BALTIMORE (AP) - Brian Roberts hit a grand slam, Adam Jones homered and had three RBIs and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland Athletics 9-7 Friday night to gain ground in the wild-card race.
Roberts and Jones connected in a six-run fourth inning that put Baltimore up 6-3. After Oakland rallied to take the lead, Jones drove in the go-ahead run during a three-run seventh.
The victory moved the Orioles past Cleveland into third place in the wild-card hunt. Tampa Bay is on top and Baltimore now stands two games behind Oakland. The top two teams make the playoffs.
Coco Crisp homered, had a career high-tying four hits and scored three runs for the A's, who have lost four of six.
Ryan Cook (5-3) was the loser and Francisco Rodriguez (2-0) got the win. Jim Johnson worked a perfect ninth for his 40th save.
ANGELS 2, MARINERS 0
SEATTLE (AP) - Chris Nelson hit a two-run homer off Felix Hernandez and the Angels spoiled Eric Wedge's return to the dugout with a victory over the Mariners.
Wedge managed the Mariners for the first time since he had a mild stroke a month ago. He acknowledged being anxious about getting back on the bench and called his ailment "a heads up."
Garrett Richards (4-5) allowed four hits in 7 1-3 innings and two relievers finished the five-hitter for Los Angeles.
Nelson snapped an 0-for-17 slide when he connected in the second for his third homer. Josh Hamilton scored on Nelson's long ball after leading off the inning with a single, and it was the only time Hernandez (12-7) was touched all night.
RANGERS 11, WHITE SOX 5
CHICAGO (AP) - Ian Kinsler raced around the bases for a bizarre inside-the-park homer and Adam Rosales had a conventional two-run shot, helping Texas beat the White Sox.
The AL West-leading Rangers (75-53) had five homers in all while winning for the 19th time in 23 games. Jeff Baker and pinch hitter Mitch Moreland each had two-run shot, and Adrian Beltre belted a solo drive.
The White Sox were unable to overcome a shaky outing by ace Chris Sale, ending a season-high six-game winning streak. Sale (9-12) allowed eight runs and eight hits in seven innings.
Kinsler hit a line drive in the third that rolled into a drainage track under the left field wall. By the time Dayan Viciedo was able to find the ball, Kinsler was on his way to the plate standing up for his 11th homer.
RAYS 7, YANKEES 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Rookie Chris Archer beat the Yankees for the third time, Evan Longoria hit one of four homers off Hiroki Kuroda and the Rays topped their AL East rival.
Jose Lobaton homered and drove in four runs in support of Archer (7-5), a 24-year-old right-hander who won twice earlier this season at Yankee Stadium, including a two-hit shutout on July 27. He gave up four hits over seven innings this time.
Matt Joyce and Ben Zobrist also went deep for Tampa Bay, hitting solo shots off Kuroda (11-9), who tied a career high for homers allowed - the first given up by the Yankees starter in nearly two months.
The loss stopped a five-game winning streak for New York, which had won 10 of 12 to climb back into the AL playoff race.
TWINS 5, INDIANS 1
CLEVELAND (AP) - Samuel Deduno pitched six solid innings and Josh Willingham busted out of a slump with a two-run double in the seventh, leading the Twins to a win over Cleveland, slowing the Indians' climb toward a wild-card spot.
Deduno (8-7) allowed just one run and three hits for his first win since July 27 as the Twins continued to befuddle the Indians. Minnesota is 14-7 against Cleveland since last September.
Willingham was in an 0-for-15 slide before his double off Cody Allen put the Twins ahead 4-1.
Ubaldo Jimenez (9-8) struck out 10 in six innings.
ASTROS 12, BLUE JAYS 4
HOUSTON (AP) - Rookie Robbie Grossman homered and drove in four runs, Matt Dominguez had a solo shot and the Astros used a big fourth inning in cruising to a win over the Blue Jays.
Houston led by one before adding five runs in the fourth inning behind a two RBI triple by Jonathan Villar and a run-scoring triple by Jason Castro to make it 8-2.
Jordan Lyles (6-6) allowed 10 hits and four runs in 7 1-3 innings for the win.
Blue Jays starter Todd Redmond (1-2) allowed eight hits and seven runs - both career highs - in 3 1-3 innings, which was the shortest start of his career.
J.P. Arencibia, Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Lawrie all homered for the Blue Jays, who have lost six straight.
INTERLEAGUE
DODGERS 2, RED SOX 0
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ricky Nolasco pitched eight innings of two-hit ball, Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run homer and the Dodgers defeated the Red Sox in the opener of an interleague series between playoff contenders.
The Dodgers won their fourth in a row, while the Red Sox lost for the sixth time in eight games. With the loss, Boston fell percentage points behind Tampa Bay in the AL East standings.
The Dodgers opened a 10 1/2-game lead in the NL West, their biggest margin since holding a 10 1/2-game advantage on Sept. 28, 1977.
Nolasco and John Lackey dueled through eight innings of Boston's first visit to Dodger Stadium since 2002. They combined for just five hits in a game that lasted 2 hours, 7 minutes.
Nolasco (10-9) struck out six and walked none in tying his longest outing of the season. Lackey (8-11) gave up two runs and three hits, struck out six and walked none.
Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth for his 22nd save.
TIGERS 6, METS 1
NEW YORK (AP) - Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run homer, Torii Hunter also connected and the Tigers tagged Daisuke Matsuzaka early on in his return to the majors.
Hunter added a long RBI double and Doug Fister (11-6) pitched into the seventh inning to help Detroit win the interleague series opener. Austin Jackson went deep for the second straight day for the AL Central leaders.
The series resumes Saturday afternoon with a rematch of All-Star game starters at Citi Field: Max Scherzer puts his 18-1 record on the line against New York ace Matt Harvey in a nationally televised game.
Minus two injured starters, the Mets signed Matsuzaka (0-1) on Thursday to fill a hole in the rotation and immediately handed him a difficult assignment. The Japanese right-hander allowed five runs - all coming in the first two frames - and six hits in five innings.
NATIONALS 11, ROYALS 10
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Jayson Werth hit a two-run homer, Bryce Harper drove in three runs and Washington rallied from a six-run deficit to the get the win.
Harper also made a terrific catch in the ninth for Washington, which scored seven times in the fourth inning of its fourth consecutive win. Ian Desmond had a pair of hits during the outburst.
Denard Span, Ryan Zimmerman, Tyler Moore and Anthony Rendon also had RBIs as the Nationals piled up 11 runs for the second time in three games - they beat the Cubs 11-6 on Tuesday night.
Just like in that one, Tyler Roark (4-0) came in to spell some sloppy starting pitching for the Nationals. He earned the win by allowing one hit and one walk in 4 2-3 innings.
Bruce Chen (5-2) was tagged for the second straight time for Kansas City. He allowed seven runs and six hits with five walks in 3 2-3 innings in his shortest outing of the year.
Rafael Soriano got three outs for his 33rd save.