NEW YORK – CC Sabathia outdueled Daisuke Matsuzaka as the New York Yankees closed in on the American League East division title with a 3-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.
Sabathia (19-7) allowed just one hit in seven innings and combined on a two-hitter.
The Yankees have won eight of nine against their archrival after starting the season 0-8 against Boston. They can wrap up their first division title on Sunday when they play the Red Sox for the final time this season.
Robinson Cano hit a tiebreaking, opposite-field homer off the top of the left-field fence in the sixth inning, and Johnny Damon added a two-out, two-run single in the eighth off new Boston reliever Billy Wagner.
At Chicago, Miguel Cabrera got four hits and drove in four runs, giving him at least 100 RBIs for the sixth consecutive season, as Detroit rallied from a five-run deficit to beat Chicago, 12-5.
Curtis Granderson, Placido Polanco and Gerald Laird each had three of Detroit’s 20 hits, including singles in the decisive seventh inning, to help the Tigers win for the fifth time in six games.
The first-place Tigers, two games ahead of Minnesota in the AL Central, host the Twins in a four-game series beginning Monday night.
White Sox starter Freddy Garcia (2-4) faced the minimum 12 batters over the first four innings before allowing Cabrera’s leadoff homer in the fifth. Cabrera singled home two more runs in the sixth.
At Kansas City, Missouri, Denard Span had four hits and a career-high six RBIs to lead surging Minnesota past Kansas City, 11-6, for its 11th victory in 12 games.
The Twins batted around in a five-run fourth inning, highlighted by Span’s bases-loaded triple. Four runs were unearned after shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt’s wild throw, his fourth error in three games.
Span also had a two-run single in the fifth and an RBI single in the eighth. Matt Tolbert had three hits and scored three runs.
Joe Mauer added a two-run double in the eighth and went 2 for 4 with a walk to hike his major league-leading batting average to .371.
At Anaheim, California, Jack Cust homered and doubled in the go-ahead run during a six-run eighth inning as Oakland rallied from a seven-run deficit to beat the Angels, 15-10.
The Angels, whose magic number to clinch their third straight AL West title remained at four, lost their season-high fourth straight. They were the only team in the majors that hadn’t lost more than three in a row this season.
The Angels lead Texas by five games with eight to play.
Kurt Suzuki and Mark Ellis also homered for the Athletics.
At Arlington, Texas, Marlon Byrd homered twice, including his sixth career grand slam in an 11-run fifth inning as Texas beat Tampa Bay, 15-3.
Texas moved within six games of Boston for the AL wild card with eight to play.
The Rangers scored all 11 runs in the fifth with two outs as 10 straight batters reached base. The outburst started with Byrd’s slam off starter Matt Garza (8-11) that gave Texas a 5-3 lead.
After that, the Rangers strung together four singles, three walks and two doubles. (AP)