Zito, A’s Get Past Twins

Barry Zito pitched eight strong innings to win his eighth consecutive start, and Eric Chavez singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth to help the A’s beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2, Thursday at Minneapolis.

Zito (11-8) yielded four hits and two runs while striking out eight and walking two. He hasn’t lost since June 17 against Philadelphia.

Huston Street pitched the ninth for his 12th save. He tied Rollie Fingers for most saves by a rookie in franchise history.

The A’s have won 34 of 42 games after taking three of four in Minnesota. They moved to within one game of the first-place Angels in the West Division.

Oakland trailed Minnesota by 12 1/2 games for the wild card June 11. But after Thursday’s victory, the A’s lead the Twins, who have lost seven of eight, by six.

Boston 11, Kansas City 9 -- Matt Clement struggled in his first start since getting hit in the head by a line drive, but Jason Varitek’s grand slam highlighted an eight-run fourth inning and helped the host Red Sox rally for their eighth win in a row.

Edgar Renteria had a three-run double during Boston’s biggest inning of the season as the Red Sox erased a 5-0 deficit. They needed only two hits to score the eight runs, thanks to five walks.

Clement (11-3), who was hit behind his right ear by Carl Crawford’s liner at Tampa Bay nine days ago, walked four in five innings, but still got the win. He gave up six runs and five hits and left with a 9-5 lead.

Detroit 3, Seattle 1 -- Sean Douglass (4-1) pitched eight strong innings at Detroit and the Tigers spoiled the major league debut of 19-year-old Felix Hernandez. Douglass gave up one run and three hits. Hernandez gave up two runs -- one earned -- and three hits in five innings.

Chicago 5, Toronto 4 -- Tadahito Iguchi hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning, and the White Sox avoided a three-game sweep at Chicago. After the Blue Jays tied the score in the eighth on Russ Adams’ RBI double, Iguchi lifted an 0-1 pitch from Justin Speier (1-2) over the right-field wall leading off the bottom half.

New York 4, Cleveland 3 -- Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi homered off Bob Wickman in the ninth inning, and the Yankees avoided being swept in Cleveland for the first time since 1970. Mariano Rivera worked a perfect ninth for his 27th save. He hasn’t blown a save since April 6 against Boston.

Texas 13, Tampa Bay 5 -- Alfonso Soriano had a career-high five RBIs at Arlington, Texas, and the Rangers ended the Devil Rays’ season-high six-game winning streak. Hank Blalock hit a two-run homer and Phil Nevin had a solo shot during a decisive three-run seventh inning.

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Wild-card standings

*--* Team W L Pct. GB Oakland 61 47 565 -- New York 57 49 538 3 Cleveland 57 52 523 4 1/2 Toronto 55 52 514 5 1/2 Minnesota 55 53 509 6

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