Baltimore ? Rafael Palmeiro doesn’t want his charge toward 3,000 hits to get in the way of his primary goal, which is helping the Baltimore Orioles stay in contention in the AL East.

So he addressed both objectives Saturday with a prolific offensive display.

Palmeiro homered, drove in six runs and moved within three hits of 3,000, and Baltimore beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-1, with the aid of a sensational catch by center fielder Luis Matos.

Palmeiro put the Orioles ahead for good with a three-run homer in the third inning. He also hit a first-inning sacrifice fly, an RBI single in the seventh and a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

His 2-for-3 performance brought him to the brink of joining Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray as the only players in major-league history with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.

“I’m just trying to get it over with so we can focus on winning games,” Palmeiro said. “This is good. We picked up a game on the Red Sox, which is what we’re trying to do.”

Miguel Tejada went 5-for-5, and Bruce Chen (7-5) allowed one run and five hits in seven-plus innings for the Orioles, who won for only the fourth time in 16 games to move within three games of the first-place Red Sox. Chen struck out five and walked three in earning his second victory in nine starts since May 18.

Palmeiro hopes to end his pursuit of 3,000 hits today at home against the Red Sox.

Baltimore's Rafael Palmeiro backs away from a pitch by Boston's Mike Myers. Palmeiro drove in six runs in the Orioles' 9-1 victory Saturday in Baltimore.

“It would be nice. I would love it do it, just for the sake of the fans,” he said. “If not, it will be on the road, I guess.”

Baltimore closes out the first half Sunday, then plays 10 straight games on the road after the All-Star break.

Boston will send knuckleballer Tim Wakefield to the mound in the series finale.

“Three bunts,” Palmeiro said with a grin.

Johnny Damon went 2-for-5 to extend his career-best hitting streak to 24 games, and Edgar Renteria drove in the lone run for the Red Sox.

With the score 1-all in the third inning, Boston’s David Ortiz hit a drive to center with two on and two outs. Matos ran to the wall, reached over the 7-foot barrier and snared the ball at the apex of his leap.

He came crashing to the ground, but upon rising flipped the ball from his mitt to his bare hand. Chen thrust both arms upward in appreciation, and many in the sellout crowd of 49,331 roared their approval.

“With the crowd that we had today and the importance of the game, it was fun,” Matos said. “I got goosebumps after I caught it.”

Chen said, “It was a home run, and then it’s three outs and nobody scored. It was unbelievable.”

In the bottom half, Palmeiro followed singles by Brian Roberts and Tejada with a shot off Wade Miller (2-3) that cleared the 25-foot scoreboard in right.

Rangers 12, Blue Jays 10

Arlington, Texas – Kenny Rogers received plenty of cheers from Texas fans in his first home start since shoving two TV cameramen.

Mark Teixeira hit two of Texas’ five home runs, all of them coming with two outs, and drove in six runs. The All-Star had an RBI single to go with his homers that pushed his AL-leading total to 24.

Rogers (10-4) overcame a shaky first inning, working through the seventh in his first home appearance since the June 29 incident in which he shoved the cameramen on the field. When Rogers’ name was called, loud cheers mostly drowned out an audible chorus of boos. The boos were more prevalent after Shea Hillenbrand’s two-run homer gave the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead in the first.

Athletics 10, White Sox 1

Chicago – Barry Zito pitched two-hit ball for seven innings, and Mark Kotsay hit a three-run homer, leading Oakland over Chicago. After signing a three-year contract extension with the Athletics before the game, Kotsay hit a three-run homer in the seventh.

Leading 2-1, Nick Swisher led off the seventh for Oakland by reaching on third baseman Pablo Ozuna’s second error of the game. Two outs later, Jason Kendall singled up the middle. Then Kotsay followed with his seventh homer of the season, giving the Athletics a 5-1 lead.

Eric Chavez added a two-run homer in the ninth for the Athletics, who have won 12 of 15 and improved to 6-2 against the majors’ winningest team.

Devil Rays 5, Tigers 4

St. Petersburg, Fla. – Jonny Gomes stopped Tampa Bay’s 10-game losing streak in dramatic fashion, hitting a two-run, ninth-inning homer off Troy Percival to beat Detroit.

The Devil Rays were two outs away from owning the longest streak in the majors this season when Travis Lee singled. Gomes smashed the next pitch over the 404-foot sign in straightaway center.

Mariners 6, Angels 3

Anaheim, Calif. – Richie Sexson’s two-run double capped a five-run fifth inning, and Seattle beat Los Angeles for its third straight victory over the AL West leaders. Raul Ibanez had three hits and drove in a run for the last-place Mariners. Ryan Franklin (5-10) allowed two runs in 61â3 innings, striking out three and walking three.

Indians 8, Yankees 7

New York – Jose Hernandez hit a pair of two-run homers off new Yankees starter Darrell May and drove in five runs as Cleveland beat New York and snapped a four-game losing streak. Cleveland, which had dropped 10 of 12 to the Yankees and 11 of 12 to them on the road, ended New York’s six-game winning streak.