• Rangers 5, Athletics 4: ARLINGTON, Texas — Adrian Beltre singled home the winning run in the ninth inning and Texas rallied past Oakland, stretching its AL West lead over the Athletics to five games with nine to play. The Athletics’ lead for the second AL wild-card slot was cut to two games over the idle Los Angeles Angels. Oakland has lost six of seven. Beltre, whose 35th homer tied the score in the seventh, grounded a sharp single through the middle of the infield off Tyson Ross (2-11) in the ninth, bringing home pinch-runner Craig Gentry.
• Orioles 4-5, Blue Jay 1-9: J.P. Arencibia broke open a tight game with a seventh-inning grand slam, and Toronto beat Baltimore to earn a doubleheader split and drop the Orioles 1½ games out of first place in the AL East. In the opener, Adam Jones went four for four with a homer to lead Baltimore. But the Orioles lost a half-game in the standings to the New York Yankees. Arencibia, who came into the game mired in a two-for-36 slump, had three hits and five RBIs. Edwin Encarnacion hit his 41st home run as Toronto ended a seven-game skid.
• Yankees 6, Twins 3: MINNEAPOLIS — Andy Pettitte turned in another ageless performance by pitching six scoreless innings and the New York Yankees hit four home runs to beat Minnesota and extend their AL East lead. The Yankees took a 1½-game edge over Baltimore, which split a doubleheader with Toronto. This is the first time since Sept. 2 their margin has been more than one game.Curtis Granderson hit his 40th home run and Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez also homered as New York won for the 10th time in 12 games.
• White Sox 5, Indians 4: CHICAGO — Adam Dunn homered twice, including a clutch three-run shot in the eighth inning, and the Chicago White Sox beat Cleveland to maintain their one-game lead in the AL Central. Chicago snapped a five-game losing streak and stayed in front of second-place Detroit. The top two teams in the division each have nine games left.
• Tigers 6, Royals 2: DETROIT — Justin Verlander breezed through eight innings and Prince Fielder hit a solo homer, helping Detroit steady themselves with a win over Kansas City. The Tigers remained one game behind Chicago in the AL Central.