Brewers Squeak By Slumping Chisox

American League

Marc Newfield, Jeff Cirillo and John Jaha hit RBI doubles as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the White Sox 3-2 Monday night in Chicago.

Cal Eldred (3-2) gave up five hits, walked one and struck out three in 5-1/3 innings.

The loss was the sixth in the last seven games for the White Sox, who started the day with a half-game lead over Baltimore in the wildcard race. The Brewers have won eight of their last 11 games.

Orioles 12, A’s 11 (10)

Baltimore

Cal Ripken drew a bases-loaded walk off Mark Acre in the bottom of the 10th, capping the final rally in a game of comebacks as Baltimore held off Oakland.

The Orioles blew an 8-3 lead, then scored two in the ninth to tie it. After Mike Bordick singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th, the seesaw game took its last turn in the bottom of the inning.

Acre (0-2) hit Chris Hoiles with a pitch but retired the next two batters. Brady Anderson then hit a triple to tie the score, and Acre issued two intentional walks to load the bases. Ripken then ducked a high 3-1 pitch, forcing in the winning run.

Indians 2, Tigers 1

Detroit

Jim Thome hit a tie-breaking homer in the ninth and Charles Nagy pitched a three-hitter for his first win in six starts as Cleveland beat Detroit.

Thome’s 29th homer came with one out and broke a 1-1 tie as the Indians stayed perfect (10-0) this season against Detroit.

Nagy (13-4) won for the first time since July 25.

Blue Jays 5, Twins 3

Toronto

Joe Carter homered, drove in two runs and scored twice as Toronto won for the eighth time in nine games with a victory over Minnesota.

Juan Guzman (11-8), leading the league with a 3.02 ERA, shut out the Twins on four hits until the seventh inning, when a couple of passed balls by rookie Julio Mosquera helped Minnesota score three runs.

Red Sox 4, Angels 1

Anaheim, Calif.

Tim Wakefield pitched a six-hitter and Mo Vaughn and Troy O’Leary homered as Boston beat California for its 20th win in 26 games.

The Red Sox, who began the season 6-19, moved two games over .500 for the first time this year.

Wakefield (11-11) struck out five and walked one in his fifth complete game. The knuckleballer won for the sixth time in eight decisions.

Clearing the bases

Oakland’s Terry Steinbach became the fifth catcher in American League history to hit 30 HRs. One of his homers this season came as a designated hitter… . Carter’s homer in the first was his 179th as a Blue Jay, moving him into a tie with Jesse Barfield for second place on the Toronto career list… . Paul Molitor’s double in the first extended his hitting streak to 13 games for Minnesota.