hitter Dan Johnson homered off Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning to tie it, and Dioner Navarro doubled in the go-ahead run Tuesday as Tampa Bay rallied past Boston 5-4 in the American League. The Rays had lost four straight and six of seven. The Red Sox had won six of seven, including a 3-0 victory in the series opener - to cut the lead in the AL East from 5½ to one-half game. The Rays are 1 1/2 up and assured of leading the division when they leave town Wednesday. Boston holds a six-game lead in the AL wild-card over Minnesota. Tampa Bay took a 3-1 lead in the fourth and still led 3-2 with two outs in the eighth when Dan Wheeler (4-5) walked Kevin Youkilis and then Jason Bay homered for the third straight game to give Boston the lead. But Papelbon (5-4) blew a save opportunity for the fifth time this season. Blue Jays 3, White Sox 1, 1st game; Blue Jays 8, White Sox 2, 2nd game: At Chicago, Marco Scutaro hit a leadoff homer and Scott Rolen and Vernon Wells also went deep for Toronto in the second game to sweep the doubleheader and extend its winning streak to 10. Chicago's Paul Konerko was helped off the field in the fifth inning of the second game with what the team called a mildly sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Toronto is on its longest winning streak since a franchise-record 11 straight from Aug. 27-Sept. 7, 1998. The Blue Jays moved within seven games of Boston in the AL wild card. Toronto took the opener as A.J. Burnett (17-10) allowed one hit in seven innings. Chicago didn't fare any better against Jesse Litsch (11-8) in the nightcap. He allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings. Scutaro hit his second career leadoff homer, and Rolen's two-run shot highlighted a four-run fifth in which the Blue Jays took a 5-2 lead and knocked out Clayton Richard (2-4). In the first game, the Blue Jays' Lyle Overbay hit a two-run, two-out double in the sixth off Javier Vazquez (11-13), and Rod Barajas singled in a run in the ninth. Twins 7, Royals 2: At Minneapolis, Denard Span had three hits and Justin Morneau homered for Minnesota, which trounced Kansas City to close within a game of Chicago in the AL Central. Jose Guillen had three hits and an RBI and Miguel Olivo homered for Kansas City. Nick Blackburn (10-8) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings and the Twins roughed up Brian Bannister (7-15), who gave up seven runs and 10 hits in 3 2-3 innings. Bannister has gone 13 straight starts without a victory and has a loss in six of his last seven outings. His last win came on June 23 against Colorado. Other results: Athletics 3, Tigers 2; Indians 6, Orioles 1; Yankees 7, Angels 1; Rangers 7, Mariners 3. Cards edge Cubs The St. Louis Cardinals scored on a play at the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 on Tuesday and boost their National League playoff hopes. Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols homered for the third straight game as St. Louis crept within 3-1/2 games of wildcard holder Milwaukee, while the Cubs could not improve their 4-1/2 game lead atop the NL Central division. With scores tied and bases loaded in the ninth, pinch-runner Brendan Ryan charged home from third on an infield hit, just beating the throw to home plate and scoring the winning run. Chicago has lost eight of its past nine, scoring three runs or fewer in six of them. Dodgers 6, Padres 2: In San Diego, Los Angeles extended its lead in the NL West to 2-1/2 games by beating San Diego. Andre Ethier drove in four runs and Manny Ramirez homered for the Dodgers as they beat their Southern California rival and recorded a ninth win from 10 games. The Padres, long out of realistic contention for the playoffs after a disappointing campaign in which they were expected to contend for the NL West, were officially eliminated from postseason contention. Los Angeles was leading 3-2 when Ethier hit a three-run double into the right-field corner with two outs in the ninth. He had tripled an inning earlier to tie the game. Ramirez homered in the sixth, his 522nd career homer, passing Willie McCovey, Frank Thomas and Ted Williams for sole possession of 17th place on the all-time list. Mets 10, Nationals 8: In New York, the home team downed Washington to increase its lead in the NL East to 2-1/2 games. Mets slugger Carlos Delgado hit two homers for the second straight game, while Carlos Beltran had a go-ahead shot to reach 100 RBIs. Other results: Marlins 10, Phillies 8: In Philadelphia; Giants 5, Diamondbacks 4; Reds 5, Brewers 4, 11 innings; Braves 5, Rockies 4, 10 innings; Astros 9, Pirates 3.
