AL roundup: Niemann pitches Rays past the A's

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jeff Niemann pitched a seven-hitter and the Tampa Bay Rays got home runs from Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria in a 6-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

Niemann (8-4), the Rays' No. 5 starter, has two shutouts this season. The 6-foot-9 right-hander, who is 6-1 over his last 10 starts, allowed two hits in a 2-0 win over Kansas City on June 3.

An official scoring change after the game gave Oakland's Ryan Sweeney a two-out single in the ninth inning instead of a fielder's choice, which added a hit to Niemann's original line.

Pena hit his 24th homer of the season and Longoria added a solo shot for Tampa Bay, which has won nine in a row at home. The Rays are 19-8 overall since June 10.

RED SOX 1, ROYALS 0: At Boston, Dustin Pedroia doubled in a run in the eighth inning and Jon Lester outdueled Brian Bannister. Lester (8-6) allowed four hits through eight innings, while Bannister (6-7) gave up just one through seven. Jonathan Papelbon got the last three outs for his 23rd save. Lester walked two and had eight strikeouts. Bannister went 7 2/3 innings, giving up three hits and four walks while striking out seven.

BLUE JAYS 2, ORIOLES 0: At Baltimore, Brett Cecil outpitched Jason Berken in a duel between struggling rookies and Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak. Alex Rios hit two doubles and scored a run for the Blue Jays, but Scott Rolen's 25-game hitting streak ended with an 0-for-4 performance. Cecil (3-1) allowed four hits over six innings to earn his first win in five starts since May 15. The left-hander came in with a 6.23 ERA and yielded 12 runs in his previous two starts.

TWINS 6, WHITE SOX 4: At Minneapolis, Joe Mauer's two-out single snapped a seventh-inning tie and Minnesota hung on for the victory. Nick Blackburn (8-4) gave up nine hits and four runs in seven innings. Joe Nathan worked a perfect ninth for his 23rd save.

TIGERS 5, INDIANS 1: At Detroit, All-Star Edwin Jackson pitched seven strong innings for Detroit. Marcus Thames hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning for the Tigers, who have won three straight. Jackson (7-4) struck out four and allowed four hits, including Ryan Garko's homer. He stopped a five-start winless stretch, earning his first victory since June 6.

RANGERS 6, MARINERS 4: At Seattle, Michael Young hit one of three home runs by Texas, a three-run shot in the third inning. Hank Blalock hit his 18th homer, a solo shot in the second, and Nelson Cruz added a two-run shot in the eighth, his 21st. Scott Feldman (8-2) went 6 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and two runs. He was 6-8 last season with a 5.29 ERA.

ANGELS 10, YANKEES 6: At Anaheim, Calif., Kendry Morales hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning and Erick Aybar added a three-run shot in the seventh for the Angels. Bobby Abreu had a pair of RBI singles as Los Angeles scored a combined nine runs in the fifth through seventh innings, rallying from a 5-1 deficit. Alex Rodriguez had a solo homer and a run-scoring double for the Yankees.