Last-place Seattle swept the American League West-leading Los Angeles Angels for the second time this season, winning 10-9 on Yuniesky Betancourt's ninth-inning single on Wednesday.
Raul Ibanez homered and drove in four runs for the Mariners, while Richie Sexson also homered.
The Angels, who remained one game in front of Oakland in the division, rallied from deficits of 6-0, 7-4 and 9-7 to tie the score in the ninth on a two-out RBI single by pinch-hitter Bengie Molina off closer Eddie Guardado (2-2).
PHOTO: AFP
Jose Lopez doubled against Francisco Rodriguez (2-5) with one out in the ninth. After an intentional walk, Betancourt singled to left for his third hit.
Ibanez went 4-for-5 with his 19th homer and finished 9-for-14 with two homers and six RBIs in the three-game series. Sexson hit his 36th home run.
The Mariners finished 9-9 against Los Angeles this season. They swept a four-game series in Anaheim before the All-Star break.
Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 3
At Toronto, David Ortiz hit his career-high 42nd homer, a tiebreaking two-run drive in the eighth inning that led Boston over Toronto.
Boston's Gabe Kapler ruptured his left Achilles' tendon while rounding second base on Tony Graffanino's fifth-inning homer.
David Wells (13-7) won for the fourth time in five starts, allowing three runs in seven innings. Mike Timlin pitched the ninth for his eighth save in 14 chances.
At 3-all, Bill Mueller singled with two outs and Ortiz homered off Josh Towers (11-11), the 17th time he has tied a game or put the Red Sox ahead. He has 38 as a designated hitter, one more than the major league record set by Seattle's Edgar Martinez in 2000.
Indians 6, Athletics 4
At Cleveland, Ronnie Belliard's three-run homer in the seventh inning on Barry Zito's 122nd and final pitch kept Cleveland ahead of the AL wild-card pack.
Belliard pulled a pitch from Zito (13-12) over the wall in left for the Indians, who have won nine of 10 and are a major league-best 30-11 since July 31.
Cleveland remained one game up on the New York Yankees in the wild-card chase, and extended their lead over the A's to 3{ games.
Nick Swisher hit a three-run homer, and Mark Kotsay homered for the A's. Jake Westbrook (15-14) allowed just two hits in seven innings. Bob Wickman earned his league-leading 41st save.
Yankees 6, Devil Rays 5
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Derek Jeter hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the seventh inning, and New York remained 2{ games behind first-place Boston in the AL East, and one behind Cleveland in the wild-card race.
New York has won the first two of a three-game set after losing its four previous series against the Devil Rays, who have won 11 of 18 meetings this year.
Chien-Ming Wang (7-4) allowed five runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings for his first win since July 8. This was his second start since missing two months with a shoulder injury. Mariano Rivera, the fourth Yankees reliever, worked the ninth for his 38th save.
Carl Crawford had two RBIs, including a run-scoring grounder that pulled Tampa Bay to 6-5 in the seventh.
Tigers 4, Twins 2
At Detroit, Craig Monroe hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with two outs in the eighth for Detroit.
Curtis Granderson's two-run homer in the third gave the Tigers a lead they clung to until the eighth, when Michael Cuddyer's two-out single tied the score at 2.
Craig Dingman (2-2) got the final four outs to help the Tigers avoid a three-game sweep. Detroit had lost 11 of 13.
Juan Rincon (6-5) entered in the eighth and gave up three singles and a walk.
Minnesota's Johan Santana, who was scheduled to pitch, had his start pushed back to Saturday because of a blister on his middle finger.
Royals 10, White Sox 9
In Kansas City, Missouri, Angel Berroa's double in the ninth inning drove in the tying run, and right fielder Jermaine Dye's error allowed Mark Teahen to score the game-winner for Kansas City.
Chicago lost for the fourth time in 17 games against Kansas City this season, and had its AL Central lead cut to five games over Cleveland.
The Royals scored three runs in the ninth against Dustin Hermanson (1-4), who blew his fourth save in 38 chances, to snap a 104-game losing streak when trailing after eight innings. Matt Stairs started the rally with a one-out single. Emil Brown and Teahen followed with consecutive singles to score one run. Berroa doubled to right to tie it, and Teahen scored when Dye had trouble picking up the ball.
Chris Demaria (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for his first career victory.
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Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB