WEDNESDAY'S STARS

Ian Kinsler (pictured) went 6-for-6 while hitting for the cycle, and Nelson Cruz matched the AL home run lead with a grand slam as the Rangers beat the Orioles 19-6 to snap a five-game skid. Kinsler became the fourth player in Rangers history with a cycle (joining Oddibe McDowell, Mark Teixeira and Gary Matthews Jr.), reaching the feat with a triple in the sixth inning. With his RBI double in the eighth, Kinsler joined Alfonso Soriano as the only Texas players with a six-hit game and then scored his fifth run, matching another team record. Cruz's homer was his fifth.

Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield threw a four-hitter in beating the A's 8-2. Oakland didn't get its first hit until the eighth.

Not exactly a fan favorite when he was a Cub, Rockies pitcher Jason Marquis was booed during player introductions at Monday's Wrigley Field opener and jeered often Wednesday. But he got a measure of revenge by allowing one run in seven innings and delivering a two-run second-inning single that put Colorado up to stay in its 5-2 win.

Armando Galarraga improved to 2-0 for the Tigers, throwing 61/3 scoreless innings in a 9-0 home win over the White Sox.

ON THE SHELF

The Cardinals placed pitcher Chris Carpenter on the 15-day disabled list, one day after he had to leave a game with a pulled left rib cage muscle, suffered when he was batting. Boston pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka also went on the 15-day DL with a mild right shoulder strain. Matsuzaka didn't make it to the second inning Tuesday against the A's, giving up five runs and five hits on 43 pitches.