Nick Blackburn pitched seven innings and Orlando Cabrera led the offense last night as the Minnesota Twins continued their late surge with a 7-0 victory over the White Sox in Chicago.
The Twins, who have won five of six, moved within 2 1/2 games of first-place Detroit, which was idle, in the AL Central.
Blackburn (11-11) allowed eight singles with no walks and six strikeouts to earn his first road win since May 31 against Tampa Bay.
Cabrera, who last season helped the White Sox win the AL Central title, had a triple, sacrifice fly, RBI single, reached on an error and scored three times.
Angels 5, Yankees 2 - Joe Saunders pitched into the ninth inning and AL West-leading Los Angeles prevented visiting New York from wrapping up a playoff spot.
Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter hit consecutive RBI doubles off Yankees starter Andy Pettitte, and Kendry Morales added a pinch-hit homer.
The Yankees could have secured a postseason spot with a win or a Texas loss. The Angels reduced their magic number to six for clinching their third consecutive AL West title.
Rangers 10, Athletics 3 - David Murphy had three hits and drove in two runs to help visiting Texas hang on to its slim playoff hopes.
Julio Borbon and Chris Davis both drove in two runs as the Rangers won for the second time in eight games, moving within seven games of the Red Sox in the AL wild-card race.
Giants 5, Diamondbacks 4 - Pinch-hitter Fred Lewis beat out a double-play grounder with the bases loaded to drive in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, breathing some life into the playoff hopes of visiting San Francisco.
The Giants moved within four games of idle Colorado in the NL wild-card chase with 12 games to play.
Cardinals 7, Astros 3 - Mark DeRosa homered twice at Minute Maid Park for the second time this season and St. Louis sent Houston to its eighth straight loss, a few hours after the team fired manager Cecil Cooper.
The Cardinals reduced their magic number for winning the NL Central to three.
Braves 11, Mets 3 - Chipper Jones homered and drove in four runs to power Atlanta at New York.
Blue Jays 9, Orioles 2 - Lyle Overbay and John McDonald homered and David Purcey won for the first time in more than a year as host Toronto handed Baltimore its fifth straight loss.
Padres 11, Pirates 6 - Chase Headley’s career-high fifth hit drove in the go-ahead run in the 11th inning for visiting San Diego.
Cubs 10, Brewers 2 - Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez hit consecutive homers and Tom Gorzelanny tied a career high with nine strikeouts for visiting Chicago.
