A day after Clay Buchholz pitched a no-hitter in his second major league game, rookie Jacoby Ellsbury hit his first career homer and Dustin Pedroia made another outstanding defensive play in Boston's 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.
Second-year pitcher Jon Lester threw six strong innings and Hideki Okajima, a rookie in the majors after 12 seasons in Japan, escaped a one-out jam with the tying run at third in the eighth by striking out Kevin Millar and Aubrey Huff.
Jonathan Papelbon notched his 31st save in 33 chances.
Boston increased its lead in the American League East to six games over the New York Yankees, who lost to Tampa Bay.
The Orioles had gone more than 12 innings without a hit before Aubrey Huff singled with one out in the second off Lester (3-0), who allowed two runs and six hits in six innings.
Daniel Cabrera (9-14) allowed three runs and five hits with four walks and seven strikeouts in six innings.
Athletics 8, Tigers 7, 10 innings
At Oakland, California, Oakland's Jack Hannahan blooped a game-winning single to shallow left in the 10th inning to score Mark Ellis from first as Detroit blew a chance to gain ground in the AL Central.
Huston Street (4-2) pitched a perfect 10th with two strikeouts for the win in the Athletic's fourth extra-inning contest in their last six games.
Rangers 8, Angels 7
At Anaheim, Hank Blalock returned to the Texas lineup with a bang, hitting a dramatic go-ahead grand slam against Scot Shields in the eighth inning as the Rangers rallied for the win over Los Angeles.
Shields (3-5) gave up a leadoff single to Michael Young, then walked Brad Wilkerson and hit Frank Catalanotto with a 2-2 pitch before Blalock drove the right-hander's 2-2 delivery deep into the right-field seats for his fifth career grand slam and first this season.
White Sox 8, Indians 0
At Cleveland, Jose Contreras held Cleveland to four singles pitching into the seventh inning and A.J. Pierzynski tied a career high with four hits as Chicago snapped the Indians' eight-game winning streak.
Contreras (8-16) won consecutive starts for the first time since last September as the White Sox broke a five-game losing streak and won for the first time in their last 12 road games, snapping their longest road losing streak since 1962.
Devil Rays 8, Yankees 2
At New York, Carlos Pena hit a three-run homer to tie Tampa Bay's single-season record as the Devil Rays sent New York into a pivotal series on a sour note.
Tampa Bay beat Andy Pettitte for only the second time in 20 career starts and won a series at Yankee Stadium for the first time since 2005. It was only the Devil Rays' fourth series win in 27 trips to the Bronx.
Blue Jays 6, Mariners 4
At Toronto, Matt Stairs and Gregg Zaun hit two-run homers, A.J. Burnett pitched seven sharp innings and Toronto beat slumping Seattle to send the Mariners to their season-high ninth consecutive loss.
Seattle has not won since Aug. 24 at Texas, a victory that put the Mariners a season-high 20 games over .500.
Royals 8, Twins 1
At Minneapolis, Alex Gordon hit two home runs and Brian Bannister won for the fourth straight time for Kansas City.
John Buck had three hits, including his 17th homer, and Shane Costa added three more for the Royals, who tied their season high with 16 hits. Kansas City earned a split of the four-game series.
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