AMERICAN LEAGUE
Jon Lester pitched into the eighth inning and Jason Bay homered in a three-run first as the surging Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-0 on Monday to move within a half-game of the struggling American League East leaders.
The Red Sox closed within a half-game of the division lead for the first time since July 23.
PHOTO: AFP
Boston improved to 6-1 in its last seven games, while Tampa Bay is 1-6 in that same stretch after losing its fourth straight. The Rays were shut out for the second straight day for the first time this year, having lost 1-0 at Toronto on Sunday. They also dropped to 0-7 at Fenway Park.
Lester (14-5) matched his season high with nine strikeouts, accomplished in his no-hitter against Kansas City on May 19. He allowed six hits and three walks in 7 2-3 innings.
Boston leads the majors with 14 shutouts.
ANGELS 12, YANKEES 1
At Anaheim, California, New York Yankees catcher Ivan Rodriguez and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Torii Hunter were thrown out after a bench-clearing incident in the sixth inning.
Mike Napoli hit a ground ball to third base and Hunter was caught between third and home.
Rodriguez took a throw at the plate from New York third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Hunter was tagged out, several feet from the plate. Hunter and Ivan Rodriguez made contact on the play, and after it the catcher gave Hunter a shove.
Hunter then charged Rodriguez and pushed him hard in the back. The benches emptied and Ivan Rodriguez took an open-handed swing at Hunter that missed before order was restored.
The Angels broke open a close game in the sixth, scoring six runs to take an 8-1 lead en route to a 12-1 victory.
Vladimir Guerrero smacked a two-run homer for the Angels in the sixth, driving in a total of three runs. Brandon Wood also drove in three runs.
TIGERS 14, ATHLETIACS 8
At Detroit, Gary Sheffield’s second home run of the night — a grand slam — was the 250,000th homer in major league history and it helped Detroit beat Oakland.
Sheffield drove in five runs, including his 13th career slam.
Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera and Mike Hessman also went deep for the Tigers, who won their third consecutive game.
Oakland has lost five of seven.
ORIOLES 14, INDIANS 3
At Baltimore, Aubrey Huff hit a grand slam to cap a seven-run sixth inning as Baltimore ended an eight-game losing streak by defeating Cleveland.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, PHILADELPHIA
Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer and Jimmy Rollins had three hits and three steals as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Florida Marlins 8-6 on Monday.
The Phillies closed within 1.5 games of the National League East-leading New York Mets. They remain two behind in the loss column.
Joe Blanton (2-0) pitched five shaky innings to earn his first win since Aug. 2. Blanton allowed four runs and five hits in his 10th start since Philadelphia acquired him from Oakland.
Brad Lidge finished for his 35th save in as many chances. Lidge put the tying runs on base, before escaping the jam by striking out Wes Helms and Jorge Cantu to end it.
REDS 5, BREWERS 4
At Milwaukee, Jeff Keppinger’s double capped a three-run, ninth-inning rally off Milwaukee closer Salomon Torres as Cincinnati beat the reeling Brewers.
With the loss, the Brewers’ lead in the NL wild-card race shrunk to three games over the Phillies with 18 games left. The Brewers and Phillies play a key four-game series beginning tomorrow in Philadelphia.
Jared Burton (5-1) pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory. Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 28th save in 34 chances.
Torres (6-5) entered the game with Milwaukee leading 4-2, but allowed consecutive singles to Jay Bruce and Wilkin Castillo, and a walk to Chris Dickerson to load the bases with no outs.
Corey Patterson’s infield single pulled the Reds to 4-3. Keppinger then hit a shot past left fielder Ryan Braun to the base of the wall, scoring Castillo and Dickerson to give the Reds the lead for good.
In other games it was:
Astros 3, Pirates 2
Padres 4, Dodgers 0
Giants 6, Diamondbacks 2
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