TORONTO, 22 April 2005 — Carl Pavano pitched eight strong innings and Jorge Posada hit a three-run home run as the New York Yankees pounded the Toronto Blue Jays 11-2 at the Rogers Center on Wednesday.

Pavano (1-2) picked up his first win as a Yankee, allowing two runs — just one of them earned — on seven hits.

He struck out three and walked one.

The struggling Yankees pounded out 14 hits for Pavano, but Yankee manager Joe Torre felt Pavano did not need that much help.

In Baltimore, David Wells tossed eight scoreless innings that helped the Boston Red Sox to an 8-0 win over the Orioles.

In St. Petersburg, Rod Barajas hit a fourth-inning grand slam that helped the Texas Rangers outslug the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 12-10.

Laynce Nix was three-for-five and drove in three runs and Kevin Mench added a three-run triple in the fifth inning.

In Minneapolis, Shannon Stewart singled home the winning run in the eighth inning to lift the Twins to a 5-4 win over the Kansas City Royals. Joe Mauer and Jacque Jones homered for the Twins.

In Anaheim, Bartolo Colon pitched a four-hitter over eight innings as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 2-0.

In Seattle, Bret Boone hit a grand slam homer as the Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 7-6.

Joel Pineiro (1-1) allowed four runs on nine hits over seven innings for the win and Adrian Beltre had three hits.

Erubiel Durazo homered for the A’s. Huston Street (1-1) allowed three runs on four hits in one inning and took the loss.

Encarnacion Leads Marlins Rout of Mets

Juan Encarnacion homered and drove in four runs as the Florida Marlins slammed the New York Mets 9-2 in Miami on Wednesday.

Josh Beckett pitched seven strong innings for the Marlins, cooling off the Mets, who hit a team record seven home runs the night before at Philadelphia.

Beckett (3-1) allowed two runs on four hits while striking out seven and walking three as Florida stalked him to a 7-0 lead after four innings.

Miguel Cabrera added three hits and drove in a run for the Marlins, while Matt Treanor added two hits and drove in two runs.

In other games, Zach Day pitched seven scoreless innings to back the Washington Nationals to a 2-0 home win over the Atlanta Braves. Day (1-1) allowed three hits before Luis Ayala worked the eighth inning and Chad Cordero struck out two batters in the ninth inning for his third save.

In Cincinnati, Wily Mo Pena and Rich Aurilia hit two home runs each to power the Reds to a 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Paul Wilson (1-1) struck out nine batters while giving up three runs and nine hits in seven innings.

In Philadelphia, Brad Hawpe belted a two-run home run that helped the Colorado Rockies to a 7-4 win over the Phillies. Jamey Wright (1-1) gave up one runs and five hits in six innings.

In Houston, Adam Everett and Craig Biggio hit back-to-back homers in the first inning to spark the Astros to a 6-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Roy Oswalt (3-1) gave up one run and four hits while striking out eight batters in a complete-game effort for the Astros.

In St. Louis, Carlos Zambrano tossed 8 2/3 quality innings and drove in the winning run with a triple in the second inning to help the Chicago Cubs to a 3-1 win over the Cardinals.

In San Diego, Jose Valentin hit a two-run triple in the 10th inning to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 win over Padres.

In San Francisco, Javier Vazquez pitched seven shutout innings as the Arizona Diamondbacks edged the Giants 2-1. Luis Gonzalez and Troy Glaus drove in the Arizona runs.