AROUND THE HORN | Tuesday's other games

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Angels 8, Rangers 2
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Vladimir Guerrero homered twice and drove in five runs while going 4-for-5 and the Anaheim Angels tied Oakland for the AL West lead. The Angels (89-68) never trailed in their fourth straight win after Guerrero's two-out solo homer in the first. It was 8-0 after his 36th homer, a three-run shot in the sixth. Kelvim Escobar (11-12) allowed just two runs on three hits over six innings to win for the first time in four starts against Texas this season.
Red Sox 10, Devil Rays 8
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Boston crept closer to the New York Yankees in the AL East, beating Tampa Bay on Kevin Millar's two-out, two-run homer in the 11th inning. Boston, which clinched a playoff spot Monday night, moved within 21/2 games of the Yankees in the division. New York was rained out and will make up its scheduled game with Minnesota as part of a doubleheader today. David Ortiz doubled off Danys Baez (4-4) with two outs in the 11th. Millar followed with his 18th homer on a 1-1 pitch.
Tigers 6, White Sox 4
DETROIT -- Eric Munson hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning to lead Detroit. Bobby Higginson reached base in all five plate appearances with a homer, double and three walks, and Omar Infante also homered for the Tigers. With the Tigers trailing 4-3 in the seventh, Carlos Pena and Craig Monroe hit one-out singles off Neal Cotts (4-4). Munson followed by lining a three-run shot just inside the right-field foul pole.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Astros 2, Cardinals 1
HOUSTON -- Jeff Bagwell drove in two runs and Brandon Backe pitched five solid innings to help the Houston Astros gain ground in the NL wild-card race. The Astros moved within a half-game of the Chicago Cubs (88-69) and San Francisco Giants (88-69), who tied Chicago for the wild-card lead with a 7-5 victory over San Diego. The Cubs lost to Cincinnati 8-3 at Wrigley Field. St. Louis third baseman Scott Rolen went 0-for-3 in his return after missing 16 games with a strained upper left calf and bruised left shin
Giants 7, Padres 5
SAN DIEGO -- Edgardo Alfonzo's two-run double capped a six-run rally in the fourth inning, and San Francisco tied Chicago for the wild-card lead. The Giants remained three games behind the NL West leading Dodgers, who beat the Rockies 5-4. The loss pushed the Padres closer to elimination. They remain three games out in the wild-card race with five to play and dropped six games behind Los Angeles in the West.
San Francisco had 17 hits, nine off Padres starter Brian Lawrence (15-14). Ray Durham had a career-high five hits, Marquis Grissom had three and Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 with two intentional walks. Jason Schmidt (17-7) won for just the second time in eight starts, allowing four runs and seven hits in six innings. Schmidt beat the Padres for just the second time in five starts this season.
Dodgers 5, Rockies 4
LOS ANGELES -- Steve Finley's two-run single capped a five-run rally in the ninth inning that gave Los Angeles a wild victory. The Dodgers lowered their magic number for winning the NL West championship to three. Milton Bradley was thrown out of the game after a fan threw a plastic bottle at him following his two-out error and subsequent RBI single by Brad Hawpe that capped a three-run, eighth-inning rally by the Rockies.
Marlins 5, Expos 2
MONTREAL -- Jeff Conine homered and Mike Lowell drove in two runs to lead Florida over Montreal in what might prove to be the Expos' second-to-last game at Olympic Stadium. A crowd of 5,416 was on hand, likely the last tiny baseball crowd at the stadium. The Expos are expected to be relocated for 2005 and about 20,000 to 25,000 fans are expected to attend the team's final home game of the season tonight.
Mets 2, Braves 1Braves 5, Mets 2
ATLANTA -- Johnny Estrada's tiebreaking sixth-inning single sent Atlanta over New York for a split of a doubleheader with the Mets. The Mets won the opener on a pair of solo home runs by Gerald Williams and Eric Valent. Wilson Delgado, who had a career-high four hits, knocked Atlanta's Jaret Wright out of the game in the third inning with a line drive off the pitcher's right ankle. X-rays were negative and the Braves listed the pitcher as day-to-day with a bruise.
Diamondbacks 9, Brewers 8
PHOENIX -- Alan Zinter hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th to give Arizona the victory. Zinter, just 6-for-32 on the season, followed Alex Cintron's single with a 391-foot drive into the right-field grandstand. Zinter had entered at first base in the top of the inning. Brooks Kieschnick (1-1) blew Milwaukee's second save of the game after Lyle Overbay put the Brewers ahead in the top of the 11th with an RBI single. Mike Koplove (4-4) allowed Keith Ginter's triple and Overbay's hit, but still got the win thanks to Zinter's homer. Geoff Jenkins hit a two-run homer for Milwaukee in a ninth inning that featured blown saves by closers Greg Aquino of the Diamondbacks and Dan Kolb of the Brewers.
Associated Press