Chicago ? Freddy Garcia leaned back in his black leather chair afterward, looking calm and relaxed – just the way he was on the mound.

Garcia allowed three hits in seven innings Friday, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 12-2 victory over their crosstown rival Cubs.

Frank Thomas, A.J. Pierzynski and Joe Crede homered, helping the White Sox extend their winning streak to eight games before 39,610 fans, their third sellout and their largest home crowd of the season.

The 10-run rout was the largest for either team in the series. The previous biggest margin was the White Sox’s 12-3 victory June 20, 2003.

Garcia (7-3), making his 200th start, struck out eight and walked one. He retired 12 of the first 13 batters and threw a season-low 93 pitches.

“Games like this, I get a little more excited,” Garcia said. “Today, I felt pretty good and pitched my game. Everybody was happy.”

Thomas hit a solo homer in the first to tie Luke Appling’s White Sox record for runs in a career with 1,319. Pierzynski tied his career high in the fifth with his 11th homer, and Crede hit a three-run shot in the seventh. Scott Podsednik had a single, three walks, two runs and two stolen bases.

Sergio Mitre (2-3) allowed seven hits and a season-high seven runs in 42â3 innings, tying his shortest outing of the year. Derrek Lee’s 11-game hitting streak ended after he went 0-for-3.

Cubs manager Dusty Baker is considering a shakeup in his pitching staff after watching his team lose its third straight game. It has allowed 29 runs in that span.

Chicago White Sox outfielder Jermaine Dye (23) meets teammate A.J. Pierzynski at the plate after Pierzynski's two-run home run. Cubs catcher Michael Barrett is at center. The White Sox routed the Cubs, 12-2, Friday in Chicago.

“We’ve been pondering it every day,” Baker said. “It’s a matter of trying to hold on until we get back to having our big guys (Mark Prior and Kerry Wood).”

Garcia certainly was ready Friday.

“First inning, first pitch,” Pierzynski said, when asked how quickly he could tell how effective Garcia would be. “You saw it today. … He threw hard, worked the ball down. That’s what we’ve been trying to get him to do all year.”

Garcia retired the first seven batters before Todd Hollandsworth homered to make it 1-all. The Cubs’ Jason Dubois hit a solo shot off Neal Cotts in the eighth inning, long after the Sox had blown open the game.

Mets 6, Yankees 4

New York – Pedro Martinez dominated his old nemesis for eight innings, Cliff Floyd and Carlos Beltran homered, and the Mets hit four sacrifice flies.

The Mets, who dropped two of three to the Yankees at Shea Stadium last month, overcame Derek Jeter’s leadoff homer when Ramon Castro, Jose Reyes and Mike Cameron set a National League record by hitting three sacrifice flies in the second inning, a rally fueled by a pair of errors.

A sellout crowd of 55,297 was largely quiet as Mike Mussina (8-5) failed to revive the on-and-off Yankees, who have lost four of five after starting their 13-game homestand with six straight victories. There were even cheers of “Let’s go Mets!” in the ninth as the Yankees dropped to 0-26 when scoring three runs or fewer.

Braves 7, Orioles 5

Atlanta – Marcus Giles and Andruw Jones hit first-inning home runs as the Braves took an early six-run lead and knocked the Orioles out of first place in the AL East.

The Braves led, 7-1, after three innings before Baltimore closed the gap with homers by Larry Bigbie and Brian Roberts.

Chris Reitsma got four outs for his sixth save in eight chances. Atlanta’s Kyle Davies (3-2) outpitched Baltimore’s Hayden Penn (2-1) in a matchup of rookies.

Marlins 7, Devil Rays 4

St. Petersburg, Fla. – Juan Pierre tripled with the bases loaded in a four-run eighth inning that carried Florida.

Al Leiter took a three-hitter into the seventh inning, and reliever Guillermo Mota (1-1) worked two-thirds of an inning and got the win, despite allowing a run-scoring single that gave Tampa Bay a 4-3 lead.

Reds 5, Indians 4

Cleveland – Felipe Lopez doubled home the go-ahead run with two outs in the ninth, and Ken Griffey Jr. hit two homers, helping the Reds move to 3-0 under interim manager Jerry Narron.

Wily Mo Pena singled to open the ninth against Bob Howry (4-2) and was sacrificed to second. After Edwin Encarnacion struck out, Lopez hit a 1-1 pitch the opposite way off the left-field wall to score Pena.

Kent Mercker (2-1) pitched a scoreless eighth, and David Weathers worked the ninth for his third save.

Red Sox 8, Phillies 0

Philadelphia – Tim Wakefield pitched eight sharp innings, and Doug Mirabelli and Manny Ramirez hit three-run homers, leading the Red Sox.

Wakefield (6-6) allowed just two hits, struck out six and walked two. Alan Embree allowed one hit in the ninth.

Lieber (8-7) allowed six runs and nine hits in five innings. He is 3-6 with a 7.28 earned-run average since starting the season 5-1.

Astros 5, Rangers 2

Houston – Roy Oswalt pitched 71â3 strong innings, Jason Lane broke out of a slump with a two-run homer, and the Astros handed the Rangers their fifth straight loss.

Oswalt (9-7) won his seventh consecutive start at home, allowing two runs and six hits. Oswalt hasn’t given up more than two earned runs in eight of his last nine outings, yielding just eight runs in 521â3 innings.

Nationals 3, Blue Jays 0

Washington – Esteban Loaiza hit a two-run double and pitched six shutout innings for the Nationals in a game attended by President Bush.

The win was the Nationals’ 11th straight at home.

Loaiza (3-5) allowed six hits, walked one and struck out five, combining with three relievers on the club’s fourth shutout of the season. Chad Cordero worked the ninth for his major-league-leading 24th save.

Josh Towers (5-7) lost his sixth straight decision.

Brewers 3, Twins 1

Milwaukee – Chris Capuano pitched 62â3 shutout innings, and Damian Miller snapped an 0-for-16 streak with a solo home run, helping the Brewers win their third consecutive game. Capuano (7-6) pitched out of several jams, allowing five hits and four walks with two strikeouts.

Minnesota starter Brad Radke (5-7) lost his third straight game.

Angels 7, Dodgers 0

Anaheim, Calif. – John Lackey combined with two relievers on a five-hitter, and Garret Anderson and Dallas McPherson homered for the Angels.

Lackey (6-2) allowed three hits in seven innings and won his third straight decision over a span of eight starts. Adam Kennedy drove in two runs, helping increase the Angels’ lead in the AL West to a season-best 51â2 games over the Texas Rangers, whom they had just swept in three games.

Jeff Weaver (6-7) gave up four runs – two earned – and five hits in seven innings.

Diamondbacks 2, Tigers 1

Phoenix – Tony Clark had an RBI single, and Shawn Green hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly as Arizona rallied. Shawn Estes (6-5) worked 61â3 effective innings, allowing one run and six hits to help the Diamondbacks win for the third time in four games. Mike Maroth (5-8) had a run-scoring single and gave up two unearned runs and seven hits in 62â3 innings.

Athletics 4, Giants 3

Oakland, Calif. – Bobby Kielty hit a two-run homer, Bobby Crosby also connected, and Joe Blanton won his third straight start. Blanton (4-6) retired the first 10 Giants before Omar Vizquel lined a single to right in the fourth. Jeff Fassero (1-5) took the loss.

Mariners 14, Padres 5

San Diego – Bret Boone hit a three-run triple, and Richie Sexson, playing while he appeals a two-game suspension, had a two-run homer for Seattle, which tied season-highs in runs and hits (17). The 14 runs were the most allowed by the Padres at Petco Park. Every Mariners regular, plus starter Gil Meche (8-4), had at least one hit.