BALTIMORE (AP) - Zach Britton struck out a career-high 10 in eight innings, Taylor Teagarden and Adam Jones homered and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 Thursday for their eighth win in 11 games.
Baltimore took three of four from the AL Central-leading White Sox to complete a 5-1 homestand that started with a two-game sweep of Toronto.
The victory moved the Orioles (72-58) within three games of the idle AL East-leading New York Yankees, who host Baltimore in a three-game series that begins Friday night.
Britton (4-1) gave up one run, seven hits and did not issue a walk. He fanned Dewayne Wise three times and eclipsed his previous single-game career high of seven strikeouts by the fifth inning.
ATHLETICS 12, INDIANS 7
CLEVELAND (AP) - Jarrod Parker pitched into the sixth inning and Oakland hit four home runs, leading the Athletics to their sixth straight win, a victory over the free-falling Indians and a sweep of the four-game series.
Oakland, which has won eight of nine, maintained its one-game lead over Baltimore for the top spot in the AL wild card race. George Kottaras' three-run double broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth while Coco Crisp, Cliff Pennington, Josh Reddick and Josh Donaldson homered.
While the Athletics are flying high, the Indians continue to fade. Cleveland has lost five straight, 14 of 15 and is 5-27 since July 27.
BLUE JAYS 2, RAYS 0
TORONTO (AP) - Carlos Villanueva pitched six sharp innings and Toronto beat slumping Tampa Bay, snapping a five-game losing streak against the Rays.
Tampa Bay lost for the fifth time in six games and dropped 1½ games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild-card berth. The Rays have been shut out twice in the past three games.
Kelly Johnson hit a two-run double in the first inning and the Blue Jays won consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 12-13, improving to 3-9 against the Rays this season.
Villanueva (7-4) allowed five hits, all singles, to win for the first time since July 27 against Detroit. The right-hander had gone 0-4 in five starts since, despite never allowing more than four earned runs. He walked one and struck out seven, including six straight during one stretch to tie a club record.
Casey Janssen finished for his 18th save in 21 chances.
Rays rookie Matt Moore (10-8) allowed two runs over six innings in his first loss since July 22.
ANGELS 5, RED SOX 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Zack Greinke yielded five hits over seven strong innings, Albert Pujols hit an early two-run double and Los Angeles swept its season series with Boston for the first time.
Mark Trumbo and pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo drove in runs in the third inning for the Angels, who stayed in the AL wild-card hunt by winning all six meetings with the Red Sox over the past 10 days. Los Angeles has won seven of nine overall, keeping pace with Baltimore and Oakland in the five-team wild-card race.
James Loney went 3 for 4 with a homer and Jon Lester (8-11) threw a nine-hit complete game for the Red Sox, who have lost eight of 11. Boston had never been swept in a season series of at least six games by any opponent in franchise history.
Mike Trout tied the club rookie record by scoring his 103rd run for Los Angeles, which has won eight straight over Boston dating to last season, one victory shy of the Angels' club record against the Red Sox.
Greinke (3-2) was effective in his seventh appearance for the Angels, limiting Boston to two runs during his third victory in four starts. Ernesto Frieri earned his 16th save in 18 chances.
Callaspo replaced second baseman Howie Kendrick, who left with a sore right knee.
ROYALS 2, TIGERS 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Jeremy Guthrie pitched effectively into the eighth inning and Alex Gordon homered to lead Kansas City over Detroit for a three-game sweep.
Prince Fielder had three hits for the slumping Tigers, who remained three games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central. The teams begin an important three-game series Friday night in Detroit.
Royals rookie Kelvin Herrera worked around a walk and a single in the ninth to earn his first career save, hetting slugger Miguel Cabrera to ground into a game-ending double play.
Guthrie (3-3) scattered 10 hits, nine of them singles. He walked none and struck out three.
Rick Porcello (9-10) lost his fourth straight start, giving up eight hits in five-plus innings.
MARINERS 5, TWINS 4
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Blake Beavan gave up two runs in seven innings and Trayvon Robinson drove in two runs to lift the Mariners over the Twins.
Beavan (9-8) scattered five hits, walked two and struck out one.
Kyle Seager also drove in two runs for the Mariners, who have won 11 of their last 15 games.
Brian Duensing (3-10) gave up three earned runs and four hits in 5 1-3 innings. He left after loading the bases in the sixth, and left fielder Josh Willingham's blunder contributed to Seattle's four-run inning.
Willingham's two-run homer in the eighth off Stephen Pryor made things interesting, but Tom Wilhelmsen picked up his 21st save to help the Mariners take three of four in the series.