The Boston Red Sox tightened up the race for the American League East and wild-card by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 Friday. Boston starter Jon Lester (14-8) rebounded from the worst outing of his career to pitch seven strong innings, limiting the Rays to one unearned run and striking out 10. Victor Martinez hit solo homers off Tampa Bay ace David Price (15-6) in the first and seventh. The Red Sox moved within 4-1/2 games of both Tampa Bay and New York, which share the lead in both the AL East and the wild-card. White Sox 9, Yankees 4: At Chicago, the hosts piled on four runs in the first inning to lay the foundation for a comfortable win over New York. A.J. Pierzynski hit a two-run double in the first as the White Sox roughed up Yankees starter A.J. Burnett (9-12) who struggled once again. He is 0-4 with a 7.80 ERA in five starts this month. While Burnett toiled, White Sox starter Freddy Garcia (11-5) snapped out of his rut by yielding just one earned run in seven innings, taking his first win this month. Twins 6, Mariners 3: At Seattle, Joe Mauer had three hits and two RBIs to lead Scott Baker and first-place Minnesota over Seattle. The sixth, three-hit game this month for Mauer, plus Baker holding baseball's worst offensive team to five hits and two runs, kept the Twins 3 1/2 games ahead of Chicago in the AL Central. Baker (12-9) went 6 2-3 innings to win his fifth consecutive decision. He joined Carl Pavano and Francisco Liriano with at least a dozen wins for the Twins. Jason Vargas (9-7) allowed nine hits and five runs, four earned, in six innings. Before the game, the Twins added a third left-hander to their shuffled bullpen by acquiring Angels closer Brian Fuentes for a player to be named. Rangers 7, Athletics 3: At Arlington, Texas, AL West-leading Texas pulled farther away from Oakland, increasing its division lead to 9-1/2 games. Rangers starter Tommy Hunter (11-2) pitched into the eighth inning. He is 7-0 at home this season. Texas' Josh Hamilton had his 24th three-hit game of the season, raising his major league-high average to .358. He also demonstrated his speed in the first when he scored from second on an infield single. His dash home highlighted a three-run first off A's starter Brett Anderson (3-5). Blue Jays 3, Tigers 2, 11 innings: At Toronto, Jose Bautista hit his major league-leading 42nd homer of the season as Toronto edged Detroit. The Blue Jays have hit a major league-best 195 home runs this season, including 110 at home. Toronto won it in the 11th against Tigers pitcher Phil Coke (7-3). John Buck hit a one-out single and, after a walk, Buck was replaced by pinch-runner John McDonald. Indians 15, Royals 4: At Cleveland, the hosts hit a trio of three-run homers to overpower Kansas City. Matt LaPorta hit a three-run homer in the Indians' six-run second inning off Bryan Bullington (1-3). Chris Gimenez – who drove in a career best four runs – and Jayson Nix later connected with two on as Cleveland recorded its highest score of the season. Orioles 3, Angels 1: At Anaheim, California, Brad Bergesen won his third straight decision with eight solid innings as Baltimore beat Los Angeles.
