Low & Outside: AL Notes

Home runs have been hard to come by this season for the Athletics, who have been trailing the majors in that category. They had just 73 going into Tuesday's game against Cleveland.

It's hard to believe that a club which once boasted sluggers Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco and Jason Giambi should have fallen on such a four-bagger drought.

But on Tuesday, the A's slugged three homers, a good night elsewhere but a celebration for the A's, in a 5-0 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Doing the honors were Jack Cust, who is second on the team with 11 homers, Coco Crisp (6), and Jeff Larish (his first). The team leader is Kurt Suzuki, with 12.

Playing in the cavernous Coliseum half the time doesn't help. But hey, that didn't stop McGwire, Canseco or Giambi when they played there.

Tampa Bayhas been battling to stay atop the AL East along with the Yankees, and entering Wednesday's game, the Rays and Yankees were both 78-48, a major-league-best 30 games over .500. The Yankees were 20 games over .500 at home, and 10 over .500 on the road. The Rays? An identical 39-24 at home and away.

Rays manager Joe Maddon was ejected in the fifth inning Tuesday for arguing a caught-stealing call. It was Maddon's 15th career ejection - the sixth against his former team, the Angels - and it tied him with former manager Larry Rothschild for most in club history.

Another 140 ejections and he'll be breathing right down Braves manager Bobby Cox's neck.

Seattle's much-traveled Russell Branyan, who has played for nine teams (including the Phillies) - and for some of those teams twice - has homered in 36 of the 39 ballparks in which he has played after connecting for the first time at Fenway on Wednesday. Two of the three parks he has not homered in are Target Field in Minnesota, which opened this year, and Nationals Park in Washington. But Branyan will never get all 39; the third park was Veterans Stadium, which is no more.

Against the Angels Monday night, Rays closer Rafael Soriano struck out the side on nine pitches, the first pitcher this season to do so. He was also the first to do it while recording a save since LaTroy Hawkins of the Chicago Cubs, against Florida in 2004.

The Minnesota Twins have claimed Randy Flores off waivers from the Colorado Rockies to add a much-needed lefty to the bullpen.