Rangers stay top in AL West

ARLINGTON, Texas: The Texas Rangers maintained their healthy lead in the American League West while putting a dent in Tampa Bay’s playoff ambitions by beating the Rays 6-5 on Monday, thanks mainly to Adrian Beltre going 3 for 3 with a home run and four RBIs.
Beltre singled in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth inning for Texas, which maintained a 5 1-2 game divisional lead, making it the most comfortably placed of the AL playoff contenders at the business end of the regular season.
Tampa Bay ace David Price (16-5) had a rare off night, lasting only four innings. In four career starts at Rangers Ballpark, he has a dismal ERA of 10.26.
The Rays temporarily fell out of the provisional playoff positions, with the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics taking over the wild-card berths.
Baltimore had a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox, with Nate McLouth putting the Orioles ahead with a two-run homer in the eighth inning. Baltimore leapfrogged the Rays into second place in the AL East, 3 1-2 games behind the New York Yankees, while Chicago’s six-game winning streak was ended and its lead in the AL Central trimmed to two games.
The Yankees were beaten at home 8-7 in dramatic style by the Toronto Blue Jays. With two outs in the top of the ninth, New York was leading by two runs, with a win seemingly assured, only for Colby Rasmus to hit a three-run homer off Rafael Soriano and put the visitors ahead.
Derek Jeter homered for the Yankees in the bottom of the ninth to square the game, but an errant pick-off attempt by New York’s Derek Lowe in the 11th allowed a runner to scamper to third, and he dashed home on a subsequent play.
Oakland had a 3-0 win over the Cleveland Indians, with Brett Anderson (2-0) pitching seven scoreless innings in his second start back from a long-term injury.
In other AL games, the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 and the Seattle Mariners won 1-0 at the Minnesota Twins.
Daisuke Matsuzaka returned from the disabled list with his best start of the season and Cody Ross drove in three runs, leading the Boston Red Sox over the Kansas City Royals on Monday.
The Red Sox took three of four games in the wraparound series and won for the second time in three games since trading Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford in a salary-dumping, nine-player deal to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
Jacoby Ellsbury had a solo homer and double for Boston, which opens a nine-game West Coast trip Tuesday night against the Los Angles Angels.
Matsuzaka (1-3), on the DL since early July with a strained neck muscle, gave up an unearned run and five hits, walking two and striking out six over seven innings in just his sixth start of the season.
In Minneapolis, Felix Hernandez struck out five in a five-hitter and Eric Thames hit a solo homer in the eighth inning to lift the Seattle Mariners over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.
Hernandez (13-5), who picked up his 23rd career complete game and ninth shutout, hasn't lost a decision since June 12. Franklin Gutierrez went 1 for 2 with two stolen bases in his first game since June 28 because of a concussion.
Liam Hendriks (0-7) was almost King-like, but it wasn't quite enough to get him his first career victory. He gave up three hits and struck out six in nine outstanding innings, his only blemish the homer to Thames.
Joe Mauer had a single and Justin Morneau had a triple for the Twins, who have lost 14 of their last 17.