Nelson Cruz homered on the first pitch thrown by Tim Wakefield in the 11th inning as the Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox 10-9 on Friday night to cap their biggest comeback victory this season.
Cruz hit the ball deep into the left-field seats on a knuckleball thrown by Wakefield (3-9), the seventh Boston reliever.
Darren O’Day (4-2) worked a perfect 11th inning against Boston’s Nos. 2-4 hitters, extending a team record with his 29th consecutive scoreless appearance.
Orioles 5, Rays 0
In St Petersburg, Florida, Jeremy Guthrie scattered two hits over six innings and Adam Jones hit a two-run triple for Baltimore.
Guthrie (7-11) struck out three and walked four in his third consecutive win. It was also his first victory (1-4) in seven career starts at Tropicana Field.
Luke Scott hit his 22nd homer this season, helping Baltimore improve to nine wins and two losses under new manager Buck Showalter.
Koji Uehara gave up one hit in two scoreless innings before Michael Gonzalez pitched the ninth to complete a three-hitter.
James Shields (10-11) allowed four runs and 10 hits over five-plus innings for the Rays, who have lost seven of nine.
Twins 4, Athletics 3
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Carl Pavano pitched into the seventh inning for his 15th win and Danny Valencia had two hits and two RBIs as Minnesota held on to beat Oakland.
Pavano (15-7) allowed two runs and 10 hits over six-and-one-third innings and matched the Yankees C.C. Sabathia and the Rays David Price for the most wins in the American League.
Matt Capps allowed an unearned run in the ninth, but held on for his third save with the Twins and 29th overall.
Gio Gonzalez (10-8) allowed four runs, two earned, and struck out seven over six innings. It was the first time in six games that an A’s starter has failed to pitch at least seven innings.
In other AL action, it was:
• Royals 4, Yankees 3
• Mariners 3, Indians 2
• White Sox 8, Tigers 4
• Blue Jays 3, Angels 0
AP, SAN FRANCISCO
Ryan Ludwick narrowly beat Juan Uribe’s throw home to score the go-ahead run in the sixth inning as the NL West-leading San Diego Padres held off the San Francisco Giants 3-2 on Friday night for their fifth straight victory.
Clayton Richard (10-5) earned his third straight win over the Giants this season, helping San Diego extend their division lead to 3.5 games over San Francisco in a game the Padres played under protest. It became a moot point when they won.
The Padres quieted Jonathan Sanchez (8-8), who no-hit them in San Francisco on July 10 last year, after he guaranteed a sweep of San Diego following his outing at Atlanta last Sunday.
The Padres took the lead in the sixth when a sliding Ludwick beat the close play at the plate on Chase Headley’s grounder. That came moments after hefty San Francisco third baseman Pablo Sandoval ran down the line and made a forward-diving tag on Adrian Gonzalez to save a run.
Richard allowed six hits in six innings. Heath Bell pitched the ninth for his majors-leading 35th save in 38 chances.
Mets 1, Phillies 0
In New York, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey threw a one-hitter, allowing a sixth-inning single to pitcher Cole Hamels as the Mets shut out the Phillies once again at Citi Field.
The Mets blanked the high-scoring Phillies for the fourth straight time at home. New York outscored their NL East rivals 16-0 during a three-game sweep in late May, a string started by Dickey.
David Wright and Carlos Beltran hit consecutive doubles with two outs in the sixth for the lone run, sending the Mets to their first two-game winning streak since June 22 to June 23.
Hit hard by the Phillies in his last start, Dickey (8-5) baffled them all evening this time, striking out seven in his second career shutout.
Hamels (7-9) has not won in six starts despite pitching well. He gave up five hits in seven innings, and again was the victim of poor run support.
In other NL action, it was:
• Braves 1, Dodgers 0
• Cardinals 6, Cubs 3
• Reds 7, Marlins 2
• Rockies 5, Brewers 4
• Nationals 4, Diamondbacks 2
• Astros 4, Pirates 1
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