AL roundup: Tigers taking aim at AL Central title

DETROIT — Magglio Ordonez hit a three-run double and the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 on Wednesday night to move closer to the AL Central title.

Eddie Bonine pitched five effective innings after getting off to a rough start for Detroit, which increased its lead to three games over the Twins. The Tigers can clinch their first division title since 1987 with a victory in this afternoon's series finale.

Ordonez's second key hit in consecutive days broke it open in the fifth. With two out and the bases loaded, Ordonez hit a drive to left-center to clear the bases and give the Tigers a 7-2 lead.

Bonine (1-1), making his ninth career start, allowed two runs in the first but shut down the Twins for the rest of his outing.

BLUE JAYS 12, RED SOX 0: At Boston, Roy Halladay pitched a three-hitter for his second consecutive shutout and Toronto sent the Red Sox to their sixth straight loss. The Blue Jays hit four homers — two by Randy Ruiz and one each by Lyle Overbay and Jose Bautista — one day after hitting six. Halladay (17-10) had a strong outing in what might be his last game for the Blue Jays. He has one year left on his contract and could be traded in the offseason.

RAYS 5, ORIOLES 3: At St. Petersburg, Fla., James Shields carried a shutout into the eighth inning, Ben Zobrist hit a three-run homer and Tampa Bay extended Baltimore's losing streak to 13 games. Baltimore can tie the second-longest skid in franchise history set in August 1954 with a loss in the series finale against the Rays today. Shields (11-12) allowed three runs and six hits over eight innings.

ROYALS 4, YANKEES 3: At New York, Joba Chamberlain lasted just 32/3 innings in his final tuneup for the postseason and was booed by fans at Yankee Stadium in a loss that snapped the Yankees' seven-game winning streak. Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher homered for New York. Kansas City broke a seventh-inning tie on an RBI triple by John Buck.

INDIANS 5, WHITE SOX 1 (1ST GAME); WHITE SOX 1, INDIANS 0 (2ND GAME): At Cleveland, Mark Buehrle pitched six shutout innings and Paul Konerko drove in the only run as Chicago beat Cleveland in the nightcap to split a season-ending doubleheader. In the opener, Fausto Carmona (5-12) pitched seven strong innings for Cleveland.

ANGELS 5, RANGERS 0: At Anaheim, Calif., Matt Palmer combined with four relievers on a one-hitter and the Los Angeles Angels tied a club record for most runs in a season with a victory over Texas. Palmer (11-2) gave up just a leadoff single in the first inning.

MARINERS 7, ATHLETICS 0: At Seattle, Ken Griffey Jr. hit a three-run homer, No. 629 of his career, and Brandon Morrow allowed one hit over eight impressive innings for the Mariners.