AROUND THE HORN Monday's other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Red Sox 7, Devil Rays 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Boston clinched its second straight trip to the playoffs, rallying past Tampa Bay behind Manny Ramirez's AL-leading 43rd home run. Johnny Damon hit his career-high 19th homer for the Red Sox, who are assured of no worse than the AL wild card berth. Boston closed within three games of the AL East-leading New York Yankees with six remaining. The Red Sox, held hitless for four innings, went ahead on Damon's three-run homer and Ramirez's 458-foot, two-run drive after Tampa Bay starter Scott Kazmir was ejected for hitting Ramirez and Kevin Millar with pitches in the fourth inning. Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella also was tossed after Kazmir plunked Ramirez and Millar in a span of four pitches. The first one appeared to be retaliation for Boston's Bronson Arroyo hitting Aubrey Huff and Tino Martinez the previous inning.
Angels 5, Rangers 3
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Chone Figgins had an RBI triple and then scored the go-ahead run on an infield grounder in the eighth inning, leading Anaheim over Texas in the opener of the key AL West series. The Angels remained a game behind AL West-leading Oakland. The Rangers fell three games behind the Athletics.After Figgins tripled in the eighth to tie the game at 3-all, he raced home on Darin Erstad's grounder. First baseman Mark Teixeira fielded cleanly and threw home, but Figgins slid around the sweeping tag of Ken Huckaby and was able to touch the back corner of home plate with his fingertips. Colon gave up consecutive singles to start the ninth and Troy Percival allowed a single to his first batter, loading the bases. But he then got two infield popouts and a strikeout for his 31st save in 36 chances.
Blue Jays 4, Orioles 1
BALTIMORE -- Gregg Zaun homered and Orlando Hudson had three hits and an RBI, leading Toronto past Baltimore. Melvin Mora went 3-for-4 with a homer for the Orioles, whose four-game winning streak ended. The defeat means Baltimore (74-81) will complete a seventh straight season without a winning record. Orioles starter Sidney Ponson (11-15) allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings to fall to 8-3 since the All-Star break.
Tigers 4, White Sox 2
DETROIT -- Dmitri Young hit a tie-breaking, two-run homer in the sixth inning, and Detroit made the most of three hits to stop a five-game losing streak. Gary Knotts (6-6) allowed two runs and five hits in 62/3 innings. Esteban Yan, Detroit's fourth pitcher, got two outs for his sixth save, completing a six-hitter. Jason Grilli (2-2) lost despite pitching a three-hitter for his first complete game in 13 major league starts. Joe Crede homered, giving Chicago six players with 20 homers for the first time in franchise history. The Tigers, coming off consecutive shutout losses in Baltimore, stopped a 22-inning scoreless streak in the second.
Athletics 6, Mariners 5
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Bobby Crosby's sacrifice fly with one out in the ninth scored pinch-runner Esteban German with the winning run for Oakland. The A's maintained their one-game lead in the AL West over second-place Anaheim. Oakland held Ichiro Suzuki to one hit, leaving him five shy of George Sisler's 84-year-old record of 257. The Mariners have six games remaining.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cubs 12, Reds 5
CHICAGO -- Todd Walker homered and drove in four runs, Carlos Zambrano won his fourth straight decision and Chicago extended its lead in the wild card race. The win moved Chicago a game ahead of idle San Francisco. Walker was 3-for-4, including a two-run homer in the fifth inning. Corey Patterson, Derrek Lee and Jose Macias also connected, and Nomar Garciaparra was 3-for-3 with a walk and a pair of RBIs. Zambrano (16-8) allowed one run in 6 1-3 innings to win his third consecutive start. He struck out seven and scattered five hits. The Reds tagged Todd Wellemeyer for four runs in the eighth, including Adam Dunn's 43rd homer.
Astros 10, Cardinals 3
HOUSTON -- Roy Oswalt became the NL's first 19-game winner, and Houston stayed close in the wild-card race. The Astros remained 11/2 games behind Chicago. Pinch-hitter Jason Lane homered and Craig Biggio hit a two-run double. Carlos Beltran added a two-run triple, Morgan Ensberg had a two-run double, and Jeff Bagwell and Raul Chavez singled in runs to send the Astros to their fourth win in five games.
Diamondbacks 3, Brewers 1
PHOENIX -- Randy Johnson struck out 10 in seven innings to earn his 15th win and Arizona snapped a six-game losing streak with a win over Ben Sheets. Chad Tracy homered and Doug DeVore had an RBI single in his first three-hit game. Third baseman Wes Helms' error led to two unearned runs for Arizona. Johnson (15-14) walked one in his 13th double-digit strikeout game of the season and 204th of his career -- 11 shy of Nolan Ryan's major league record. Johnson allowed one run and six hits.
Marlins 4, Expos 1
MONTREAL -- Josh Beckett pitched seven innings and Miguel Cabrera hit his 31st homer, leading Florida over Montreal. Beckett (8-9), last year's World Series MVP, scattered four hits for his first win in four starts. Florida, which was eliminated from playoff contention one day earlier, ended a season-high six-game losing streak. Beckett had eight strikeouts.
Dodgers 8, Rockies 7
LOS ANGELES -- Milton Bradley singled home the winning run in the ninth inning, and Adrian Beltre hit a grand slam to help Los Angeles beat Colorado. The Dodgers increased their NL West lead to three games over idle San Francisco with six remaining. Beltre leads the major leagues with 48 home runs, tying Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt's record for third basemen set in 1980 with Philadelphia.
Associated Press