NEW YORK - Gary Sheffield hit a tying homer in the ninth inning, and Alex Rodriguez's two-run shot in the 11th gave the Yankees an 8-6 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night.
Eric Byrnes hit a three-run drive for one of three homers by the A's, who tagged Esteban Loaiza for five runs in his Yankees debut. But New York rallied against the Oakland bullpen, sending the A's to their second loss in 11 games.
With the Yankees trailing 6-4 in the ninth, Derek Jeter blooped a one-out single to right off closer Octavio Dotel. Sheffield then sent a 1-and-1 pitch over the leftfield fence to tie it, bringing a roar from the crowd of 47,885.
It was Dotel's third blown save in 11 chances with the A's since he was acquired from Houston.
After Mariano Rivera threw 51 pitches in two scoreless innings, Sheffield singled with one out in the 11th off Justin Duchscherer. Rodriguez followed with a high drive over the leftfield fence, giving him the league lead with 29 home runs.
Rodriguez raised his right arm as he rounded first, then was greeted by his teammates at home plate in a matter-of-fact celebration.
Rivera escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 10th with some help from new first baseman John Olerud, who made a nifty pickup and forced a runner at the plate for the second out. Mark Kotsay then flied to center.
Olerud hit a two-run single off Rich Harden in his first at-bat with the Yankees and finished 2-for-5. Hideki Matsui also homered for New York, which will try to win this three-game series between division leaders today when sinkerballer Kevin Brown faces Oakland curveballer Barry Zito.
Jermaine Dye and Eric Chavez also connected for the A's, who had won three straight.
A 21-game winner and runnerup for the Cy Young Award last season, Loaiza was acquired from the White Sox for pitcher Jose Contreras and $3-million just before baseball's nonwaiver trade deadline Saturday.
Loaiza is supposed to help solidify an inconsistent rotation, but he struggled with his control. Three of the four he walked scored, and he set up another run by hitting a batter with a pitch.
TWINS 6, ANGELS 3: Justin Morneau homered for the second straight night, a drive on the first pitch of the sixth inning that sparked host Minnesota.
Torii Hunter followed Morneau with a double, then Jacque Jones hit a two-run homer to break it open for the Twins, who have won 13 of 15. Minnesota opened a season-high six-game lead in the Central.
Vladimir Guerrero homered for the Angels, who watched struggling Minnesota starter Kyle Lohse recover from a rough fourth inning to win for the third time in 12 starts since the beginning of June.
RANGERS 8, TIGERS 0: Mike Bacsik gave up four hits in seven innings in his Texas debut, and Laynce Nix hit a two-run homer for the visiting Rangers.
Texas won its second straight after losing five of seven. Detroit lost its third straight and was shut out for the second time this season, the first since April 15.
Bacsik, who signed with Texas in December, became the 14th pitcher to start for the Rangers this season, the eighth who spent time in the minors.
ROYALS 11, WHITE SOX 0: Brian Anderson pitched a career-best two-hitter to win for the first time since April 20 and rookie John Buck had three hits, including a three-run homer that capped a seven-run first for host Kansas City.
INDIANS 14, BLUE JAYS 5: Travis Hafner homered twice and tied a career high with six RBIs, and visiting Cleveland ended a four-game skid.
ORIOLES 6, MARINERS 3: Rafael Palmeiro singled in two runs to snap a seventh-inning tie, and host Baltimore handed Seattle its sixth straight loss.
