NEW YORK, 29 September 2004 — Manny Ramirez belted his league-leading 43rd homer and Johnny Damon hit a three-run shot as the Boston Red Sox clinched a playoff spot with a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in St Petersburg on Monday.

The Red Sox were held without a hit for four innings and trailed 2-0, but rallied after Tampa Bay starter Scott Kazmir was ejected for hitting Ramirez and Kevin Millar with pitches in the fourth.

The Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella was also ejected in the incident. Boston starter Bronson Arroyo had hit Aubrey Huff and Tino Martinez in the previous inning.

Jason Varitek and Dave McCarty also homered for Boston, while Orlando Cabrera had three of Boston’s 12 hits. Arroyo (10-9) allowed two runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings to get the win.

In other games, Bobby Crosby drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Oakland Athletics a 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Jermaine Dye homered and drove in three runs and Mark Kotsay had four hits for Oakland. Octavio Dotel (5-6) pitched a perfect ninth for the win as the A’s stayed one game ahead of Anaheim in the AL West. Ichiro Suzuki went 1-for-4, giving him 252 hits, five shy of tying George Sisler’s 1920 record for most hits in one season.

Chone Figgins had three hits, including a run-scoring triple, and scored the go-ahead run on a groundout to lead the Anaheim Angels past the Texas Rangers 5-3.

Bartolo Colon (17-12) allowed three runs -- two earned -- on four hits over eight-plus innings for his sixth win over Texas this season. Troy Percival survived a nervous ninth for his 31st save and Vladimir Guerrero homered for the Angels.

In Detroit, Dmitri Young hit a two-run home run as the Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 4-2. Gary Knotts (6-6) went 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and Esteban Yan got the final two outs for his sixth save.

Gregg Zaun homered and Orlando Hudson had three hits and an RBI as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-1. Brandon League (1-0) allowed one hit over 2 2/3 scoreless innings for the win as Roy Halladay pitched three innings as he recovers from shoulder problems.

In Kansas City, Jake Westrbook pitched seven solid innings as the Cleveland Indians beat the Royals 6-1. Westbrook (14-9) allowed one run on five hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Casey Blake had three hits and three RBI for the Indians, who scored four runs in the ninth.

Cubs Pound Reds to Retain Wild Card Lead

Todd Walker homered, had three hits and drove in four runs to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 12-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds in National League play at Wrigley Field on Monday.

Corey Patterson, Derrek Lee and Jose Macias all also homered for the Cubs, who broke open the game with a five-run fourth inning. Nomar Garciaparra added three hits to the Chicago attack and also scored three times and drove in a pair of runs.

In other games, Roy Oswalt pitched seven strong innings, leading the Houston Astros to a 10-3 win over the St Louis Cardinals. Oswalt (19-10) allowed two runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and one walk.

In Philadelphia, Ty Wigginton hit a two-run home run as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Phillies 6-1, eliminating the hosts from the post-season. Tike Redman and Jack Wilson both drove in two runs for the Pirates. Oliver Perez (11-10) allowed one run on five hits over 6 2/3 innings with five strikeouts for the win. Josh Beckett pitched seven solid innings, leading the Florida Marlins to a 4-1 win over the Montreal Expos. Beckett (8-9) allowed one run on four hits with eight strikeouts.

Randy Johnson pitched a five-hitter over seven innings to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 3-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Johnson (15-14) struck out 10 and walked just one and Greg Aquino pitched a scoreless ninth for his 14th save.

Milton Bradley singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 8-7. Adrian Beltre hit a grand slam home run for the Dodgers, with his 48th home run of the season tying him with Mike Schmidt for most home runs in a season by a third baseman.