Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jose Lobaton, right, looks back for a wild throw from second baseman Elliot Johnson that allowed New York Yankees' Ichiro Suzuki, left, to score during the seventh inning Wednesday. (Mike Carlson/Reuters)
Yankees 6, Rays 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — New York went ahead with help from a key Tampa Bay error, Russell Martin homered and had three RBIs, and the Yankees regained sole possession of first-place in the AL East with a 6-4 win over the Rays on Wednesday night.
Eliot Johnson's errant throw to home plate that led to two runs in the seventh inning helped New York win for just the fifth time in 15 games.
New York sat atop the division standings by itself for 84 consecutive days — its longest streak since 2004 — until Tuesday night's 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay dropped the Yankees into a tie with Baltimore. They moved back into first place when the Orioles lost to Toronto 6-4. New York leads the Rays by 2 1-2 games.
Andruw Jones and Steve Pearce singled to start the seventh off Matt Moore (10-9) before Jayson Nix moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Derek Jeter, who had hits in his previous three at-bats, hit a grounder to Johnson. With the infield playing in, the second baseman's throw was off the mark allowing pinch-runner Ichiro Suzuki and Pearce to score as the Yankees took a 6-4 lead.
White Sox 6, Twins 2
CHICAGO — Alex Rios homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
Rios hit a grand slam in the first inning and a two-run shot in the sixth to help extend Chicago's lead in the AL Central to 1 1/2 games over Detroit, which plays Wednesday night.
The Twins erupted for 18 runs against Chicago pitching Tuesday night, but White Sox starter Jake Peavy (10-10) silenced Minnesota's bats a day later, allowing one run on six hits to win for the first time since Aug. 1. Rios gave Peavy all the support he would need with his first-inning slam. Following Dewayne Wise's leadoff single and walks to Kevin Youkilis and Adam Dunn, Rios ripped a 1-1 pitch from P.J. Walters (2-3) over the left field bullpen for his second career grand slam.
Angels 7, Oakland 1
OAKLAND, Calif. — Torii Hunter drove in three runs and the Los Angeles Angels completed a three-game sweep at Oakland by rolling to a 7-1 victory after Athletics pitcher Brandon McCarthy took a liner off his head in the fourth inning.
McCarthy (8-6) was sent to the hospital after he was struck by Erick Aybar's comebacker. The team said he never lost consciousness.
Howie Kendrick doubled and hit a two-run single to bring the Angels within 2 1/2 games of Oakland for one of two AL wild-card spots. Dan Haren (10-10) allowed one run and three hits in six innings.
Seth Smith's single in the third drove home Oakland's only run.
Tigers 7, Indians 1
DETROIT — Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Prince Fielder added a solo shot in the eighth to help the Detroit Tigers avoid a three-game sweep with a 7-1 victory Wednesday night over the Cleveland Indians.
Detroit's Doug Fister (8-8) allowed a run and four hits in seven innings. He struck out six and walked one.
Ubaldo Jimenez (9-15) gave up four runs and six hits in 7 1-3 innings. He was generally sharp after allowing Cabrera's 35th homer of the year, but Detroit tacked on five more runs in the eighth to break it open.
The Tigers lost back-to-back 3-2 games to start this series but took the finale to remain a game behind the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.
Rangers 7, Royals 6
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Adrian Beltre hit a three-run homer, Michael Young also went deep and the Texas Rangers held on for a 7-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
Ryan Dempster (5-1) gave up RBI doubles to Billy Butler in the first inning and Salvador Perez in the sixth, but was otherwise stingy for the AL West-leading Rangers. He only allowed two other hits in six innings, striking out eight to win his fourth straight game.
Beltre's homer came off Everett Teaford (1-4), who was making his fifth start of the year, and Young's solo shot came off Vin Mazzaro during a three-run seventh.
Mariners 2, Red Sox 1
SEATTLE — Kevin Millwood pitched six stingy innings to win for the first time in 5 1/2 weeks and the Seattle Mariners beat the staggering Red Sox 2-1 on Wednesday night, handing Boston its eighth defeat in nine games.
Dustin Ackley hit a two-run single in the fourth to back Millwood (5-12), who allowed four hits and one run in his first victory since July 28. The right-hander had gone 1-8 since May 21. Millwood walked three and struck out three. Tom Wilhelmsen worked the ninth for his 24th save in 27 opportunities.
Blue Jays 6, Orioles 4
TORONTO — Rookie Adeiny Hechavarria drove in the go-ahead run with a bunt single, Rajai Davis homered and had three RBIs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-4 on Wednesday night to avoid a three-game sweep.
Steve Delabar (4-1) worked one inning of relief for the win as the Blue Jays snapped a four-game slide and ended Baltimore's winning streak at three.
Adam Jones hit a solo home run and Mark Reynolds added a two-run drive off Casey Janssen in the ninth, his sixth in six games and 18th of the season, but it wasn't enough for Baltimore. Miguel Gonzalez (6-4) took the loss, giving up five runs, four earned, and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings. He walked none and struck out four.
