Wednesday’s games
American League
Tigers 4, Twins 2: At Detroit, Craig Monroe hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with two outs in the eighth to send the Tigers to victory over Minnesota.
Rangers 7, Orioles 6 (10): At Arlington, Texas, Kevin Mench drove in the winning run with a 10th-inning single and Texas rallied to end Baltimore’s four-game winning streak.
Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 3: At Toronto, David Ortiz hit his career-high 42nd homer, a tiebreaking two-run drive in the eighth, that led Boston over the Blue Jays. Ortiz drove in three runs for the Red Sox, who maintained a 2 1/2 -game lead over the New York Yankees in the East.
Indians 6, Athletics 4: At Cleveland, Ronnie Belliard’s three-run homer in the seventh off Barry Zito gave the Indians a win over Oakland, keeping Cleveland ahead of the wild-card pack. The Indians have won nine of 10 and are a major league-best 30-11 since July 31.
Yankees 6, Devil Rays 5: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Derek Jeter hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the seventh, leading New York past Tampa Bay. The Yankees moved a season-high 20 games better than .500 and remained one back of Cleveland in the wild-card race.
Royals 10, White Sox 9: At Kansas City, Mo., Angel Berroa’s double to right drove in the tying run and Jermaine Dye’s fielding error allowed Mark Teahen to score the winner as the Royals defeated Chicago.
National League
Pirates 5, Cardinals 3: At St. Louis, Brad Eldred hit a pair of solo shots for his first multihomer game and Pittsburgh’s bullpen worked 7 1/3 innings to keep the Cardinals’ magic number for clinching the Central at two. The Pirates won for the fourth time in 19 games.
Padres 5, Giants 4 (10): At San Francisco, Brian Giles lined a tiebreaking single to left with two outs in the 10th and San Diego snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory over the Giants.
Phillies 12, Braves 4: At Philadelphia, reserve infielder Ramon Martinez hit his first career grand slam, leading the Phillies over Atlanta. The Phillies knotted Florida in the wild-card race. Atlanta’s Andruw Jones hit his 50th homer and the 300th of his career.
Nationals 6, Mets 3: At New York, Preston Wilson and Vinny Castilla hit consecutive homers in the fifth, leading Washington over the Mets. Castilla and Nick Johnson each drove in two runs runs for the Nationals.
Astros 10, Marlins 2: At Houston, Roger Clemens (12-7) lowered his major league-best ERA to 1.77 while winning for the first time in seven starts, and recorded his 340th victory as the Astros defeated Florida.
Reds 7, Cubs 4 (11): At Chicago, Todd Coffey (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings and Sean Casey’s three-run double in the 11th gave Cincinnati a victory over the Cubs.
Rockies 8, Dodgers 7: At Los Angeles, Cory Sullivan had four hits, including a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth, and Colorado defeated the Dodgers.