Chicago ? Miguel Olivo and Roberto Alomar did the dirty work for the Chicago White Sox.

They dropped down back-to-back bunt singles in the seventh inning — both reaching first with head-first slides — before Carlos Lee hit a two-run single to spark a 5-2 win over Anaheim Tuesday night

“It’s part of the game. You’re not always going to get a home run to win the game,” said Lee, who broke out of an 0-for-9 slump and had three RBIs.

“Miguel had been struggling and when you can add a hustle play like tonight, it not only lifted him up, but the team,” White Sox manager Jerry Manuel said.

“And Roberto, that’s something he’s been doing against us for years. He just drops it down where nobody can get it,” Manuel added.

Chicago’s victory, featuring strong pitching from Jon Garland, moved the White Sox within one game of first-place Kansas City in the AL Central.

“If we don’t win, we don’t do anything,” Lee said. “If we win, then we can look at the scoreboard.”

Adam Riggs and Alfredo Amezaga hit their first major league homers for the Angels, but Amezaga’s throwing error and the back-to-back bunt singles helped Chicago break a 1-1 tie in the seventh.

“It’s nice that it happened, but that’s a bad loss,” Riggs said of his long homer that gave the Angels a 1-0 lead in the fifth.

Minnesota's Matt LeCroy (24) accepts congratulations from teammates after hitting a three-run home run against Cleveland. The Twins defeated the Indians, 8-2, Tuesday night in Cleveland.

Tony Graffanino reached in the seventh when Amezaga threw wide to first on his grounder. Olivo bunted to the side of the mound and reached when first baseman Riggs fielded but didn’t throw immediately because second baseman Adam Kennedy hadn’t arrived at the bag.

Alomar then beat out a bunt toward third to load the bases, and Lee followed with a shot past third.

“That’s the way baseball is,” Anaheim starter Scot Shields said. “I was trying to get a double play out of it, and he hit it down the line hard.”

Lee moved to second when Alomar was thrown out at third and scored when Frank Thomas singled to center, finishing Shields (3-4). Carl Everett followed with an RBI double off Ben Weber.

Lee also had a run-scoring single in the fifth.

Garland (9-9) allowed five hits in eight innings, including the two homers. Tom Gordon pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save in 12 chances.

Twins 8, Indians 2

Cleveland — Johan Santana stayed hot in August with eight strong innings and Matt LeCroy hit a three-run homer, leading Minnesota past Cleveland. Santana (7-3) struck out a season-high 10 and allowed eight hits. The left-hander is 3-0 this month and has given up just four earned runs in his last 30 innings.

LeCroy’s homer in the sixth inning off Jason Davis (7-10). Dustan Mohr added a two-run homer in the eighth for Minnesota, just 4-8 against Cleveland this season.

It wouldn’t have been a Twins-Indians game without a heated situation. And as usual, it involved Minnesota outfielder Torii Hunter, who struck out against Davis for the final out of the sixth.

Athletics 3, Red Sox 2

Boston — Ramon Hernandez hit a three-run homer in the seventh off Scott Williamson (0-1) as Oakland overcame a 2-0 deficit and sent Boston to its eighth loss in 12 games. The A’s, who had three hits, took a one-game lead over the Red Sox in the wild-card race. Mark Mulder pitched just three innings — his shortest outing of the year — allowing two runs and six hits before leaving with a strained right hip. Derek Lowe pitched six innings of two-hit ball before he was pulled because of a blister on his right thumb. Ricardo Rincon (7-4) pitched 12/3 innings, and Keith Foulke recorded three outs for his 32nd save.

Devil Rays 9, Orioles 2

Baltimore — Rocco Baldelli drove in three runs, helping send Baltimore to its eighth straight loss. Julio Lugo and Jared Sandberg homered in a five-run ninth. Jeremi Gonzalez (6-5) allowed two runs — one earned — and five hits in 71/3 innings. Eric DuBose (1-3) allowed three runs and nine hits over seven innings in his first start since taking the starting spot of Rick Helling.

Mariners 9, Blue Jays 1

Toronto — Edgar Martinez hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth and drove in four runs against Kelvim Escobar (9-7), who lost for the first time in seven starts since June 17. Seattle remained four games ahead of second-place Oakland in the AL West. Ryan Franklin (9-10) allowed one run and five hits in six innings.

Rangers 5, Tigers 4

Detroit — Alex Rodriguez hit a three-run homer and tripled as Texas won its seventh straight. Detroit has lost seven straight and 11 of 12, falling a franchise-worst 62 games under .500 at 31-93. The Tigers (31-93) are 6-26 since the All-Star break and have had six losing streaks of seven or more games this year.

John Thomson (11-10) improved to 4-0 in his last six starts, giving up four runs and 11 hits in eight-plus innings. Brian Shouse got three outs for his first career save, escaping a two-on, no-outs jam in the ninth. Mike Maroth (6-18) lost for the fifth time in six starts, allowing four runs — three earned — and seven hits in 61/3 innings.