American LeagueMichael Cuddyer homered and drove in four runs, Carlos Silva threw seven smooth innings and the Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics 9-4 on Monday to move within 1.5 games of first-place Detroit in the AL Central.
Torii Hunter also homered and Nick Punto added a two-run single for the Twins, who trailed the Tigers by 12 games at the All-Star break and had not been this close to first place since before play on April 18.
Silva (9-13) gave up five hits and one run. His only blemish was a fourth-inning homer by Frank Thomas, who connected for the sixth straight game -- two shy of the major league record -- and has 36 this season.
Joe Nathan got four outs for his 31st save.
Joe Blanton (15-11) allowed nine hits, six runs (five earned) and three walks in 5-1/3 innings for the AL West leaders.
White Sox 3, Angels 2
In Anaheim, California, Jose Contreras pitched eight strong innings and A.J. Pierzynski doubled home the go-ahead run, leading Chicago past Los Angeles.
The White Sox remained 1.5 games behind Minnesota in the wild-card race and pulled within three games of first-place Detroit in the AL Central. Los Angeles stayed 5.5 games back of AL West-leading Oakland.
Contreras (13-7) outpitched John Lackey (11-10) and won consecutive starts for the first time since June 12, allowing one run and six hits while striking out eight. The White Sox have won their last seven games at Angel Stadium, a streak that began in the playoffs last year.
Yankees 9, Orioles 6
In Baltimore, Robinson Cano doubled in three runs with a seventh-inning liner over stumbling left fielder Fernando Tatis, helping New York to a comeback victory over Baltimore.
Derek Jeter went 2-for-5 to extend his career-best hitting streak to 21 games and help the Yankees stretch their lead in the AL East over Boston to a season-high 10.5 games. New York, which won three of four from the Orioles, also moved 30 games over .500 (86-56) for the first time since 2004.
With his 1,068th win with the Yankees, New York manager Joe Torre moved past Miller Huggins for third place on team's career list, trailing only Joe McCarthy (1,460) and Casey Stengel (1,149).
Randy Johnson (17-10) won his third straight start. When he walked off the mound for the last time, New York trailed 5-2. But the Yankees sent 10 batters to the plate in a six-run seventh.
Blue Jays 6, Mariners 2
In Seattle, Ted Lilly got his career-high 13th win, allowing four hits in seven innings. Lilly (13-12), who won 12 games each in 2003 and 2004, allowed two runs, struck out five and walked two.
Brandon League and Jeremy Accardo finished the five-hitter for the Blue Jays, who closed within 1.5 games of second-place Boston in the AL East.
Vernon Wells drove in two runs for the Blue Jays.
National League
Cody Ross tied Florida records with three home runs and seven RBIs, and Anibal Sanchez (8-2) allowed four hits and struck out eight over seven innings in his first start since pitching a no-hitter last week to lead the Marlins over the New York Mets 16-5 on Monday.
Dan Uggla was a career-best 5-for-5, Ross finished with four hits and Miguel Cabrera took over the NL batting lead with a .340 average, one point above Pittsburgh's Freddy Sanchez.
Florida, which had a season-high 20 hits, improved to 17-5 since Aug. 20 and moved within two games of idle San Diego in the NL wild-card race.
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