Minnesota won the opener 20-14.

"I didn't know we were going to play a football game," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

It was the most runs scored by one team in a doubleheader since the Boston Red Sox totaled 35 in a sweep of the Philadelphia Athletics on July 4, 1939, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Morneau became the first Twins player to hit three in a game since Tony Oliva against Kansas City on July 3, 1973. The only other Twins to do it are Bob Allison and Harmon Killebrew.

"Those are just days you put in your memory bank and don't expect them to happen," Morneau said.

Morneau hit a three-run drive in the first, a solo shot in the third and a two-run homer in the seventh, giving him 23 this year. Morneau had a shot at tying the major league record in the eighth but fell one homer shy. He unleashed a big swing and missed the first offering, then flied to left five pitches later.

"He just missed that last one," teammate Torii Hunter said. "He popped it up, hit it high. We hadn't had anyone do that in 34 years, Tony Oliva, so that's a big honor for him."

Morneau watched a video of his hits from last season on Thursday night and responded with his first three-homer game at any level.

"I was trying to get something good in my mind before I went to bed, and it ended up working," the AL MVP said.

In the opener, the Twins and White Sox combined to score the most runs in a game since May 19, 1999, when Cincinnati beat Colorado 24-12, according to Elias.

Jon Garland (6-6) tied a career high by allowing 12 runs, 11 earned. The White Sox right-hander gave up 11 hits, tying a season high, walked three and did not strike out a batter.

He did all that in just 3 1-3 innings, his earliest exit since lasting 2 2-3 innings against Detroit on Aug. 19, 2004. But that was enough time for his ERA to leap from 3.15 to 3.92.

Garland's day ended when Jason Kubel hit the second grand slam of his career to make it 12-4 _ even though things had gotten ugly long before that.

"The result was absolutely terrible," Garland said. "I'm embarrassed by it."

In other AL games Friday, it was: New York 14, Los Angeles 9; Detroit 9, Boston 2; Toronto 8, Cleveland 6; Tampa Bay 6, Kansas City 5; Texas 4, Baltimore 3 in 10 innings; and Seattle 7, Oakland 1.

Morneau became the fourth big league player to connect three times in a game this season, joining Houston's Carlos Lee (April 13), the Chicago Cubs' Alfonso Soriano (June 8) and Texas' Brad Wilkerson (July 3).

But a major scare tempered the good vibe for Minnesota.

Catcher Mike Redmond sustained a bloody gash on his head after Chicago's Jim Thome accidentally hit him with his bat in the first inning of the second game.

Thome fouled off a pitch and lost control of the bat on the backswing, sending it flying into the right side of Redmond's helmet. Redmond took seven stitches at the ballpark but said he's fine.

Tigers 9, Red Sox 2

Curtis Granderson led off the fifth with a home run and Marcus Thames added a grand slam in the inning for host Detroit.

Rookie Andrew Miller (4-2) gave up one run and three hits over seven innings. Julian Tavarez (5-7) allowed a season-high eight runs and matched his season high by giving up 10 hits over 4 2-3 innings to lose his third straight start.

Yankees 14, Angels 9

Alex Rodriguez hit his 493rd homer to tie Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff for 22nd place on the career list and host New York won despite blowing a five-run lead.

New York set season highs for runs and hits (19) _ every starter had a hit and an RBI _ and won for the fourth time in five games. The AL West leaders have lost seven of 10.

After Chone Figgins' two-out, two-run single off rookie Edwar Ramirez (1-0) tied it in the sixth, Rodriguez and the Yankees struck back in the bottom half off Chris Bootcheck (2-2). Rodriguez's two-run homer made it 12-9.

Blue Jays 8, Indians 6

At Toronto, Vernon Wells homered and drove in three runs and Roy Halladay (10-3) remained unbeaten against Cleveland.

The Blue Jays erased a 1-0 deficit with a five-run second against left-hander Cliff Lee (5-5). John McDonald had an RBI single in the inning and Wells followed with a two-run single and Alex Rios hit a two-run double.

Devil Rays 6, Royals 5

At Kansas City, Mo., Brendan Harris and Delmon Young drove in two runs apiece and Tampa Bay snapped an 11-game losing streak.

James Shields (7-4) allowed four runs and seven hits in 7 2-3 innings. Odalis Perez (4-8) gave up 10 hits and five runs in six innings and dropped to 1-5 in nine starts at home. He has one win in his last six starts.

Rangers 4, Orioles 3, 10 innings

Michael Young's one-out RBI single in the 10th inning gave host Texas the victory after Rangers closer Eric Gagne gave up a run in the ninth for his first blown save of the season.

Travis Metcalf singled against Paul Shuey (0-1) leading off the 10th. After a sacrifice and a walk, Young hit a line drive off the glove of diving third baseman Chris Gomez for the game-winning hit.

Mariners 7, Athletics 1

At Oakland, Calif., Adrian Beltre went 5-for-5 with two homers and Seattle took advantage of an AL record-tying four errors by Oakland third baseman Marco Scutaro.

Beltre hit a solo homer in the second inning and a two-run shot in the eighth for the Mariners, who beat All-Star Dan Haren (10-3) for the second time this season.