIs in July, drove an 0-1 pitch into the left-field bullpen for his 20th homer — and career-high fifth hit — before being mobbed by his teammates as he crossed home plate.

“Jose’s always there in that four- or five-hole, and he’s done nothing but produce for us,” Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy said. “Vlad gets a lot of attention for the numbers he puts up and the respect he gets in the lineup — but without Guillen being in there every day for most of the year, he’s the one who’s making sure we’re always still in the game.”

Brendan Donnelly (3-2) allowed two hits in two innings and earned the win despite giving up a go-ahead RBI single by Bret Boone in the top of the 11th.

David Eckstein had an RBI single in the eighth against Shigetoshi Hasegawa to give Anaheim a 7-6 lead. But, a day after his 21-game hitting streak ended, Ichiro Suzuki homered into the right-field seats on reliever Troy Percival’s first pitch of the ninth to tie it for the Mariners.

“Ichiro’s one of the best guys in the game at putting the ball in play,” Percival said. “He can hit for power if he wants to, he can hit the ball the other way, he can drag-bunt — I mean, he doesn’t have a weakness at the plate. And with his speed, he’s going to buy a lot of hits.”

Suzuki went 3-for-6 and became the first player since Pete Rose with as many as three 50-hit months in a career. He also became the first player with two 50-hit months in the same season since Ducky Medwick accomplished it with the 1936 St. Louis Cardinals. Suzuki had 50 in May, and 51 in August 2001.

“It would be a little different if the record was like two years ago. But when I hear that it was in 1936, it makes me happy, and I feel like I became a part of the history of baseball in the United States,” Suzuki said through a translator. “I’ve been here 31/2 years now, and I’ve had many great moments, so you can’t really compare them. They’ve all been great.”

Anaheim's Jose Guillen, center, is congratulated by teammates and manager Mike Scioscia, with hand on Guillen's shoulder, after Guillen homered in the 11th inning. The shot lifted the Angels to a 9-8 victory Saturday in Anaheim, Calif.

Guerrero hit his 23rd home run for Anaheim, but left with a bruised left shoulder after he was struck by a wild throw from Seattle third baseman Jolbert Cabrera in the fifth.

Bengie Molina also departed in the seventh with a bruised injured right index finger after trying to stop a wild pitch by reliever Kevin Gregg. Eckstein couldn’t finish the game at shortstop after getting hit on the left leg by J.J. Putz in the 10th.

Yankees 6, Orioles 4

New York — Alex Rodriguez stole home and hit a long homer, Gary Sheffield also connected, and New York beat Baltimore. Javier Vazquez (12-6) lasted only 51/3 innings on a humid afternoon, but that was enough to improve to 9-2 in his last 14 starts.

Tigers 3, White Sox 2 (10)

Detroit — Cliff Politte walked Carlos Guillen to force in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning, stretching Chicago’s season-high losing streak to seven games. Ugueth Urbina (4-5) pitched a perfect inning of relief to earn the victory.

Devil Rays 6, Blue Jays 5

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Jorge Sosa allowed two runs over five innings in his first start of the season, and Robert Fick hit a two-run homer.

Twins 5, Boston 4

Minneapolis — Jacque Jones hit a tiebreaking solo home run in the eighth inning. Jones hit his 17th homer off Alan Embree (2-2) with one out for the go-ahead run, after Michael Cuddyer tied it with a solo shot off Derek Lowe in the seventh.

Athletics 9, Rangers 4

Arlington, Texas — Barry Zito continued his mastery of the Rangers at Texas, and Oakland moved back into first place in the AL West. Zito (7-7) improved to 8-0 in 10 career road starts against Texas, allowing four runs and five hits in 52/3 innings.