BOSTON (AP) - David Ortiz hit two of Boston's eight homers and also doubled for his 2,000th career hit on Wednesday night to lead the Red Sox to a 20-4 romp over the Detroit Tigers.
Will Middlebrooks hit a grand slam, Ortiz had an RBI double to reach the milestone and Daniel Nava added a two-run homer when Boston pulled away with an eight-run sixth inning.
Ortiz homered again in the five-run seventh - the 427th of his career to move past Billy Williams and into 47th on baseball's all-time home run list.
AL East-leading Boston has won nine of 11, taking two out of three from the Central-leading Tigers to hold onto the best record in the league. But after scores of 3-0 and 2-1 in the first two games of the series, the Red Sox burst out with a franchise record-tying eight homers and a season-high 20 runs.
Jacoby Ellsbury, Stephen Drew, Mike Napoli and Ryan Lavarnway also homered for the Red Sox.
Ryan Dempster (8-9) allowed four runs on six hits and two walks in six innings. Rick Porcello (11-8) gave up nine runs - eight of them earned - on seven hits and four walks in five-plus innings.
RAYS 3, ANGELS 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Rookie Wil Myers hit two homers off Jered Weaver, and Tampa Bay kept pace in the AL wild-card race.
Jeremy Hellickson (11-8) pitched scoreless ball into the sixth inning of his first victory in nearly six weeks for the Rays, who won their second straight after a five-game skid.
Chris Iannetta hit a pinch-hit homer in the seventh for Los Angeles, which has lost 11 of 13 at home.
Weaver (9-8) yielded six hits over seven innings, but gave up two no-doubt shots to Myers, who hadn't homered since Aug. 14.
Myers had never faced Weaver, but he homered on the first pitch he saw from the Angels' longtime ace in the second inning. He homered again in the seventh on Weaver's first pitch after a mound visit, driving a two-run shot into the Rays' bullpen behind left field.
Fernando Rodney earned his 32nd save in the ninth while making his first appearance in a week for Tampa Bay, which has won two straight after a 1-8 skid.
Hellickson yielded four hits and two walks in his first start since spending a week in the minors to rediscover his form.
INDIANS 6, ORIOLES 4
CLEVELAND (AP) - The Cleveland Indians, boosted by a good-luck chicken and a pair of RBIs from both Yan Gomes and Ryan Raburn, beat the Baltimore Orioles.
Cleveland pitcher Justin Masterson carried a live chicken on to the field for batting practice. The bird, supplied by a clubhouse workers from an area farm, was a gift to reliever Cody Allen.
The chicken spent most of batting practice standing with Cleveland's pitchers in front of the warning track in center field. Allen's teammates gave him the nickname "Chicken Al" in spring training and the chicken has been named "Cody."
The Indians moved a half-game past Baltimore in the chase for a wild-card spot.
Relievers Bryan Shaw (3-3), Allen, Joe Smith and Chris Perez, who recorded his 22nd save, combined to allow one hit in 4 1-3 innings. Kevin Gausman (2-4) took the loss.
ATHLETICS 11, RANGERS 4
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Jarrod Parker got plenty of home-run help and pitched his way into Oakland's record book, and the surging Athletics pulled into a tie atop the AL West with Texas by overpowering the Rangers.
Parker (11-6) allowed two runs in six innings to extend his unbeaten streak to 18 straight starts, eclipsing Catfish Hunter's Oakland mark set from June 2-Sept. 3, 1973. Parker also has won his last nine decisions, the most by an A's pitcher since Dan Haren won 10 in a row in 2007.
Brandon Moss, Daric Barton and Coco Crisp each hit two-run homers and Josh Donaldson added a three-run drive for Oakland. The A's handed Yu Darvish (12-7) a loss in consecutive starts for the first time all season.
YANKEES 6, WHITE SOX 5
NEW YORK (AP) - Struggling ace CC Sabathia pitched effectively into the eighth inning before Mariano Rivera earned his first four-out save in more than two years, helping the New York Yankees hold off the Chicago White Sox for a three-game sweep.
Robinson Cano homered for the Yankees, trying to chase down a playoff berth with a late-season charge. Brett Gardner hit a two-run triple and Lyle Overbay an RBI double in a four-run fourth against Erik Johnson (0-1), who was making his major league debut.
New York has won 17 of 24. The Yankees host Boston in a four-game series starting Thursday night.
Chicago has lost six straight.
Rivera earned his 41st save to preserve the win for Sabathia (13-11).
ASTROS 6, TWINS 5
HOUSTON (AP) - Trevor Crowe hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning that lifted the Houston Astros over the Minnesota Twins.
Jonathan Villar singled to start the ninth and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jose Altuve. Crowe's line drive to left field off Brian Duensing (6-2) allowed the speedy Villar to score easily, giving Houston its first win in six tries against Minnesota.
Ryan Doumit's leadoff home run in the ninth against Astros reliever Erik Bedard (4-10) tied it at 5.
MARINERS 6, ROYALS 4
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Kendrys Morales hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning for Seattle.
Morales hit his 18th home run to straight away center on a 1-2 pitch from Aaron Crow (7-5).
The Royals used eight pitchers, tying a club record for a nine-inning game.
Lucas Luetge (1-2) worked two perfect innings to earn the victory. Danny Farquhar worked a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 15 opportunities.
Taijuan Walker, who became the youngest Mariners starting pitcher (21 years, 17 days) to pick up a victory in his major league debut on Friday at Houston, did not allow a hit over the first three innings, but yielded four runs, four hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly in the fourth. He left after five innings and 79 pitches.
INTERLEAGUE
DIAMONDBACKS 4, BLUE JAYS 3
PHOENIX (AP) - Willie Bloomquist lined his third hit for a run-scoring single in the 10th inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks avoided a three-game sweep with a win over the Blue Jays.
Eric Chavez got the final rally started by blooping a single off Luis Perez (0-1) and pinch-runner Adam Eaton moved to third on A.J. Pollock's single off Jeremy Jeffress. Bloomquist then singled through Toronto's drawn-in infield to cap the Diamondbacks' franchise record-tying 21st extra-inning inning game.
Arizona recovered after a shaky first inning by Randall Delgado, tying the game while its pitchers face the minimum over the next eight innings. Will Harris (3-0) worked around a baserunner in the 10th inning to set up Bloomquist's fourth career game-winning hit.
Rajai Davis homered for the second straight game for Toronto.