Yankees make it 8 straight, AL roundup

The New York Yankees made it a season-record eight straight wins by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5 in the American League on Saturday.

With scores tied in the bottom of the seventh, Toronto pitcher Jason Frasor (3-4) retired his first two batters before Robinson Cano singled. Marcus Thames then drove a pitch to the back of the Blue Jays' bullpen in left-center for his 11th home run, snapping a 1-for-14 skid.

With the best record in baseball but only a slim lead in the AL East over Tampa Bay, the Yankees improved to 6-0 in their 10-game homestand.
Twins 12, Rangers 4

In Minneapolis, Jim Thome homered twice for Minnesota, moving past Mark McGwire for ninth place on baseball's all-time homer list and powering the Twins past Texas.

Thome went deep for the 583rd time in his career leading off the third inning, a shot to the second deck above right field estimated at 449 feet. Then with two on and two outs in the fourth, Thome's full-count drive into the bullpen behind left-center made it 9-0 and gave him No. 584.

After six straight one-run games, the Twins let loose against slumping Rangers starter Colby Lewis (9-12) and the AL West-leading Rangers.

Minnesota gave starter Carl Pavano (16-10) plenty of support and kept its AL Central lead over Chicago at four games.
White Sox 3, Red Sox 1, 1st game
White Sox 3, Red Sox 1, 2nd game

In Boston, Chicago won both game of its doubleheader against Boston with identical scorelines.

In the opener, new Chicago acquisition Manny Ramirez singled twice in his return to Fenway Park.

The White Sox signed Ramirez from the Los Angeles Dodgers, hoping he could help in their quest to make the playoffs. In his first games for Chicago, he had come up against two of his old teams, Cleveland, now Boston.

Manny Ramirez, in his first games against his former team since joining Chicago on waivers Tuesday, went 2 for 4 in the first game and 1 for 4 with two strikeouts and a soft lined single to right in his last at bat in the second.

John Danks pitched seven solid innings for the White Sox in the opener, and Gavin Floyd (10-11) six in the late game, as Chicago extended its winning streak to five straight.

Carlos Quentin hit a double and triple in the late game for Chicago, which gained half a game in the AL Central to trail division leader Minnesota by 3-1/2 games.
Orioles 8, Rays 4

In Baltimore, the hosts beat Tampa Bay to give manager Buck Showalter his 900th career win.

Showalter became the 64th manager in big league history to reach the mark, and improved to 18-13 with lowly Baltimore since his debut a month ago.

Nick Markakis homered and scored twice for the Orioles, who won their first game in four.

Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie (9-13) allowed two runs in seven innings, walking just one and striking out seven. Since the All-Star break, he's 6-3 with a 2.51 ERA in 10 starts.

The Rays dropped 2-1/2 games behind the Yankees in the AL East.
Athletics 3, Angels 1

In Oakland, Trevor Cahill pitched six scoreless innings to become Oakland's first 15-game winner in three years with a victory over Los Angeles.

Cahill (15-6) allowed only one runner past second.

Angels starter Jared Weaver (11-11) walked three and allowed six hits in seven innings. He is winless in five starts.
Tigers 6, Royals 4

In Kansas City, Austin Jackson hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth inning for his third hit of the game, lifting Detroit over Kansas City.

Jackson also hit a solo homer in the fifth for the Tigers, who have won three straight to reach .500 for the first time since Aug. 24.

Tigers starter Rick Porcello (8-11) pitched seven innings to earn the win.
Indians 4, Mariners 2

In Seattle, Mitch Talbot pitched into the seventh inning to help Cleveland beat Seattle.

Talbot (9-11) allowed an unearned run in 6 2-3 innings to pick up his first win since June. He was 0-5 with a 6.23 ERA in his previous nine starts.

Mariners starter David Pauley (2-7) gave up four runs in six innings.