Twins win 9th straight

Kyle Lohse pitched seven sharp innings, Michael Cuddyer went 3 for 4 with a homer, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 10-1, at Minneapolis for their ninth straight victory.

The streaking Twins are quickly closing in on their third consecutive Central title. They reduced their magic number for clinching the division to four.

Lohse (8-11) gave up one run, four hits, and one walk. He is 3-1 in his last six starts, and he lasted seven innings for only the third time since the All-Star break.

The Twins, who have swept two straight series from second-place Chicago, got on the board first when Pat Borders hit a two-out RBI single in the second.

Minnesota broke the game open with a four-run third. Jose Offerman drove in one run with a groundout, Cristian Guzman hit an RBI double, and Cuddyer followed with his 10th home run, a two-run shot to left.

The White Sox countered with a run in the fourth on Ross Gload's sacrifice fly but couldn't get closer against Lohse, who had three 1-2-3 innings. Cuddyer helped Lohse when he started a double play in the sixth inning.

Angels 6, Mariners 1 -- Anaheim took advantage of two errors by Gold Glove second baseman Bret Boone, scoring four times in the eighth en route to a win at Seattle.

The Angels remain 5 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the wild-card race. They trail Oakland by two games in the West.

Anaheim led, 2-1, and had runners at second and third with one out when Darin Erstad grounded to Boone, who tried to get Adam Kennedy coming home. Incredibly, the throw hit Erstad's bat -- just in front of catcher Dan Wilson.

The ball bounced over Wilson's head, two runs scored and Boone was charged with an error. After Vladimir Guerrero was intentionally walked, Garret Anderson hit a shot through Boone's legs to make it 5-1.

Troy Glaus struck out, but Anaheim added another run when Dallas McPherson stole second and Wilson's throw went into center field. Guerrero scored, McPherson reached third, and Wilson was charged with an error.

Athletics 5, Rangers 4 -- Kenny Rogers lost at Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., for the first time in 10 years, with Bobby Crosby's three-run double in the fifth leading the Athletics.

Rogers was unbeaten in 35 appearances in Oakland since Aug. 7, 1994, going 18-0. But Crosby, a 14-year-old high school freshman when Rogers last lost at the Coliseum, provided a clutch hit that allowed the Athletics to salvage a split of the four-game set.

Rich Harden (10-6) struck out seven and allowed six hits while pitching into the seventh inning. He improved to 7-1 since the All-Star break -- and more importantly, kept Oakland's two-game lead atop the West intact for at least another day.

Tigers 6, Indians 4 -- Eric Munson and Omar Infante each hit two-run homers and Detroit's bullpen stayed busy all night, leading the Tigers at Cleveland.

Orioles 9, Blue Jays 5 -- Rafael Palmeiro homered and Rodrigo Lopez won his third straight start, lifting visiting Baltimore.