Felix Escalona's bases-loaded single with two outs in the ninth inning gave the New York Yankees a 5-4 victory Tuesday night over the Toronto Blue Jays and sole possession of the AL wild-card lead.
Hideki Matsui hit a tying homer in the ninth, and Derek Jeter had two hits in his return to the lineup for the Yankees (69-55), who scored in each of the final four innings to win for the ninth time in 12 games and reach 14 games over .500 for the first time this season.
New York, which didn't lead until the final hit, had been tied for the wild-card lead with Oakland, which lost at Detroit.
Vernon Wells had three hits, including a homer, as the Blue Jays wasted a strong start by Josh Towers and matched a season high with their fifth straight loss.
Toronto took a 4-3 lead off Mariano Rivera (6-3) in the ninth, but Matsui led off the bottom half with his 20th homer, a drive off Miguel Batista (5-5). Jorge Posada walked with one out, and Robinson Cano walked with two outs. Batista then intentionally walked Jeter to load the bases for Escalona, who singled to center on an 0-2 pitch.
Twins 1, White Sox 0
At Minneapolis, Jacque Jones ended Freddy Garcia's no-hit bid with a homer to lead off the eighth inning, and Johan Santana and Minnesota beat Chicago.
Santana (13-6) gave up three hits and walked one in eight innings, striking out seven to beat Garcia in a battle of perhaps Venezuela's two best pitchers. Santana, last year's AL Cy Young Award winner, improved to 6-1 after the All-Star break.
Garcia (11-6) walked two and struck out three in eight innings. Jones' homer to right-center was his 18th of the season and the only hit Minnesota managed.
Joe Nathan pitched the ninth for his 32nd save and extended his scoreless innings streak to 15.
Red Sox 5, Royals 2
At Kansas City, Missouri, David Wells and Boston maintained its mastery of Kansas City, snapping the Royals' two-game winning streak that followed a team-record 19 straight losses.
Edgar Renteria had three hits and Jason Varitek hit a towering home run for Boston, which handed the Royals their team-record ninth straight loss at home.
Wells (10-6) allowed five hits in five shutout innings for his 11th straight win over the Royals, raising his lifetime record against Kansas City to 16-3.
Jeremi Gonzalez pitched three hitless innings and Mike Timlin worked the ninth, giving up two runs on Donnie Murphy's single with the bases loaded.
Zack Greinke (3-15) became the first major league pitcher with 15 losses.
Angels 7, Orioles 6
At Baltimore, Orlando Cabrera had three hits and three RBIs to back Jarrod Washburn for Los Angeles.
The Angels amassed 12 hits over the first three innings in taking a 5-0 lead. Washburn (7-7) allowed one run, eight hits and one walk in 6 1-3 innings.
Francisco Rodriguez gave up a grand slam to Miguel Tejada with two outs in the ninth inning before striking out Javy Lopez to earn his 29th save.
The victory enabled Los Angeles to stretch its lead in the AL West to 3 games over Oakland, which lost to Detroit 4-1.
Cabrera, who hadn't had a three-hit game since July 31, had three hits by the third inning. Juan Rivera tied his career high with four hits, and Robb Quinlan, activated from the 15-day disabled list before the game, went 2-for-3 and scored twice. He came in batting .159.
Tejada hit two homers, his 23rd and 24th, and drove in five runs, and Lopez hit his 11th homer for the Orioles, who have lost four straight.
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