Baltimore ? Gary Matthews hit a three-run homer in the 11th inning to complete his first career two-homer game, and the Texas Rangers overcame a milestone shot by Sammy Sosa to beat the Baltimore Orioles, 11-8, on Wednesday night.

Matthews connected in the 11th off Jorge Julio (3-3) after Richard Hidalgo reached on a walk and Mark DeRosa singled.

Hours earlier, Sosa hit his 587th homer to move into sole possession of fifth place on the career list.

Miguel Tejada and Javy Lopez also homered for the Orioles, whose seventh loss in eight games dropped them a season-high 41â2 games behind first-place Boston in the AL East.

Sosa’s 13th homer, his third in four games, broke a tie on the career chart with Frank Robinson that had lasted about 24 hours. The opposite-field solo shot to right, off rookie Chris Young, provided the Orioles with a 4-0 first-inning lead.

Baltimore made it 5-0 in the second, but Texas used home runs by Rod Barajas, Matthews and Mark Teixeira to pull even in the fourth. Teixeira’s homer was the switch-hitter’s 28th of the season, but first from the right side of the plate.

Francisco Cordero (2-1), who blew a two-run lead in the ninth, pitched two innings, and James Baldwin worked the 11th for his first save since 2003.

Baltimore missed a chance to win in the 10th when Sosa was thrown out at the plate by Matthews trying to score on a two-out single by Luis Matos to center. Sosa slid into Barajas with spikes high, causing both benches to empty before order was quickly restored.

With the score 6-all, Alfonso Soriano led off the Texas ninth with a single off B.J. Ryan. Soriano stole second, and Hidalgo was intentionally walked before DeRosa, who started the game batting .170, hit a two-run double.

But Cordero couldn’t hold the lead. Sosa reached on an error, and Lopez followed with his ninth homer and second in two games to tie it. Baltimore then loaded the bases with one out before Cordero struck out Melvin Mora and retired Tejada on a fly ball.

Baltimore's Sammy Sosa hops as he watches his first-inning home run leave the park against the Texas Rangers. The homer was the 587th of Sosa's career, but the Orioles fell to the Rangers, 11-8 in 11 innings, Wednesday in Baltimore.

The Rangers took their first lead in the fifth, going up 6-5 when Kevin Mench hit a one-out double off Todd Williams and scored on a single by DeRosa.

After loading the bases in the fifth and sixth innings with two outs but failing to score, the Orioles pulled even in the eighth.

Mora hit a bases loaded single off Kameron Loe, who then struck out Tejada and retired Rafael Palmeiro on a grounder.

A’s 5, Indians 4, (10)

Oakland, Calif. – Marco Scutaro singled to drive in the winning run in the 10th, and Oakland won for the eighth time in nine games and improved to 8-2 in extra innings this year. Mark Ellis hit a two-out single in the 10th, and Jay Payton followed with a double off David Riske (2-3), who then gave up Scutaro’s single. Rookie Huston Street (4-1) pitched two innings for the victory.

Red Sox 4, Devil Rays 1

St. Petersburg, Fla. – Tim Wakefield scattered six hits over 71â3 innings, and Curt Schilling earned the save by getting the final out of a nervous ninth inning to give Boston a victory. Wakefield (9-9) allowed an unearned run in the fourth to win for the first time since July 5.

Blue Jays 3, Angels 2 (10)

Toronto – Brendan Donnelly’s wild pitch with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 10th inning gave the Blue Jays the victory. Russ Adams led off with a single off Donnelly (6-3), and Frank Catalanotto laid down a sacrifice bunt. Donnelly intentionally walked Vernon Wells to face rookie Aaron Hill, who ended an 0-for-18 slump with an infield single to third before the decisive wild pitch.

Twins 7, Yankees 3

New York – Johan Santana allowed seven hits in seven innings, and Minnesota ended a 10-game regular-season losing streak at Yankee Stadium. Santana (10-5) struck out five and walked two. Joe Nathan got four outs for his 28th save. Justin Morneau gave Minnesota the lead against Al Leiter (1-2) with an RBI double in the third.

Mariners 9, Tigers 3

Seattle – Jamie Moyer worked eight innings for his 201st career win, and Richie Sexson homered twice to lead the Mariners. Moyer (9-3) used his usual array of curveballs and changeups, improving his career mark to 201-148. He gave up two runs and eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts to win for the first time since July 8.

Late Tuesday

Indians 2, Athletics 0

Oakland, Calif. – Grady Sizemore homered, and Jake Westbrook outdueled Oakland rookie Joe Blanton, helping Cleveland snap the Athletics’ seven-game winning streak late Tuesday night.