Yankees stop skid, top Rays

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Russell Martin homered and drove in three runs, and the New York Yankees regained sole possession of first place in the AL East with a 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Russell Martin homered and drove in three runs, and the New York Yankees regained sole possession of first place in the AL East with a 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.

Second baseman Eliot Johnson’s errant throw to home plate that led to two runs in the seventh inning helped the Yankees win for the fifth time in 15 games.

New York sat atop the division standings by itself for 84 consecutive days until Tuesday night’s loss to Tampa Bay dropped the Yankees into a tie with Baltimore. They moved back into first place when the Orioles lost to Toronto.

With the score tied at 4, Andruw Jones and Steve Pearce singled to start the seventh off Matt Moore (10-9) before Jayson Nix moved the runners up with a bunt. Derek Jeter, who had hits in his previous three at-bats, hit a grounder to Johnson. With the infield playing in, his throw was off the mark, allowing the Yankees to take a 6-4 lead.

BLUE JAYS 6, ORIOLES 4

TORONTO — Blue Jays rookie Adeiny Hechavarria drove in the go-ahead run with a bunt single, Rajai Davis homered and had three RBIs, and Toronto beat Baltimore to avoid a three-game sweep.

RANGERS 7, ROYALS 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Adrian Beltre hit a three-run homer, Michael Young also went deep and Texas held on to beat Kansas City.

WHITE SOX 6, TWINS 2

CHICAGO — Alex Rios homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs to lead the White Sox over Minnesota.

Rios hit a grand slam in the first inning off P.J. Walters (2-3) and a two-run shot in the sixth.

TIGERS 7, INDIANS 1

DETROIT — Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and Prince Fielder added a solo shot in the eighth to help Detroit avoid a three-game sweep with a victory over Cleveland.

Doug Fister (8-8) allowed a run and four hits in seven innings for the Tigers.

He struck out six and walked one.

ANGELS 7, ATHLETICS 1

OAKLAND, Calif. — Torii Hunter drove in three runs and Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep.

Howie Kendrick doubled and hit a two-run single to help the Angels pull within two games of Oakland for one of two AL wild-card spots. Dan Haren (10-10) allowed one run and three hits in six innings.

MARINERS 2, RED SOX 1

SEATTLE — Kevin Millwood pitched six stingy innings to win for the first time in five weeks, and Seattle handed the staggering Boston Red Sox their eighth defeat in nine games.