Twins edge closer to Sox

Twins 4, Indians 2

CLEVELAND -- Justin Morneau sparked a two-run, ninth-inning rally with an RBI double and Minnesota beat Cleveland to pull within 2½ games of first-place Chicago.

Alexi Casilla started the ninth-rally with one out, lining a pitch from Rafael Perez (1-2) down the left-field line for a ground-rule double. Morneau doubled in Casilla for a 3-2 lead. Jason Kubel drove in Morneau with a single to give Minnesota a two-run lead.

Matt Guerrier (6-4) got three outs in the eighth for the win and Joe Nathan pitched a perfect ninth for his 28th save in 30 chances.

Minnesota took two of three in the series to improve to 29-18 in the AL Central entering a four-game series at home that starts Monday night against the White Sox.

The Indians have lost 4-of-5 to fall 13 games under .500.

Red Sox 9, Yankees 2

BOSTON -- The David Ortiz-Manny Ramirez combo struck again -- though for the first time in a while -- shifting the focus from Ramirez's talk about being traded by the Red Sox and helping to end the Yankees' eight-game winning streak with a 9-2 victory Sunday night.

Ramirez doubled twice and drove in two runs just hours after saying he was "tired" of the Red Sox and would agree to a trade if it made him and the team happy. Ortiz homered and drove in three runs in just his third game after missing 45 with an injured left wrist.

Boston moved one game behind AL East leader Tampa Bay after preventing a three-game sweep. New York, which had been 8-0 since the All-Star break, remained three games back.

They scored in each of the first four innings, taking a 7-0 lead against Sidney Ponson (6-2), who hadn't lost since May 26. It was only the second time in 17 games that a Yankees starter allowed more than three earned runs.

Jon Lester (9-3) stayed unbeaten since his last loss on May 25 with his sixth win in nine starts despite working out of trouble in four of the first five innings.

Orioles 5, Angels 2

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles ended their run of 15 straight losses in Sunday games, defeating Ervin Santana and Los Angeles behind a sharp pitching performance by Garrett Olson.

Olson (7-5) allowed two runs and seven hits in six-plus innings, breaking a run of eight games in which an Orioles starter failed to get through the sixth.

The rookie's first win since June 28 came against a Los Angeles team that had scored 31 runs in its previous three games, and it helped the Orioles ended a five-game losing streak.

Just as important, it provided Baltimore with its first win on Sunday since April 6 against Seattle. Since that game, the Orioles were outscored by a combined 83-43 in compiling the longest skid on one day of the week since Arizona dropped 15 successive Saturday games in 2004.

Santana (11-5) gave up five runs and seven hits in five-plus innings, his shortest outing of the season. The All-Star's five strikeouts were his fewest in nine starts since June 2.

Royals 6, Rays 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Billy Butler homered and drove in four runs, Kyle Davies picked up his first victory in more than a month and Kansas City beat Tampa Bay to salvage a split of their four-game series.

Butler hit an RBI double in the fourth and a three-run drive off the left-field foul pole in the seventh. He has four homers and 14 RBIs in nine games since the All-Star break.

Davies (4-2) gave up one run and six hits in five-plus innings, getting his first win since June 17 at St. Louis.

Andy Sonnanstine (10-6) allowed five runs and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings for AL East-leading Tampa Bay, which began the day with a two-game lead over Boston. Sonnanstine has lost his last three starts, yielding 14 runs and 22 hits in 19 innings.

Athletics 6, Rangers 5

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Jack Cust and Kurt Suzuki homered and Athletics reliever Brad Ziegler set the major league record for scoreless innings to start a career in Oakland's win over Texas.

Ziegler gave up two singles in two shutout innings to extend his scoreless streak to 27 innings. The 28-year-old right-hander began the season in the minors before being promoted to Oakland on May 30.

The Athletics snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the second time in 11 games.

Jeremy Blevins (1-1), the second of four Oakland pitchers, went 1 1-3 scoreless innings to earn his first major league win and Huston Street worked a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 23 opportunities.

The A's scored six runs to knock rookie right-hander Eric Hurley (1-2) out of the game after only two innings. Hurley was activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game.

Mariners 5, Blue Jays 1

TORONTO -- Jose Vidro hit a two-run homer, Jarrod Washburn pitched eight strong innings and Seattle snapped a season-long seven-game losing streak.

Toronto's season-high five-game winning streak also ended.

The subject of trade rumors, Washburn (5-9) shook off the speculation to win for the first time in four starts. He gave up one run and four hits, walked two and struck out two. He has allowed more than two earned runs just once in his past nine starts, lowering his ERA to 4.50.

John McDonald's solo homer gave Toronto a 1-0 lead in the fifth, but Seattle replied with a four-run, bat-around sixth against right-hander Shaun Marcum (5-5), who allowed four runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings.

National League

Mets 9, Cardinals 1

NEW YORK Johan Santana gave the Mets exactly what they needed after a 14-inning marathon used up their bullpen.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner pitched his seventh complete game, Fernando Tatis and Ramon Castro hit two-run homers and New York pounded Kyle Lohse and the St. Louis Cardinals 9-1 on Sunday to wrap up another successful homestand.

Santana (9-7) allowed six hits and a walk in winning for just the second time since June 1, a maddening stretch during which he was tagged with four losses and four no-decisions. He also scored a run and drove in another while throwing his first complete game since a shutout of the Mets on June 19, 2007, when he was with the Twins.

He got some help from his defense when center fielder Carlos Beltran robbed Ryan Ludwick of a home run in the seventh.

David Wright homered for the Mets, who took two of three from St. Louis.

Lohse (12-3) allowed seven runs and 11 hits in five-plus innings, and Albert Pujols homered for the second straight day for the Cardinals.