BOSTON (AP) Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs and the Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees 6-5 Saturday to move closer to the division title.
Hanley Ramirez and Bogaerts each had three hits for the AL East-leading Red Sox who moved three games ahead of Toronto and Baltimore, which both lost ground after losses Saturday.
New York wasted 3-0 and 5-2 leads and lost for the sixth time in seven games. The Yankees, already four games back for the AL’s second wild card coming in, dropped seven games behind the Red Sox in the AL East.
The already eliminated Tampa Bay Rays again played a spoiling role by topping the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Blue Jays 6-1 at home.
Bogaerts homered off a billboard above the left-field wall in the fifth, slicing the deficit to 5-4, and the Red Sox took a 6-5 lead in the seventh with two well-placed bounces.
Mookie Betts’ high-chop grounder bounced over drawn-in shortstop Didi Gregorius to score Bogaerts, and Betts scored when Adam Warren (3-2) bounced a wild pitch that caromed to the right of Sanchez.
Matt Barnes (4-3) pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief of David Price, and Craig Kimbrel struck out the final four batters for his 27th save in 29 chances.
Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland’s No. 2 starting pitcher, broke his right hand when hit by a line drive off the bat of Detroit’s Ian Kinsler on the second pitch of the Indians 1-0, 10-inning win over the Tigers.
Cleveland, which opened an eight-game lead over second-place Detroit, said Carrasco sustained a non-displaced fracture of his pitching hand to add to Cleveland’s injury woes as the postseason closes in.
Joey Wendle led off the game with his first major league homer for Oakland, Marcus Semien also went deep against Yu Darvish and the Athletics beat the AL-best Texas Rangers 11-2.
Darvish (5-5) matched a career high by allowing seven runs while pitching only five innings. He struck out eight, but walked four batters – all of those runners scored.
Carlos Gomez homered for the Rangers (88-61), whose magic number was reduced to five for the AL West title when the Houston Astros won 2-1 later Saturday.
Houston moved level with the Seattle Mariners on 78-70 on the back of pitcher Mike Fiers’ six scoreless innings. The Astros and Mariners are tied with Detroit, three games behind Baltimore in the congested AL wild-card race.
In the National League, Ryan Braun went deep twice to reach 30 homers for the sixth time, Chris Carter hit a grand slam off the Wrigley Field video board and the Milwaukee Brewers routed the NL Central champion Chicago Cubs 11-3.
Nick Markakis and Anthony Recker each drove in two runs, Josh Collmenter won as an emergency starter and the Atlanta Braves beat the NL West-leading Washington Nationals 7-3.
Collmenter (2-0), acquired Wednesday from the Cubs, struck out eight in five innings and allowed two runs, four hits and three walks.
Rookie Brock Stewart pitched five effective innings and the Dodgers bullpen took over from there as the NL West leaders beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-2.
The Dodgers extended its division lead to five games over the San Francisco Giants, which lost 3-2 to the St Louis Cardinals at home.
Kolten Wong hit a sacrifice fly that capped a two-run comeback in the ninth inning and St. Louis rallied for a big win that further tightened the NL wild-card race. The Giants and Mets, which beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 in 12 innings, are tied for the top two spots, with the Cardinals trailing by two games.
Also Saturday, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a 1-0-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds, the Philadelphia Phillies beat the fading Miami Marlins 8-0 and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2.
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