Arlington, Texas ? So far, so good in Sam Perlozzo’s two games as interim manager of the Baltimore Orioles.

Jay Gibbons and Brian Roberts homered in a six-run third inning, and the Orioles beat the Texas Rangers, 10-5, Friday night to remain unbeaten with Perlozzo in charge.

The Orioles lost eight straight before Lee Mazzilli was fired as manager Thursday, and then won their series finale against Los Angeles in Perlozzo’s debut after being promoted from bench coach.

“I saw some real signs of life that I hadn’t been seeing,” Perlozzo said. “We ran the bases well, we hit and pitched well, and we caught some breaks.”

Perlozzo wants the Orioles to finish strong, which would set him up for serious consideration to get the job for next season.

“I think if we can get the team to play better baseball for the rest of the season, then I have a shot at staying,” Perlozzo said. “It’s as simple as that. I feel the team needs to respond in some way. It’s a better chance than I’ve had in all my career, so I’m thankful for that.”

Orioles slugger Sammy Sosa said the players had confidence in Perlozzo.

Texas Rangers catcher Rod Barajas goes into the stands to catch a foul ball by Baltimore Orioles' Javy Lopez. Barajas made the catch, but the Rangers fell to the Orioles, 10-5, Friday in Arlington, Texas.

“He’s been our coach, now he’s our skipper,” Sosa said. “It’s not like he’s a new guy from the outside. We’ve gone through some tough times. Now we’re coming back.”

Baltimore’s Luis Matos had three hits and is 11-for-19 against Texas this season. Roberts also had three hits.

Staked to a 10-0 lead in the fourth inning, Bruce Chen (8-6) took advantage and snapped a personal streak of five straight winless starts. He kept the Rangers off-balance with an effective breaking pitch while spotting his fastball.

Chen gave up two runs and five hits in six innings, striking out four and walking three.

“To get the lead early was a key,” Chen said. “They are very good hitting the fastball so I had to mix my pitches and keep the ball down.”

Mark Teixeira hit his 29th homer, Hank Blalock his 22nd, and Alfonso Soriano added his 27th for the Rangers, who lost for the eighth time in nine home games.

Mark DeRosa homered in the ninth for Texas’ final run.

The Orioles took a 2-0 lead on Matos’ infield single in the second. With runners on second and third and two outs, Matos hit a weak grounder to shortstop Michael Young. Sosa scored from third, and Chris Gomez followed from second when Young, charging the ball, unsuccessfully tried to make a barehanded pickup.

Perlozzo praised Gomez’s aggressive base-running.

“That’s the kind of thing I like to see,” Perlozzo said. “That’s the kind of guy I am. That’s the way to play the game.”

Indians 9, Tigers 6

Detroit – Casey Blake and Coco Crisp both homered and drove in three runs as Cleveland scored all its runs in the sixth inning and beat Detroit.

Blake and Jhonny Peralta each had three of Cleveland’s 16 hits. The Indians sent 15 batters to the plate and had 10 hits in the sixth.

Mariners 4, White Sox 2

Chicago – Richie Sexson homered and later doubled in the go-ahead run, helping Joel Pineiro earn his first win in a month as Seattle beat Chicago.

The White Sox (70-38) have the best record in the majors, but have lost 10 of their last 14 home games.

Pineiro (4-7) won for the first time since July 7.

Twins 12, Red Sox 0

Minneapolis – Brad Radke’s seven strong innings and a number of bad throws by Boston helped Minnesota snap the Red Sox’s eight-game winning streak.

Radke (7-10), who nearly signed with Boston last winter before deciding to take an $18 million, two-year contract and return for his 11th season in Minnesota, picked up his first victory since the All-Star break and matched a season-best with eight strikeouts.

Boston starter Bronson Arroyo (9-7) gave up seven runs – two earned – and eight hits in 32â3 innings.

Boston stayed atop the American League East.

Yankees 6, Blue Jays 2

Toronto – Gary Sheffield homered on a day he dealt with a controversy, and journeyman Aaron Small won again to lead New York over Toronto.

Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter faced questions before the game about an interview Sheffield gave to New York magazine, in which he strongly suggested he was the leader of the struggling team.

Manager Joe Torre said he would talk to Sheffield about his comments.

Angels 5, Devil Rays 4

Anaheim, Calif. – Bengie Molina and Casey Kotchman hit consecutive homers in the seventh inning to break a tie, and Los Angeles beat Tampa Bay.

Scot Shields (7-6) pitched two perfect innings in relief of starter Paul Byrd for the victory.

Francisco Rodriguez worked the ninth, allowing Travis Lee’s solo homer, and earned his 26th save.

Doug Waechter (4-7) allowed five runs – four earned – and seven hits in seven innings, including three homers.