AL roundup: Royals rally past Red Sox, leave AL East race deadlocked

BOSTON — David DeJesus hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning as the Kansas City Royals rallied from an early four-run deficit and knocked the Boston Red Sox out of sole possession of first place in the A.L. East with an 8-6 victory Thursday night.

David Ortiz hit his 300th career homer for Boston, which fell to 3-4 on its 10-game homestand after splitting six games against Seattle and Oakland. The loss, coupled with the New York Yankees' 6-4 victory over Minnesota, has the teams tied with three games remaining before the All-Star break.

Luke Hochevar (5-3) won for the fifth time in seven starts, despite allowing nine hits and five runs in six innings. Joakim Soria recorded four outs for his 14th save.

Mark Teahen and Willie Bloomquist each had three hits, and Alberto Callaspo had a pair of RBI doubles to help Kansas City avoid its third consecutive loss. The Royals also beat Boston for the sixth time in its last 23 tries at Fenway Park.

Boston's bullpen combined to allow five runs in four innings after starter Brad Penny was staked to a 5-3 lead after five innings.

RAYS 3, BLUE JAYS 2: At St. Petersburg, Fla., rookie David Price outpitched Roy Halladay, and Carlos Pena snapped a fifth-inning tie with a two-run double that helped Tampa Bay to a three-game sweep. Price (3-3) allowed one run and six hits in six innings as the AL champions beat Halladay for the second time in 11 days. The Blue Jays have lost 10 of 12 and fallen below .500 for the first time this season.

YANKEES 6, TWINS 4: At Minneapolis, Mark Teixeira ended a 23-game homerless drought and New York completed a season sweep of the Twins. Teixeira connected on the first pitch of the fifth inning. It was his 21st homer of the season and first in 96 at-bats, dating to June 12 against the Mets. Mariano Rivera picked up his 23rd save for the Yankees, who have won eight straight on the road and beat the Twins all seven times they met this season. Jonathan Albaladejo (4-1) pitched 1 2/3 hitless innings for the win.

INDIANS 10, WHITE SOX 8: At Chicago, Kelly Shoppach hit a grand slam and had a career-high five RBIs, and five Cleveland relievers combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings to preserve the early lead. Tony Sipp (1-0), who retired the only two batters he faced, earned his first major league win. Kerry Wood got four outs for his 11th save. Ryan Garko had four hits, two runs scored and an RBI for the Indians, who won for only the sixth time in 23 games since June 13.

MARINERS 3, RANGERS 1: At Seattle, Franklin Gutierrez hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning to give the Mariners a victory over Texas. Ichiro Suzuki had three hits to raise his major league-leading average to .361. Felix Hernandez (9-3), heading to his first All-Star game, went eight innings, allowing one run and three hits, striking out seven and walking two. David Aardsma worked the ninth for his 18th save.