AL roundup: Battle of the Sox won by Chicago

CHICAGO — Gavin Floyd outpitched Tim Wakefield, and A.J. Pierzynski hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning as the Chicago White Sox slipped past the Boston Red Sox 3-1 on Friday night.

Chicago's seventh straight victory over Boston and 14th in the last 16 games between the teams denied the 44-year-old knuckleballing Wakefield his 200th career win.

Floyd (9-9) won his third straight start. He gave up a run and three hits in seven innings, including a homer to Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and ran his career record against the Red Sox to 6-0.

Wakefield (6-4) also allowed three hits in seven innings. But his wild pitch in the sixth helped set up the tying run on Paul Konerko's sacrifice fly. And he walked Carlos Quentin to start the bottom of the seventh before Pierzynski drove his fifth homer of the season into the right-center field seats to give the White Sox a two-run lead.

TIGERS 12, ANGELS 2: At Detroit, Carlos Guillen hit a two-run triple in Detroit's four-run sixth inning against Los Angeles. Guillen and Victor Martinez had four RBIs apiece, while Ramon Santiago added three hits for Detroit. Rick Porcello (11-6) allowed two runs and five hits in eight innings, striking out six.

BLUE JAYS 3, RANGERS 2: At Toronto, J.P. Arencibia hit a three-run homer for Toronto, and Brett Cecil beat All-Star Alexi Ogando for the second straight start. Nelson Cruz and Mike Napoli homered for the Rangers, who lost for the third time in four games. Cecil (4-4) allowed one run and seven hits in seven innings to win consecutive starts for the first time this season.

ROYALS 12, INDIANS 0: At Cleveland, Jeff Francis pitched eight sharp innings and Melky Cabrera hit a grand slam for Kansas City. Billy Butler went deep twice and Alex Gordon also connected for Kansas City, which has won seven of 10. Butler came to the plate right after Cabrera's grand slam in the fourth, and Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco promptly threw the first pitch at his head. Players from both dugouts and bullpens came on the field, and Carrasco was ejected. Francis (4-11) won for the first time since June 10.

ORIOLES 4, YANKEES 2: At New York, Jeremy Guthrie shut down the New York Yankees for seven innings, perhaps driving up his price in a trade, and Baltimore got homers from Mark Reynolds and Derrek Lee. Kevin Gregg held on in a shaky ninth, striking out Brett Gardner with runners at the corners to end it. Reynolds and Lee each drove in two runs, lending some rare offensive support to the major league leader in losses. Guthrie (5-14) allowed just four hits, including Mark Teixeira's solo homer.

TWINS 9, ATHLETICS 5: At Oakland, Calif., Francisco Liriano pitched seven solid innings and Michael Cuddyer hit a three-run homer for Minnesota. Trevor Plouffe had three hits and two RBIs for the Twins. Josh Willingham homered twice for the A's.

RAYS 8, MARINERS 0: At Seattle, Jeff Niemann allowed three hits and struck out a career-high 11 in 62/3 innings, and Tampa Bay had an eight-run second inning. Ben Zobrist homered and Casey Kotchman had three hits, two runs and an RBI for the Rays.

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