Mccarthy has brain surgery

Athletics pitcher Brandon McCarthy is alert after having surgery for a skull fracture and brain contusion caused by a line drive.

A former White Sox righthander, McCarthy was hit in the head Wednesday by a liner off the bat of Erick Aybar of the Los Angeles Angels.

The Athletics said Thursday that McCarthy was awake, resting comfortably in the critical care unit of a Bay Area hospital and showing signs of improvement.

A CT scan after the accident showed the damage. After a second CT scan, McCarthy, 29, had a two-hour operation to relieve pressure in his head.

The A’s did not give a timetable for how long McCarthy will be out. McCarthy is 8-6 with a 3.24 ERA in 18 starts.

O’s regain share of lead

Mark Reynolds hit two of host Baltimore’s season-high six home runs — three in a wild eighth inning — and the Orioles climbed back into a first-place tie with the Yankees in the American League East by defeating New York 10-6 before a sellout crowd at Camden Yards.

Adam Jones’ leadoff homer in the eighth off David Robertson (1-6) put Baltimore ahead 7-6 after the Yankees rallied from a fiverun deficit in the top half.

Rare blunder costs Rockies

An inexplicable error on a routine toss from catcher Wilin Rosario to pitcher Jhoulys Chacin wound up costing the visiting Colorado Rockies a second straight 1-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Juan Francisco scored from third on the play.