ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jon Lester pitched seven strong innings and Victor Martinez homered twice off All-Star David Price, helping the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 Friday night to tighten the AL wild-card race.
Lester (14-8) rebounded from the worst outing of his career to win for the third time in four starts. The left-hander walked five and uncorked three wild pitches, but also struck out 10 while limiting the Rays to two hits and an unearned run.
Martinez hit two-out solo homers off Price (15-6) in the first and seventh. David Ortiz doubled and scored on Jed Lowrie's two-out single off the left-hander to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the fourth.
Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth to finish a combined three-hitter and earn his 33rd save in 39 opportunities.
INDIANS 15, ROYALS 4: At Cleveland, Chris Gimenez drove in a career-high four runs and the Cleveland Indians hit a trio of three-run homers. Matt LaPorta hit a three-run homer in Cleveland's six-run second inning off Bryan Bullington (1-3). Gimenez and Jayson Nix later connected with two on against relievers in the Indians' largest offensive output since a 15-3 win over Oakland on July 3, 2009. Josh Tomlin (2-3) won for the first time in five starts since beating the New York Yankees in his major league debut July 27. The right-hander allowed three runs and eight hits over five innings.
WHITE SOX 9, YANKEES 4: At Chicago, A.J. Pierzynski hit a two-run double in Chicago's four-run first, and Freddy Garcia threw seven solid innings while the White Sox roughed up A.J. Burnett and New York. Omar Vizquel had two hits and two RBIs for Chicago, which has won three of four after returning home following an ugly 2-4 road trip. Juan Pierre went 2 for 4 and scored twice. Burnett (9-12) struggled once again, dropping to 0-4 with a 7.80 ERA in five starts this month and putting his spot in the rotation in jeopardy.
RANGERS 7, ATHLETICS 3: At Arlington, Texas, Tommy Hunter pitched into the eighth inning, Josh Hamilton had his 24th three-hit game of the season. Hunter (11-2) improved to 7-0 in nine starts at Rangers Ballpark this season, allowing three runs and seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks before leaving with two outs in the seventh. Hamilton raised his major league-high average to .358. His dash home highlighted a three-run first off Brett Anderson (3-5).
TWINS 6, MARINERS 3: At Seattle, Joe Mauer had three hits and drove in two runs to lead Scott Baker and the first-place Twins. Baker (12-9) struck out four and walked three to win his fifth consecutive decision. He joined Carl Pavano and Francisco Liriano with at least a dozen wins for the Twins. Ichiro Suzuki singled, tripled and scored the first run in the third for Seattle on his bobblehead night.
BLUE JAYS 3, TIGERS 2, 11 INNINGS: At Toronto, Jose Bautista hit his major league-leading 42nd homer and Aaron Hill singled home the winning run in the 11th. Adam Lind also went deep for the Blue Jays, who have hit a major league-best 195 home runs this season, including 110 at home. Trailing 2-1, Detroit tied it in the ninth against Toronto closer Kevin Gregg. Austin Jackson led off with a triple to center and scored one out later when Johnny Damon singled through the drawn-in infield. The blown save was Gregg's fifth. The Blue Jays won it in the 11th against left-hander Phil Coke (7-3).
ORIOLES 3, ANGELS 1: At Anaheim, Calif., Brad Bergesen won his third straight decision with eight solid innings and Baltimore got RBI singles from Nick Markakis and Luke Scott to beat Los Angeles. Bergesen (6-9) allowed a run and four hits, struck out four and did not walk a batter. The right-hander finished August 3-0 with a 3.49 ERA in five starts after going 0-5 with a 6.32 ERA in July. Koji Uehara had a scoreless ninth for his third save.