DETROIT (AP) - Miguel Cabrera homered and drove in three runs, and the Detroit Tigers held off the New York Yankees 6-5 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory.
New York scored twice off closer Jose Valverde in the ninth inning and had runners at second and third when Curtis Granderson popped up for the final out. The AL East leaders have lost 12 of 18.
Cabrera has moved into the MVP race by hitting .333 since the All-Star break with 11 homers and 24 RBIs in 24 games. Andy Dirks added three hits and two RBIs for the Tigers, who are a half-game behind the first-place White Sox in the AL Central.
Rick Porcello (9-6) picked up the win, allowing three runs and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings. He is 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA in his last four home starts against the Yankees. Three relievers finished, with Valverde staggering to his 22nd save in 26 tries.
Phil Hughes (11-9) gave up four runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings.
RANGERS 6, RED SOX 3
BOSTON (AP) - Ryan Dempster rebounded from a rough debut with Texas by pitching shutout ball into the seventh inning against Boston.
Ian Kinsler had a pair of RBI singles for the Rangers, who snapped a two-game skid. Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz each had two hits and drove in a run for Texas.
Pinch-hitter Will Middlebrooks had a three-run homer for the Red Sox, who have lost five of seven.
Acquired from the Cubs at the July 31 trade deadline, Dempster (1-0) gave up Middlebrooks' homer after a two-out error by Kinsler. He allowed three unearned runs in 6 2-3 innings.
Jon Lester (5-10) gave up four runs on six hits in 6 2-3 innings. He is 0-5 in his last six starts.
Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his 22nd save.
TWINS 7, INDIANS 5
CLEVELAND (AP) - Tsuyoshi Nishioka's sacrifice fly scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning and Minnesota rallied past Cleveland, sending the Indians to their 11th straight loss.
The Twins scored three times off All-Star closer Chris Perez (0-4), who blew his second save opportunity in three days.
The Indians led 5-1 after six innings, but two errors in the seventh and another in the ninth helped Minnesota rally for its fifth win in six games and seventh straigh against Cleveland.
The Indians matched the second-longest skid in franchise history. The club record is 12 games in May 1931. Cleveland, which hasn't won since July 26, has been outscored 95-36 during the streak.
Tyler Robertson (1-0) pitched two innings for his first major league win. Glen Perkins worked the ninth for his seventh save.
RAYS 4, BLUE JAYS 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - James Shields threw eight strong innings, Evan Longoria drove in a run in his return from an injury and Tampa Bay beat Toronto.
Shields (10-7) allowed one run and two hits. The right-hander was coming off a three-hit shutout last Tuesday at Oakland.
Longoria rejoined the Rays after missing 85 games because of a partially torn left hamstring. He went 1-for-3 with a sacrifice fly as the designated hitter.
Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 33rd save and completed the three-hitter. The closer set a team record for relievers - breaking the mark set by Joe Borowski (21) in 2005 - by extending his shutout streak to 22 consecutive innings.
J.A. Happ (0-1), making his first start with the Blue Jays, gave up four runs and seven hits in 4 1-3 innings. Colby Rasmus hit his 20th homer.
ROYALS 5, WHITE SOX 2
CHICAGO (AP) - Bruce Chen outpitched Jake Peavy for his first win in six weeks, Billy Butler hit his career-high 22nd homer and Kansas City beat Chicago.
The White Sox had won 10 of 13 but their lead over Detroit in the AL Central was trimmed to a half-game.
Gordon Beckham hit his first career leadoff homer for Chicago, and the White Sox scored again in the sixth after Kansas City tied it in the top half. But RBI singles by Tony Abreu and Alex Gordon off Peavy (9-8) in the seventh gave Kansas City a 3-2 lead.
Butler added to it in the eighth with a two-run drive off Nate Jones and the Royals hung on from there, giving Chen (8-9) his first win since June 26. The left-hander allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings.
Greg Holland earned his second save.
ORIOLES 8, MARINERS 7, 14 INNINGS
BALTIMORE (AP) - Adam Jones singled home the winning run in the 14th inning and Baltimore beat Seattle after rallying from a five-run deficit.
It was the fourth straight victory for the Orioles, who moved eight games over .500 (59-51) for the first time since June 29.
Matt Wieters homered twice, J.J. Hardy contributed a pivotal three-run drive and Nick Markakis had four hits for the Orioles, who trailed 5-0 in the second inning and 7-2 in the sixth. Baltimore has won 11 straight one-run games and a club-record 12 in a row in extra innings.
Darren O'Day (6-0), the seventh Baltimore pitcher, worked two innings in a game that lasted 4 hours, 55 minutes.
Shawn Kelley (2-3) took the loss. Kyle Seager and Miguel Olivo homered for the Mariners, who have lost four of five following a seven-game winning streak. Seattle finished with 18 hits but did not score after the sixth inning.