Rodriguez drove in five runs, taking over the major league RBIs lead with 97. He picked on three different pitchers for his deep drives in the hot, humid Midwestern air.
After striking out on three pitches from Sean O’Sullivan in his previous at-bat, Rodriguez led off the sixth inning with a 412-foot shot against the Royals starter.
Rodriguez added a two-run drive off Kanekoa Texeira in the seventh that carried 419 feet and put the Yankees on top 6-3.
A-Rod connected in the ninth against Greg Holland for the most impressive drive, a 439-foot shot that landed in the water fountains in left field.
Rodriguez has 21 home runs this season and 604 lifetime. It was the 56th multihomer game of his 16-year career.
Phil Hughes (14-5) went six innings for the victory.
Red Sox 3 Rangers 1: At Arlington, Texas, Jon Lester pitched eight scoreless innings and the Boston Red Sox stopped the AL West-leading Texas Rangers on a steamy night
Lester (13-7) was sharp, scattering five hits while striking out five and walking none. He threw 109 pitches on a 102-degree evening.
Josh Hamilton homered with one out in the ninth off Red Sox reliever Scott Atchison . Hamilton went 2 for 4, raising his major league-high average to .364.
Rookie Felix Doubront got the final two outs for his first career save.
Twins 2 Athletics 0: At Minneapolis, Brian Duensing pitched a three-hitter for his first career complete game, outdueling Trevor Cahill and leading the Minnesota Twins past the Oakland Athletics.
Cahill (12-5) matched a modern major league record with his 20th straight start of five innings or more and allowing six hits or fewer. Nolan Ryan did the same in 1972-73 for the California Angels.
Cahill surrendered just one run on six hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out five.
Duensing (6-1) was a step ahead of him, though, breezing through the light-hitting A’s lineup with the help of two double plays in the first three innings. He also got a pickoff at second base of Rajai Davis right after the speedy outfielder had stolen his 36th base.
Tigers 3 White Sox 2: At Chicago, Alex Avila hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning off substitute closer J.J. Putz , lifting the Detroit Tigers over the Chicago White Sox.
The White Sox have lost six of nine games to go from leading the AL Central by 1 1/2 games to trailing Minnesota by two. The Tigers won for only the eighth time since the All-Star break and remain 10 1/2 games out.
Putz (5-4), working the ninth inning as Bobby Jenks sat out with back spasms, opened by giving up Brandon Inge’s single. After Ryan Raburn struck out, Avila hit Putz’s next pitch over the left-field wall.
It was Avila’s fifth homer of the year and first since July 10. He platoons at catcher with Gerald Laird and is batting .214.
Phil Coke (7-2) got the final out of the eighth inning and pitched a scoreless ninth for the Tigers, lowering his ERA to 1.46 over his last 30 outings.
Rays 7 Orioles 3: At St. Petersburg, Florida, Kelly Shoppach hit his second career grand slam and a solo homer, leading the Tampa Bay Rays over the Baltimore Orioles.
Trailing 3-0 in the fourth, Sean Rodriguez had an RBI double before Shoppach hit his slam to make it 5-3. Shoppach’s solo shot in the eighth was just his third extra-base hit since June 30.
Andy Sonnanstine (3-1), making his second start for the injured Jeff Niemann , gave up three runs and three hits over five innings. Niemann, sidelined by a strained right shoulder, could rejoin the rotation within the next two weeks.
Adam Jones hit a three-run homer for the Orioles, who are 9-3 under new manager Buck Showalter.
Mariners 9 Indians 3: At Cleveland, Josh Bard hit his first career grand slam and added a double and two singles, leading the Seattle Mariners over the Cleveland Indians.
Jason Vargas (9-5) pitched seven innings to earn his third straight win for the Mariners, now 4-1 since interim manager Daren Brown replaced the fired Dan Wakamatsu.
Angels 7 Blue Jays 2: At Anaheim, California, Bobby Wilson had his first two-homer game in the major leagues and drove in a career-high five runs, and the Los Angeles Angels lost two arguments with plate umpire Joe West but beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 Saturday night.
Hideki Matsui was 4 for 4, including a two-run homer for the Angels.
Ervin Santana (12-8) pitched seven innings and allowed three hits, including a fifth-inning homer by Fred Lewis . The right-hander is 4-0 with a 2.32 ERA in his last four starts against Toronto, including a pair of complete games earlier this season. Brett Cecil (9-6) gave up seven runs and 10 hits over 5 2-3 innings, including three home runs.
