Chicago ? It’s hard to tell where the Chicago White Sox might be without Esteban Loaiza, who made the team as a non-roster invitee in spring training.

Right now, after his 16th victory, they’re tied for first in the AL Central.

“He’s as good as anyone I’ve seen this year,” Anaheim’s Tim Salmon said Wednesday night after the White Sox beat the Angels 5-3 and tied Kansas City for first place.

“You walk back going, ‘This is why he’s having a good year.’ He was putting it where he wanted with late movement. He’s just got it going right now,” Salmon said.

Loaiza (16-6) matched Toronto’s Roy Halladay for the AL lead in wins and is one behind major-league leader Russ Ortiz of Atlanta.

He wasn’t sharp, allowing 10 hits in six-plus innings — including Adam Riggs’ second homer in two nights. But he struck out nine, escaping several jams while raising his record to 5-1 since he started the All-Star game for the AL.

Damaso Marte bailed him out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and pitched the final three innings, striking out five for the save.

“This is my career high for everything — victories and strikeouts (149). It’s just one of those things. If the strikeout comes, it comes,” Loaiza said.

Jose Valentin, Magglio Ordonez and Carl Everett homered as the White Sox completed a three-game sweep.

“Now that we got there, we need to hold on,” Valentin said of first place.

Roberto Alomar went 4-for-5 — all infield hits — for the White Sox.

Chone Figgins, the Angels’ leadoff hitter, also had four hits — a career high. He hit an RBI single in the seventh to cut Chicago’s lead to 4-2, and after Jeff DaVanon walked to load the bases with no outs, Marte replaced Loaiza.

The Angels, the World Series champs who have been ravaged by injuries, fell into a tie with Texas for last place in the AL West.

“I firmly believe we would be a much better team if we had everyone healthy,” Salmon said.

Athletics 8, Red Sox 6

Boston — Bill Mueller’s throwing error in the eighth inning allowed Erubiel Durazo to score the go-ahead run as Oakland beat Boston.

The A’s trailed 6-2 after four innings. They scored four runs off Byung-Hyun Kim (5-4) in the eighth to go ahead 8-6.

Chad Bradford (7-3) got two outs for the win. Keith Foulke worked the ninth for his 33rd save in 38 chances.

Twins 4, Indians 3

Cleveland — Torii Hunter scored on a sacrifice fly that barely reached the outfield grass in the seventh inning as the Minnesota Twins edged closer in the AL Central.

In the seventh, Hunter and A.J. Pierzynski singled off Brian Anderson (9-10) and Dustan Mohr sacrificed. With the infield in, Cristian Guzman hit a popup to the shortstop side of second that was caught by second baseman John McDonald.

Hunter immediately broke for the plate and scored, although catcher Tim Laker argued the call.

Blue Jays 5, Mariners 2

Toronto — Josh Towers pitched his first complete game in over two years, and Vernon Wells hit a two-run homer to give him 100 RBIs for the second straight season as Toronto ended a three-game losing streak. Towers (3-1) won his second straight start.

Rangers 6, Tigers 0

Detroit — R.A. Dickey threw a six-hitter for his first major-league shutout, and Alex Rodriguez homered for the third straight game as Texas earned its eighth straight win. Dickey (8-5) struck out a career-high seven in his first complete game in the big leagues.

Orioles 9, Devil Rays 5

Baltimore — Damian Moss earned his first AL win and Jay Gibbons homered and drove in four runs as Baltimore ended an eight-game losing streak.

Moss (1-1), obtained in the July 31 trade that sent Sidney Ponson to the San Francisco Giants, allowed three runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.