Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez also homered for the Yankees, who squandered a six-run lead before tying it at 7 in the sixth on Cano’s RBI double. Posada drove a 2-0 pitch from Dan Wheeler (2-3) over the center field wall, setting off cheers from a large contingent of New York fans among the crowd of 28,713 at Tropicana Field.
The Rays erased the 6-0 deficit with a seven-run fifth inning that Willy Aybar finished with a three-run, pinch-hit homer off Boone Logan . Slumping slugger Carlos Pena began the rally with his first homer since Aug. 30.
David Robertson (4-4) pitched the ninth and Mariano Rivera finished up for his 30th save in 33 opportunities. A night after Reid Brignac’s 11th-inning homer gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead and put the Rays atop the standings by one half-game, the Yankees stopped a season-high four-game losing streak and regained the division lead.
In Seattle, David Ortiz hit a three-run homer off Brandon League in the eighth inning for Boston.
League (9-7) entered the game in relief of starter Luke French and quickly retired his first two batters. Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre followed with singles and League served up a fastball on the inner half of the plate that Ortiz drilled over the wall in right-center field to give the Red Sox a 7-5 lead.
The Mariners added a run in the ninth inning. Rich Hill (1-0) got the win in his first appearance since July 27, 2009 with Baltimore.
In Arlington, Texas, David Murphy had a homer upheld on replay to help the Texas Rangers win their sixth straight game.
Murphy led off the fourth against Jeremy Bonderman with his 10th homer, but had to wait a few minutes before it was official. His high drive to right field sailed near the foul pole, with the ball finally glancing off the facing of the second deck.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland argued that the ball was foul, but was overruled.
Texas maintained momentum from a three-game weekend sweep of the New York Yankees, increasing its lead in the AL West to nine games over second-place Oakland and reducing its magic number to 10.
Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler added run-scoring singles off Robbie Weinhardt (1-2) later in the inning for a 7-4 advantage.
In Chicago, J.J. Hardy hit a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning and Denard Span had a bases clearing double in the eighth.
Delmon Young homered and Joe Mauer had three hits for the AL Central-leading Twins, who increased their lead to seven games over the second-place White Sox with 18 games left for both teams.
The White Sox are 5-11 against the Twins this season.
Twins starter Francisco Liriano (14-7) pitched in and out of jams for his eighth straight victory in his last 11 starts. The left-hander allowed three runs and six hits, struck out seven and walked two.
White Sox starter John Danks (13-11) allowed four runs and nine hits.
In Kansas City, Missouri, Zack Greinke picked up his first victory in nearly a month and Wilson Betemit homered and drove in four runs.
Kila Ka’aihue also homered and drove in three runs while Mike Aviles hit a three-run shot. He had three hits and scored three runs and has homered in back-to-back games after going 316 at-bats without a home run.
Kansas City scored all its runs with two outs and in the first three innings. That is the most runs the Royals have scored in a game since beating Houston 15-7 on June 15.
Greinke (9-12), the 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner, claimed his first victory since Aug. 17. He pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the first by getting Mark Ellis to ground into an inning ending double play.
In Cleveland, Shelley Duncan hit two home runs and tied a career high with four RBIs.
Duncan’s second career multihomer game helped Josh Tomlin (4-3) earn his third win in four starts since Aug. 27. The right-hander allowed three runs and seven hits over 6 2-3 innings as Cleveland broke the Angels’ four-game winning streak. Six of the hits were for extra bases.
Chris Perez pitched the ninth for his 20th save in 24 chances. The right-hander got Peter Bourjos on a called third strike with runners on first and third. A passed ball put Angels on second and third, but Perez retired Alberto Callaspo on a fly ball for his seventh straight save. He has not allowed a run in his last 13 appearances.
Duncan hit his 10th homer, a two-run shot off Scott Kazmir (8-14) in the sixth inning for a 4-1 lead. He had a game-tying RBI single in the first and put Cleveland ahead 2-1 with a leadoff homer in the fourth.
Duncan had two homers and four RBIs on July 22, 2007, for the New York Yankees against Tampa Bay.
In Baltimore, rookie Jake Arrieta allowed four hits over six shutout innings, Nick Markakis and Adam Jones homered, and Baltimore won a fourth straight series for the first time since 2004.
It was the most lopsided victory of the season for the Orioles, who have won twice to begin the three-game set. Baltimore was 0-12 against Toronto at the outset of the series.
After taking two of three from Tampa Bay, the New York Yankees and Detroit, Baltimore has four successive series wins for the first time since August 2004. The Orioles are 25-15, including 15-8 at home, since manager Buck Showalter made his debut in the dugout on Aug. 3.
