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Ryan Raburn was being honest in assessing his performance as an emergency fill-in for Gary Sheffield.

“I think it's probably the best game I've ever had, and probably ever will,” Raburn said after hitting two homers and driving in seven runs in the Detroit Tigers' 13-9 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

The 26-year-old got the call with Sheffield sitting out with a sore right shoulder.

Raburn was called up for the first time this season from Triple-A Toledo on July 6. He hit his first career homer last Friday and is 10-for-20 in nine games, with three homers and 10 RBIs.

“What I like about him is he's a hungry player,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “He went down to Triple-A and did everything we asked. He has some versatility and we're going to use him.”

Raburn homered in the third and fourth innings and had an RBI double during Detroit's five-run fifth. He drove in two more runs with a single in the ninth.

Reliever Jason Grilli (5-2) got the win, giving up two runs and three hits in three innings. Tim Byrdak pitched two perfect innings for his first save.

Both starting pitchers struggled.

Kenny Rogers lasted four innings, allowing four homers and seven runs.

Jose Contreras (5-13) gave up nine runs and 12 hits in 4 2-3 innings. He has lost six straight starts and has a 9.41 ERA in that span. He is 1-9 over his last 11 starts.

Indians 1, Red Sox 0

Fausto Carmona (13-4) allowed four singles in eight innings to improve to 5-0 in July. Joe Borowski worked the ninth for his 29th save.

Josh Beckett (13-4) lost on the road for the first time since last September. He allowed four hits in his fourth career complete game, including Franklin Gutierrez's homer in the third.

Yankees 7, Royals 1

Alex Rodriguez hit his 499th homer as the Yankees won their sixth straight and moved within 61/2 games of Boston. Melky Cabrera and Hideki Matsui also homered for New York. Mike Mussina (5-7) allowed one run and six hits in 5 2-3 innings.

Gil Meche (7-7) gave up five runs and nine hits in 7 1-3 innings, ending a streak that saw him go 4-0 in seven starts.

Angels 7, Athletics 6

Maicer Izturis' RBI single in the bottom of the ninth let Los Angeles rally from Francisco Rodriguez's third blown save in the top of the inning. Rodriguez (4-2) took the ball with a 6-3 lead but failed to preserve the win for John Lackey.

Casey Kotchman singled off Joe Kennedy (3-9) with one out in the ninth, advanced to second on a groundout, took third on a passed ball and scored on Izturis' hit. Kennedy fell to 1-10 lifetime against the Angels. His only win against them came on Monday night.

Mike Piazza hit his third of the season for Oakland, all at Angel Stadium.

Rangers 7, Mariners 6

Ramon Vazquez hit a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth, the first blown save of the season for J.J. Putz, to complete the Rangers' four-game sweep.

Putz hadn't allowed a run in 16 road appearances this season and had converted a major league-leading 31 consecutive save chances since last season.

Adrian Beltre tied a team record with three doubles and drove in four runs for the Mariners, who have lost six straight for the third time this season.

Blue Jays 13, Twins 1

Gregg Zaun homered and drove in four runs for Toronto, which tied a franchise record with an 11-run sixth inning and completed the three-game sweep. The Blue Jays (51-50) have won a season-high five straight to move over .500 for the first time since June 27.

Zaun singled in the fifth, then had an RBI double and three-run homer in the sixth. Jesse Litsch (3-4) allowed one run and five hits over seven innings.

Carlos Silva (8-11) allowed six runs and eight hits over 5 1-3 innings for the Twins, who lost their fourth straight.

Orioles 6, Devil Rays 1

Erik Bedard (10-4) allowed one run in six innings to earn his sixth straight victory. He struck out eight and gave up six hits.

Corey Patterson went 3-for-4 with a double and a home run for the Orioles.

Raul Casanova homered for the Devil Rays, who have lost five straight and 22 of 27.