d gravity to spark the Boston Red Sox to a 6-4 win over the New York Yankees on Friday. Youkilis' drive squirted out of Johnny Damon's glove, bounced off the top of the left-field wall three times, and sat on the fence for several tantalizing seconds before rolling back to the field for a tying, two-run triple.
Damon bruised and sprained his left shoulder on Youkilis' triple and left the game, and the Yankees lost for the fifth time in six games.
Josh Beckett (8-5) recovered from a three-run first inning that included a two-run double by Alex Rodriguez, and a sacrifice fly by Jason Giambi. Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 25th save in 29 chances, completing a six-hitter.
Athletics 7, White Sox 1 At Chicago, Jack Cust hit a two-run homer and Joe Blanton pitched seven solid innings to lead Oakland to a win over Chicago.
Emil Brown and Wes Bankston both had three hits for Oakland, which finished with 17 hits.
The White Sox dropped their second consecutive game after winning seven straight, and their lead in the AL Central fell to one game with the Twins' victory over Cleveland.
Blanton (5-11) allowed one run and six hits.
Twins 12, Indians 3 At Minneapolis, Delmon Young hit a three-run homer and finished with a season-high four RBIs to help Minnesota beat Cleveland for its 14th win in 16 games.
Nick Punto homered and also had four RBIs for Minnesota.
Livan Hernandez (9-5) allowed home runs to Kelly Shoppach and Ben Francisco, but held the Indians to three runs and five hits over six innings.
Paul Byrd (3-10) allowed six runs and eight hits over 5 1-3 innings for slumping Cleveland, which has lost six straight.
Mariners 4, Tigers 1 At Seattle, Raul Ibanez clanged a solo home run off the windows of a restaurant in right field and a pair of Seattle relievers helped finish what Erik Bedard started.
Jose Lopez added a key two-run double late to help the Mariners win for the eighth time in 11 games. Ibanez's 10th homer of the season broke a 1-all tie in the fourth, and Lopez sealed the victory with a two-out, two RBI double off Detroit starter Kenny Rogers (6-6) in the eighth.
It made a winner out of Seattle starter Bedard (6-4) even though he called it a day after five innings. The Mariners bullpen turned in four shutout innings, capped by Brandon Morrow's sixth save in six chances after getting the final out of the eighth and working the ninth.
Orioles 10, Rangers 4 At Baltimore, Freddie Bynum tied a career high with three RBIs, and Baltimore roughed up Texas' 10-game winner Vicente Padilla.
Adam Jones and Brandon Fahey both drove in two runs and scored twice for Baltimore, which built an 8-1 lead in the third inning. The victory moved Baltimore percentage points ahead of the New York Yankees into third place in the AL East.
Padilla (10-5) allowed a career-high tying eight runs and nine hits in 2 2-3 innings, his shortest outing of the season.
Rays 11, Royals 2 At St. Petersburg, Florida, Edwin Jackson took a two-hitter into the eighth inning and Carlos Pena homered and drove in five runs to help American League East-leading Tampa Bay trounce Kansas City for its fifth straight win.
Jackson (5-6) matched his win total for last season, limiting the Royals to David DeJesus' first-inning single and Mark Grudzielanek's solo homer in the seventh before giving up two singles and an unearned run in the eighth.
Pena's first homer since June 3 was a three-run shot off Brian Bannister (7-8) that made it 7-0 in the fifth. He also had a RBI single in the first and a sacrifice fly in the third.
