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Red Sox beat Yankees in struggle for AL East title

Pitcher Tim Wakefield, center, of the Red Sox, tries to pick off Alex Rodriguez, right, of the Yankees with the help of first baseman Kevin Millar during the third inning of their game at Fenway Park in Boston, Saturday. The Yankees won the game 12-5. PHOTO: EPA

American League

Manny Ramirez doubled in the tiebreaking run during a seven-run eighth inning, and the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 12-5 Saturday to preserve their chances of an American League East title.

Jason Varitek and Doug Mirabelli each doubled in two runs in the inning. Boston cut its deficit to 4 1/2 games and clinched the season series (10-8) against the Yankees for the first time since 1999.

"That doesn't matter once you get to the postseason," Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon said, telling reporters jokingly: "Maybe you guys can rub it in their face and make them think about it."

The Red Sox lead the AL wild-card race by six games over Anaheim and Texas.

Paul Quantrill (6-3) got out of trouble in the seventh, then allowed four runs in the eighth. Yankees starter Javier Vazquez allowed five runs in 4 2-3 innings and has won just once in eight starts.

"Vazquez concerns me. No question. I know he's a lot better than this," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "We have to stop this thing because I want him to be a part of this. He's got too much going for himself."

Keith Foulke (5-3) retired Jorge Posada with two on and two outs in the eighth and finished for the win.

Angels 5, Athletics 3

In Anaheim, California, Garret Anderson hit a tiebreaking double off Ricardo Rincon in the eighth inning and Darin Erstad had a three-run homer as Oakland's AL West lead was cut to two games over Anaheim and Texas.

Chad Bradford (5-7) hit Jose Guillen with a pitch leading off the eighth, sparking the rally. Chone Figgins added an RBI single later in the inning

Francisco Rodriguez (4-1) pitched two scoreless innings, and Troy Percival worked the ninth to reach 30 saves for the seventh consecutive season.

Rangers 5, Mariners 4

In Arlington, Texas, Michael Young hit a tying triple in the seventh off Shigetoshi Hasegawa (4-6) and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Mench to give Texas a win over Seattle.

The Rangers have won six of seven and 11 of 15.

Ichiro Suzuki's two-run single gave him 250 hits, seven shy of George Sisler's 84-year-old major league record with eight games remaining. Suzuki, who went 1-for-5 and is batting a major league-leading .374, tied Rogers Hornsby (1922) and Chuck Klein (1930) for fifth on the season hits list.

R.A. Dickey (6-7) pitched 3 2-3 hitless innings, and Francisco Cordero got three outs for his 48th save.

National League

Pedro Feliz hit a tiebreaking grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning for his fourth hit, and the San Francisco Giants helped their playoff chances with a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

San Francisco moved within 1 1/2 games of the first-place Dodgers in the National League West and a half-game behind Chicago in the wild-card race. The Dodgers and Giants play four more times, including the final three games of the season next weekend at Dodger Stadium.

"It basically came down to an at-bat with two out in the eighth and Pedro Feliz crushed it," Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. "That was the game."

Feliz sent an 0-1 pitch from Yhency Brazoban (3-1) over the left-field wall for his second career slam and 21st homer of the year Saturday. He also hit a grand slam June 11, 2003, at Chicago.

"It was a big day for me. I feel excited about the grand slam to win the game," Feliz said. "When I was running the bases, I was thinking, `We already have this game.'"

Scott Eyre (2-2) pitched the eighth for the win and Ray Durham homered and hit an RBI double for San Francisco, which lost the opener of this crucial three-game series 3-2 Friday.

Barry Bonds matched his career high with five walks, including three intentional.

Milton Bradley's solo homer in the sixth made it 5-5.

Mets 4, Cubs 3, 11 innings

In New York, Victor Diaz hit a tying, three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, and Craig Brazell's first major league home run in the 11th gave New York a stunning victory over Chicago.

Brazell, who entered in the 11th as part of a double switch, led off the bottom half and lined a 1-2 pitch from Kent Mercker (3-1) over the right-field wall, ending Chicago's five-game winning streak.

The Cubs appeared to be cruising to their 14th victory in 17 games behind 7 2-3 shutout innings from Mark Prior and a two-run homer by Todd Walker. But Diaz hit his second career homer off closer LaTroy Hawkins to tie it at 3.

Sammy Sosa, in a 5-for-38 slump, struck out in his first four at-bats and grounded into a double play. He left eight runners on base -- five in scoring position.

Phillies 4, Expos 3, 10 innings

In Montreal, Mike Lieberthal hit a go-ahead single in the 10th inning and Ryan Howard added a run-scoring double to lead Philadelphia over Montreal.

About 500 Expos fans held a 30-minute rally before the game in the faint hope of dissuading major league baseball from moving their hometown team. The Expos, likely to be relocated to Washington, DC, before next season, drew 8,491 fans to Olympic Stadium. Montreal has four home games left.

Philadelphia tied it at 2 on sacrifice flies by Jimmy Rollins in the eighth and Jason Michaels in the ninth. Tim Worrell (5-6) pitched a perfect inning for the win, Philadelphia's fifth in six games.

Tony Batista hit his 32nd homer in the 10th off Billy Wagner, who got three outs for his 19th save.

Padres 6, Diamondbacks 5

In San Diego, Ryan Klesko hit a go-ahead, two-run double off Chad Durbin (1-1) in the seventh inning and finished with four RBIs as San Diego edged Arizona.

San Diego pulled within 3 1/2 games of Chicago in the wild-card race and are 4 1/2 games behind Los Angeles in the NL West.

Trevor Hoffman pitched 1 1-3 innings to reach 40 saves for the sixth time, the first since 2001. Antonio Osuna (2-1) pitched a scoreless seventh, striking out three and allowing one hit.
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