American LeagueAlfonso Soriano tied Brady Anderson's major league record with his 12th leadoff homer this year, and the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2-1 Friday night to move within one victory of their ninth straight postseason trip.
"I never thought I would tie with Brady Anderson," Soriano said.
Jose Contreras (6-2) allowed four hits in seven innings, giving up Rocco Baldelli's RBI groundout in the sixth.
"I feel good now. I feel comfortable on the mound. I'm able to pitch my game. I'm not thinking about any other thing. I'm just focused on the game," Contreras said through an interpreter.
Mariano Rivera worked the ninth for his 39th save.
Twins 6, Tigers 2
In Minneapolis, Eric Milton (1-0) won a regular-season game for the first time since Aug. 1 last year as AL Central-leading Minnesota beat Detroit to claim its seventh straight game.
The Twins maintained a 3 1/2-game lead over second-place Chicago.
Detroit lost its seventh in a row. The Tigers (38-115) need at least five wins in their last nine games to avoid matching the modern era record of 120 losses by the 1962 New York Mets.
Milton (1-0), making his second start of the year after missing five months with a knee injury, gave up just two hits and walked none in seven shutout innings.
Jeremy Bonderman (6-19) gave up five runs and 10 hits in 3 1-3 innings.
White Sox 8, Royals 5
In Chicago, Magglio Ordonez hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer to cap a four-run seventh as Chicago downed Kansas City.
Kansas City, which dropped 51/2 games back, broke a 3-3 tie with two runs in the seventh off Mark Buehrle (14-13). Then the White Sox, who struggled to score when they were swept three games by the Twins this week, responded against D.J. Carrasco (6-5).
Tom Gordon got four outs for his 12th save.
Red Sox 2, Indians 0
In Cleveland, John Burkett (11-8) allowed three hits in seven-plus innings and was helped by three double plays as Boston (90-63) moved 27 games over .500 for the first time since 1995 with a win over Cleveland.
The Red Sox, five games behind New York in the AL East, began the night 21/2 games ahead of Seattle in the wild-card race. Nomar Garciaparra homered off Jason Stanford (0-3) in a two-run second.
After Byung-Hyun Kim hit batters on consecutive pitches with two outs in the ninth, Alan Embree retired Ben Broussard for his first save since July 2, 2002. The Indians were shut out for just the fourth time this season, an AL low.
Blue Jays 5, Orioles 2
In Baltimore, Vernon Wells went 4-for-4, and Carlos Delgado drove in two runs as Toronto beat Baltimore to win its fourth straight and clinched third place in the AL East for a sixth consecutive season.
Kelvim Escobar (12-9) allowed two runs and three hits over seven innings, and Aquilino Lopez finished the four-hitter for his 12th save.
Rangers 3, Angels 2
In Arlington, Texas, Mark Teixeira drove in two runs and Michael Young had three hits as Texas edged Anaheim.
R.A. Dickey (9-8) allowed one run and five hits over six innings, sending Anaheim to its eighth loss in 10 games. Francisco Cordero got three straight outs for his 15th save.
John Lackey (9-16) gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings.
Mariners 6, Athletics 1
In Oakland, California, Edgar Martinez had four hits, and John Olerud hit a two-run homer as Seattle closed within four games of AL West-leading Oakland.
The Mariners and Athletics play five more times in the final nine days of the regular season.
Ryan Franklin (10-13) allowed one run and four hits in eight innings for his first win in six starts. Tim Hudson (15-7), who had been 2-0 against Seattle this year, gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings.
National League
Russ Ortiz won his 20th game in style, pitching a three-hitter and driving in the only run as the Atlanta Braves defeated Florida 1-0 Friday night to bump the Marlins out of the lead in the NL wild-card race.
Philadelphia moved a half-game ahead of Florida with a 7-3 victory over Cincinnati.
Ortiz (20-7) reached 20 wins for the first time in his career and gave Atlanta its first 20-game winner since Tom Glavine in 2000.
The right-hander bounced back from his shortest start of the season, having lasted just three innings in an 8-3 loss at Florida last Saturday. The Marlins were one of only two teams to hand Ortiz a pair of losses this season, scoring 16 runs in 20 innings against the Braves ace.
Ortiz accounted for the only run of the game. Javy Lopez led off the second with a double off the left-field wall, but the next two hitters failed to bring him home. Ortiz, batting .246 for the season, lined an RBI single to left.
"What better way to win your 20th than to drive in the winning run yourself?" Florida manager Jack McKeon said. "That may have been the best-pitched game against us this year."
Phillies 7, Reds 3
In Philadelphia, Mike Lieberthal homered twice and drove in four runs as Philadelphia beat Cincinnati and reclaimed the NL wild-card lead. The Phillies moved a half-game ahead of Florida, which lost 1-0 at Atlanta.
Randy Wolf (16-9) won his fourth straight decision, giving up two runs and four hits in six shaky innings. He worked around four walks, striking out eight. The Reds lost their third in a row.
Wolf was aided by a three-run first inning. Marlon Byrd and Bobby Abreu were on with walks when Lieberthal homered off Josh Hall (0-1). Lieberthal added a solo shot in the seventh, also over the left-field fence. He has 13 homers this season.
Astros 8, Cardinals 1
In St. Louis, Roy Oswalt dominated for seven innings and Houston got home runs from Jeff Bagwell and Richard Hidalgo, maintaining its NL Central lead with a victory over St. Louis.
The second-place Cubs were a game back pending the outcome of the second game of a doubleheader at Pittsburgh. The Cardinals are nearly out of the race, trailing by six games with seven to play.
Houston has won six of seven and is a season-best 15 games above .500.
The Astros have beaten the Cardinals five straight times, including a sweep last weekend in Houston. The Astros are 11-5 overall against the defending NL Central champions.
Cubs 10, Pirates 9,
Pirates 10, Cubs 6
In Pittsburgh, Craig Wilson and Rob Mackowiak drove in two runs each as Pittsburgh beat Chicago in the second game of a doubleheader, dropping the Cubs 1 1/2 games out of the NL Central lead.
First-place Houston has nine games remaining and the Cubs have eight left.
The Cubs overcame Pirates rookie Jason Bay's eight RBIs to win the opener. Pittsburgh then ended Chicago's four-game winning streak.
The Cubs took a 3-2 lead in the fifth on Sammy Sosa's 535th homer. His 36th homer came off Salomon Torres (6-5), who shattered Sosa's batting helmet with a fastball on April 20, the last time the two opposed each other in Pittsburgh.
Juan Cruz (2-6) took the loss.
Bay hit a grand slam in the second, a two-run shot in the fourth and a two-run double in the fifth.
Bay's eight RBIs were the most by a Pirates player since Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner drove in eight against Brooklyn on June 25, 1950. Johnny Rizzo set the club record of nine RBIs against St. Louis on May 30, 1939.
Dave Veres (2-1) got three outs for the victory in the opener. Joe Borowski pitched the ninth for his 31st save in 35 chances.
Nelson Figueroa (2-1) took the loss.
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