AROUND THE HORN | Friday's other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Red Sox 7, White Sox 4BOSTON -- Johnny Damon drew three of Boston's 12 walks, included two with the bases loaded, and the Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox despite getting just five hits. Jeff Suppan (2-2) allowed three runs on five hits and three walks, striking out two in six innings. Byung-Hyun Kim pitched the ninth for his 13th save. Dan Wright (1-6) lasted just one-plus inning for Chicago, giving up four runs -- three earned -- on two hits and five walks. Boston returned from a 7-2 road trip with a 11/2-game lead in the AL wild-card race over the Seattle Mariners.Yankees 10, Devil Rays 4NEW YORK -- Jason Giambi emerged from his slump with four hits and a homer, and Aaron Boone hit a three-run shot as the New York Yankees won their sixth straight, over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Boone drove in four runs and had his first three-hit game since July 27, when he was with Cincinnati. Juan Rivera had two run-scoring doubles, and Nick Johnson added three hits and an RBI for the Yankees, who had 17 hits. David Wells (14-6) pitched seven innings for his 199th win and improved to 8-1 career against the Devil Rays.Blue Jays 4, Orioles 2TORONTO -- Josh Towers struck out a career-high nine against his former team, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles for their third straight win. Towers (6-1) allowed two runs and nine hits in 72/3 innings and walked none, improving to 4-1 with a 2.75 ERA in five starts. After striking out the side in the seventh, Towers pumped a fist. The 26-year-old right-hander came up with Baltimore in 2001 and had some success early before finishing that season 8-10. He went 0-3 with a 7.90 ERA in five appearances last year before his demotion to the minor leagues. Aquilino Lopez got two outs for his 11th save in 13 chances.Tigers 3, Royals 0DETROIT -- Mike Maroth won for the first time since Aug. 2, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals for their fifth shutout this season. Warren Morris drove in two runs and scored another for the Tigers, who stopped a six-game losing streak. Kansas City, struggling to stay in the AL Central race, lost for the ninth time in 13 games. The Royals began the night 31/2 games back of Chicago and Minnesota, who shared the division lead. Maroth (7-20) had been 0-5 in six starts since beating Minnesota in his first start of August. On Sept. 5, he became the first 20-game loser in the major leagues since Oakland's Brian Kingman in 1980.Athletics 9, Rangers 3ARLINGTON, Texas -- Erubiel Durazo's go-ahead two-run single keyed a five-run seventh inning as the Oakland Athletics rallied from three runs down for a victory over the Texas Rangers. Rangers starter Ryan Drese took a 3-1 lead into the seventh and Texas seemed on the verge of finally beating Barry Zito. The A's loaded the bases with one out against Drese (2-3), then reliever Ron Mahay retired Jose Guillen. Mahay walked Eric Byrnes to force in the second run of the inning and Mark Ellis hit a line drive up the middle that bounced off Mahay's foot and into foul territory for an RBI single.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Marlins 5, Braves 4MIAMI -- The Florida Marlins overcame an injury to Brad Penny and an eighth-inning deficit to build on their lead in the NL wild-card race. Juan Pierre singled home the winning run with one out in the ninth inning, leading the Marlins over the Atlanta Braves. Florida increased its wild-card lead to 11/2 games over Philadelphia, which lost at Pittsburgh. Penny gave up three runs before departing in the first inning with a hyperextended pitching elbow. Florida scored twice in the eighth against Jaret Wright to tie the game.Cubs 7, Reds 6CHICAGO -- Pinch-hitter Tom Goodwin delivered a two-run, bases-loaded single in the seventh as the Chicago Cubs blew a big lead and then rallied to beat the Cincinnati Reds. Chicago, which began the day one game behind first-place Houston in the NL Central, squandered a 5-1 lead when the Reds scored five times in the seventh against Mark Guthrie and Antonio Alfonseca (2-1). But after a 49-minute rain delay with one out in the bottom half, the Cubs came out energized and staged one of their most crucial rallies of the season.Expos 7, Mets 4MONTREAL -- Michael Barrett hit a two-run homer in his first game in nearly seven weeks, and Vladimir Guerrero had a three-run double to lead the Montreal Expos over the New York Mets. Montreal won its 10th in a row at Olympic Stadium and third straight overall. The last-place Mets have dropped a season-high eight consecutive games. Barrett, hitting just .207 when he was sidelined by a hip injury on July 27, hit his 10th homer of the season off Al Leiter (14-8) following Joe Vitiello's one-out double in the sixth.Astros 14, Cardinals 5HOUSTON -- Jeff Bagwell homered, Richard Hidalgo had four hits and pitcher Wade Miller drove in a career-high four runs for Houston. The Astros roughed up Woody Williams and finished with 19 hits, remaining a game ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. St. Louis dropped 31/2 off the pace. Miller allowed two runs and two hits in six innings. He also went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and boosted his RBI total for the year to six. He had an RBI double in the second, his grounder scored a run in the third and he added a two-run double in a five-run fourth inning. He's hitting .166 this season. Bagwell started the fourth with his 34th homer off Williams (15-9).