MINNEAPOLIS — Francisco Liriano took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Paul Konerko homered and drove in three runs Saturday, and the Chicago White Sox stayed on top of the AL Central with a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins. The White Sox entered the day with a one game lead over Detroit in the Central. Liriano (6-11) was tremendous against his former team, allowing only a two-out homer in the seventh to Trevor Plouffe. He walked two, hit a batter and struck out nine in seven innings. Samuel Deduno (6-4) struggled with his control from the start, throwing only 40 of his 86 pitches for strikes. Tigers 5, Indians 3: Anibal Sanchez took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Detroit beat the Indians despite losing a run on an appeal play. Sanchez (3-5) struck out seven over 6 2-3 innings as Detroit stayed one game behind the first place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central with its fourth straight win. Carlos Santana spoiled Sanchez's no-hit bid with a two-out triple in the seventh, but Cleveland was officially eliminated from the playoffs after falling to 16-45 since the All-Star break. Starter Justin Masterson (11-14) took the loss. Athletics 5, Orioles 2: Stephen Drew homered and made a pair of big defensive plays to back Jarrod Parker, and the Athletics beat the Orioles. Chris Carter had a two-run double as part of a five-run third inning while Josh Reddick added two hits and an RBI for Oakland, which has won two straight over Baltimore to clinch the season series between the top two teams in the American League wild card race. The A's also pulled within two games of first-place Texas in the AL West, the closest they've been since April 13. The Rangers lost to Seattle earlier in the day. Nate McLouth homered for Baltimore, which dropped one game behind the New York Yankees in the AL East. Yankees 5, Rays 3: Ivan Nova was sharp in his return from a shoulder injury and the Yankees got back-to-back home runs from Curtis Granderson and Eduardo Nunez in a victory over Tampa Bay. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez each had an RBI single for the Yankees. Evan Longoria homered for the third-place Rays, who fell four games behind New York. Nova (12-7) missed a little more than three weeks with inflammation in his right rotator cuff. Making his first start since Aug. 21, he was charged with two runs and four hits in six-plus innings. He struck out eight and walked two. James Shields (14-9) allowed four runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings. Red Sox 3, Blue Jays 2: Pedro Ciriaco drove in the tiebreaking run with a two-out double in the ninth inning, Cody Ross hit a solo homer and the Red Sox won their second straight, beating the Blue Jays. Mariners 8, Rangers 6: Justin Smoak homered in the eighth and drove in a run in the ninth to lead the Seattle Mariners to an 8-6 win over the Texas Rangers. Smoak had three hits, two runs and three RBIs. Seattle built a 6-0 lead in the first three innings before Texas rallied to tie the game. Royals 3, Angels 2: Ernesto Frieri needed just four pitches to ruin a spectacular start by Zack Greinke, giving up two home runs in the ninth inning as the Royals rallied to hand the playoff-contending Angels a stunning loss. — Agencies
