Twins’ skid reaches seven

Erstad's triple keys Angels' 6-1 victory

? Shortly after the Anaheim Angels rewarded the AL manager of the year with a two-year contract extension, Mike Scioscia’s players presented him with a victory that was typical of their championship season.

Darin Erstad hit a tiebreaking two-run triple in the seventh inning and Jarrod Washburn pitched seven solid innings as the Angels beat Minnesota, 6-1, Saturday, keeping Twins right-hander Brad Radke winless in his last 10 starts.

With batting coach Scott Ullger running the Twins because of manager Ron Gardenhire’s one-game suspension, Minnesota lost its seventh straight game — the team’s longest skid this season. The Twins, who lost to the Angels in last year’s ALCS, are four games under .500.

Scott Spiezio went 3-for-4 with an RBI single and sacrifice fly, helping the Angels win for the 11th time in 15 games. Washburn (8-9) allowed a run and five hits, striking out five and walking one.

New Angels owner Arte Moreno locked up Scioscia through the 2007 season — just three days after doing likewise with general manager Bill Stoneman.

Washburn (8-9) had as much reason to celebrate as Scioscia did after his best outing since June 4, when he allowed a run in six innings in an 11-2 win against Montreal. He followed that with four consecutive losses, and a 7.36 ERA in the six starts preceding this one.

Washburn’s only blemish came in the fifth, when Denny Hocking drove his 2-1 pitch into the seats in the left-field corner for his second homer of the season. It was the 24th allowed by Washburn — the most in the AL. But he was able to shrug it off.

“If you let things like that bother you, that’s when you usually get in trouble,” Washburn said. “I mean, you’re obviously upset and mad when you give up a home run. But if you continue to be mad and take it into the next batter, that’s when you make mistakes because you’re not concentrating.”

White Sox 7-2, Indians 4-4

Minnesota right fielder Bobby Kielty runs into the wall chasing a ball hit by Anaheim's Darin Erstad. The hit was a tiebreaking, two-run triple in the Angels' 6-1 victory Saturday in Anaheim, Calif.

Cleveland — Travis Hafner had three RBIs, and Jake Westbrook earned his first win since May 9 as Cleveland beat Chicago, 4-2, for a split of their day-night doubleheader. Shane Spencer added a solo homer and made two nice catches in right field for the Indians, who bounced back from a gut-wrenching loss in the opener.

Paul Konerko hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning as the White Sox rallied for a 7-4 victory in the first game.

Hafner and Westbrook (4-4) were both recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Buffalo, which has been busy shuffling players to the injury-plagued Indians all season.

Danys Baez, who threw away Cleveland’s win with a two-run error in the ninth inning of the day game, worked another shaky ninth for his 21st save.

The White Sox scored once in the inning, and had runners at first and second with none out. But Baez struck out pinch-hitter Konerko looking, popped up pinch-hitter Frank Thomas and retired Willie Harris on a fly to shallow left.

Hafner hit a pair of run-scoring doubles off Mike Porzio (0-1), who was brought up late Friday from Triple-Charlotte to pitch Game 2. The White Sox snapped a four-game losing streak by winning the opener, rallying to win for the first time in 41 games this season when trailing after eight innings.

Hafner, added to the roster when Matt Lawton went on the 15-day disabled list, put the Indians up 2-1 in the fourth inning of the night game with a two-out, two-run double.

Milton Bradley’s leadoff single looked as if it might go to waste, but Tim Laker kept the inning alive with a two-out base hit that sent Bradley to third. Hafner followed with a shot down the left-field line that Carlos Lee just missed.

Red Sox 4, Tigers 2 (11)

Detroit — Johnny Damon homered and hit a go-ahead RBI single in the 11th inning as Boston beat Detroit for its fifth consecutive victory. Pedro Martinez pitched seven sharp innings and Trot Nixon also homered for the Red Sox, who moved within one game of the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East. Boston has made up three games in the past five days.

Martinez left leading 2-1, only to see the Boston bullpen cost him a win for the fifth time this season. Alan Embree yielded a two-out RBI double to Carlos Pena that tied it in the eighth.

Blue Jays 10, Yankees 3

Toronto — Roy Halladay won his 13th straight decision, and Vernon Wells homered as Toronto ended a four-game losing streak. Halladay (13-2) became the first 13-game winner in the majors. The 26-year-old right-hander is the first Toronto pitcher to win 13 straight decisions since Roger Clemens won a club-record 15 in a row in 1998. Halladay, who hasn’t lost in 17 starts since April 15 against New York, allowed two runs on four hits in eight innings.

Devil Rays 6, Mariners 5

Seattle — Victor Zambrano pitched into the ninth inning and Tampa Bay hit four home runs, giving manager Lou Piniella his first win over Seattle. Javier Valetin, Travis Lee, Damian Rolls and Antonio Perez each homered for the Devil Rays in Piniella’s first victory against the team he led for the 10 previous seasons, though this game lacked the fanfare of his celebrated return to Seattle one night earlier.

Athletics 5, Orioles 3

Oakland, Calif. — Scott Hatteberg hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning, and Terrence Long had a three-run shot as Oakland beat Baltimore. The defending AL West champions won their fourth straight and matched their season high at 14 games over .500.