BALTIMORE — Yoenis Cespedes and Chris Carter hit two-run homers to back an effective pitching performance by Bartolo Colon, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 Saturday for their ninth win in 10 games. Jemile Weeks had three hits and scored twice for the surging A's, who are on course for the best July in franchise history. They are 18-3 (.857) this month, and need only one victory in the next three games to finish with a better winning percentage than the 1931 club (26-7, .788). Oakland can reach the mark by completing a three-game sweep Sunday. Colon (7-8) scattered seven hits over 5 2-3 shutout innings, striking out five and walking one, to earn his first win in six starts since June 12. Nick Markakis' ninth-inning homer off Evan Scribner enabled the Orioles to avoid being blanked for the eighth time. Baltimore went down in order only once but stranded 11, went 0 for 6 with men in scoring position and lost for the fifth time in six games. Tommy Hunter (4-6) gave up five runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander has yielded 23 home runs this season. Red Sox 8, Yankees 6: Curtis Granderson misplayed Pedro Ciriaco's ninth-inning flyball into a go-ahead triple, and Boston beat the New York Yankees after Mark Teixeira had tied the score with a two-run homer off nemesis Vicente Padilla in the eighth. Down 6-1, the Yankees closed in the fifth on Jayson Nix's two-run homer off Jon Lester [stats] and Derek Jeter's RBI grounder. After Teixeira's homer, Rafael Soriano (2-1) walked Jacoby Ellsbury [stats] with one out in the ninth and Ciriaco hit a fly that could have been caught. Andrew Miller (3-1) got one out for the win, just the second for Boston in eight games against the Yankees this year. Alfredo Aceves finished for his 22nd save in 26 chances. White Sox 5, Rangers 2: Adam Dunn hit his major league-leading 31st home run, Philip Humber pitched six solid innings, and the Chicago White Sox won their fifth straight game by beating Texas. Paul Konerko added a two-run homer for Chicago, which increased its AL Central lead to 2½ games over Detroit. The White Sox have won the first two in a three-game series between division leaders. Blue Jays 5, Tigers 1: Edwin Encarnacion, Colby Rasmus and Yunel Escobar homered off Detroit newcomer Anibal Sanchez, leading Toronto over the Tigers. Rays 3, Angels 0: Matt Moore outpitched C.J. Wilson, scattering four hits over 6 1-3 innings, and Ben Zobrist homered to lead Tampa Bay past the Los Angeles Angels. Mariners 4, Royals 3: Kevin Millwood pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Jesus Montero hit a two-run homer and Seattle beat Kansas City. Twins 12, Indians 5: Samuel Deduno pitched seven strong innings for his second major league win, and Josh Willingham hit his 27th homer of the season, leading Minnesota over Cleveland. — Agencies
