ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Victor Martinez's two-run double keyed a six-run ninth inning that lifted Boston to an 8-4 victory over Texas on Friday night, preserving its lead in the AL wild card.
Martinez's two-out hit gave the Red Sox a 5-4 lead, the win in the opener of the three-game series and put them 1 1/2 games ahead of the Rangers.
Boston tagged Texas closer Frank Francisco (2-2) for seven hits and six runs before he was pulled after a two-run home run by J.D. Drew.
Michael Young had a two-run homer and three RBIs for the Rangers.
Red Sox reliever Takashi Saito (3-3) got the win after pitching a scoreless eight inning. Jonathan Papelbon finished in a non-save situation.
David Ortiz, dropped to seventh in the batting order for the first time since May 24, 2003, tied the game at 2 in the sixth with a homer off Eddie Guardado, a left-hander who was brought in to face him.
Boston starter Jon Lester finished his 11-strikeout night with consecutive strikeouts of Josh Hamilton, Hank Blalock and Murphy. Blalock struck out four times.
White Sox 8, Athletics 7, 10 innings
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Alexei Ramirez led off the 10th inning with a home run and Chicago overcame blowing a 6-0 lead.
Ramirez hit an 0-2 pitch from Craig Breslow (4-4) to lift Chicago to just its fourth win in its last 16 road games.
The White Sox, who led 6-0 after two innings, committed two errors and overcame another rough outing by starter Jose Contreras.
Ramon Castro homered for Chicago, while Jermaine Dye added two hits and three RBIs.
Scott Hairston homered for the A's, who lost for the fourth time in their last 11 games.
Octavio Dotel (2-3), the fourth White Sox pitcher, struck out the side in the eighth in his only inning to get the win. Bobby Jenks gave up two hits in the ninth then held on for his 24th save.
Conteras gave up seven runs, six earned, in 4 1-3 innings.
Yankees 4, Mariners 2
SEATTLE (AP) - Mark Teixeira hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth, his second game-deciding homer of the week, and New York rolled on without a resting Alex Rodriguez.
Teixeira, who had a tiebreaking homer against Boston on Sunday, hit his 30th homer off Mark Lowe (1-5) to break a 2-all tie that had stood since the fifth.
A double by Robinson Cano and RBI single by Nick Swisher capped New York's major league-leading 38th comeback win and 11th victory in 12 games. They stayed 6 1/2 games ahead of Boston in AL East.
Mariano Rivera closed the ninth for his major league-leading 34th save, and 30th consecutive conversion - another major league best.
The Mariners, who were routed 11-1 by New York on Thursday, lost consecutive games for the first time this month.
Orioles 16, Angels 6
BALTIMORE (AP) - Felix Pie became the fourth player in Orioles history to hit for the cycle, and Baltimore tied club records for extra-base hits and doubles.
Pie doubled in the first inning, homered in the third, then rounded out the feat during a seven-run seventh. He opened the inning by beating out an infield single, then tripled to drive in two runs and reach a career high for hits in a game.
It was the seventh cycle in the majors this season and the second this week. Troy Tulowitzki of Colorado did it Monday night against the Chicago Cubs.
Baltimore finished with 12 extra-base hits, tying the mark set last year against Detroit. The Orioles' nine doubles matched the club record set on July 30, 1996, against Minnesota.
Jered Weaver (12-4) gave up nine hits and four walks in 3 1-3 innings, his shortest outing since July 2008.
Chris Tillman (1-0) earned his first major league win, allowing seven hits and three earned runs in 6 2-3 innings.
Tigers 1, Royals 0
DETROIT (AP) - Brandon Inge's home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Detroit the victory.
Inge hit a 2-1 pitch from Roman Colon (1-2) into the bullpens in left field for his 23rd home run.
Brandon Lyon (6-4) picked up the win with one inning of relief as the Tigers extended their scoreless streak to 21 innings.
Kansas City's Zack Greinke pitched seven innings, allowing three hits and four walks. He struck out six.
Jarrod Washburn, who had struggled in his first two starts with Detroit, gave up three hits and two walks in eight innings.
Twins 11, Indians 0
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Scott Baker pitched a two-hitter and Jason Kubel homered and had five RBIs for Minnesota.
Baker, who faced three batters above the minimum, received plenty of support from Kubel and Joe Mauer as the Twins pounded out 12 hits and chased Justin Masterson (3-4) after just 3 1-3 innings. Kubel and Mauer both had three hits.
The Twins took advantage of an error and two walks to score six runs in the fourth.
Mauer extended his hitting streak to 11 games and raised his league-leading batting average to .375.
Kubel hit a two-run homer in the sixth and drove in five runs for the third time this season.
Baker (10-7) struck out five and needed just 94 pitches.
Asdrubl Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta had the only two hits for Cleveland, which has lost three straight.
Blue Jays 5, Rays 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Toronto's Roy Halladay gave up two runs over eight innings for his 13th win.
Halladay (13-5) was 0-2 in three previous starts against Tampa Bay this season. The right-hander allowed eight hits and struck out six in pitching at least eight innings for the fifth time in his last six starts.
The Blue Jays got homers from Lyle Overbay and Adam Lind. Jason Frasor pitched the ninth to record his sixth save.
Carl Crawford had four hits, including two doubles, for the Rays, who have lost five consecutive games. James Shields (7-9) gave up five runs and eight hits in eight innings.
Overbay put the Blue Jays up 2-0 in the first with a two-run homer. In nine games since being moved into the fourth spot of the lineup, Overbay has three homers and seven RBIs.