NEW YORK — Alfonso Soriano homered twice for the second straight night and drove in a career-high seven runs, giving him a staggering 13 RBI in two games while powering the suddenly potent New York Yankees to an 11-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday.

Soriano hit an early grand slam and became the third player to knock in at least six runs in back-to-back games since RBI became an official statistic in 1920, according to STATS. The others were Texas’ Rusty Greer in August 1997 and Milwaukee’s Geoff Jenkins in April 2001.

Robinson Cano went 4 for 4 to pass Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto for 15th place on the franchise hits list, and the Yankees hammered Angels ace Jered Weaver (7-6) in opening an 8-0 cushion by the second inning for Ivan Nova (6-4).

Still looking to make a push in the crowded AL playoff chase, New York won its fourth in a row and will go for a four-game sweep Thursday afternoon.

Soriano hit his fifth career slam in the first and a two-run double with the bases loaded in the second. He homered again leading off the fifth.

Soriano became the seventh player since 1920 with at least 13 RBI over consecutive games and the first since Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa had 14 in August 2002, STATS said. The record is 15 by Yankees second baseman Tony Lazzeri in May 1936.

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RAYS 5, MARINERS 4: Jason Bourgeois hit an RBI single to cap a two-run rally in the ninth inning and as host Tampa Bay ended a six-game losing streak.

INDIANS 9, TWINS 8: Michael Brantley hit a sacrifice fly in the 12th inning to give  Cleveland a win at Minneapolis.

TIGERS 6, WHITE SOX 4: Miguel Cabrera hit a towering three-run homer as visiting Detroit ended a three-game skid.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

ROCKIES 4, PADRES 2: Jorge De La Rose pitched seven solid innings, catcher Yorvit Torrealba completed a remarkable double play by tagging out two runners and Colorado won at home.

PIRATES 5, CARDINALS 1: Francisco Liriano was dominant coming off the worst outing of his career and Pittsburgh got home runs from Pedro Alvarez and Garrett Jones to win at St. Louis.

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REDS 5, CUBS 0:  Bronson Arroyo pitched seven crisp innings, Todd Frazier homered and Cincinnati completed a three-game series sweep at Chicago.

NATIONALS 6, GIANTS 5: Denard Span made a diving catch in deep center field with two runners on base for the final out, and  Washington held off visiting San Francisco for its fifth straight victory.

INTERLEAGUE

MARLINS 5, ROYALS 2: Miami took advantage of an error  to score the go-ahead runs in the seventh inning to win at Kansas City, Mo.

The Royals were leading 2-1 when Koyie Hill doubled off reliever Tim Collins (2-6) to start the seventh. Christian Yelich then hit a grounder toward third that utility man Elliot Johnson let through his legs, putting runners on second and third with nobody out.

Donovan Solano and Logan Morrison followed with RBI groundouts to give the Marlins the lead.

DIAMONDBACKS 5, ORIOLES 4: Aaron Hill had a game-ending single with one out in the 14th inning to give Arizona a three-game sweep of visiting Baltimore.

 


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