DETROIT ? Roy Halladay makes plenty of good teams look bad. Detroit, then, didn’t have much of a chance against him.

Halladay shut out the Tigers for the second time in 10 days, throwing a six-hitter to lead Toronto to a 6-0 victory Wednesday night and pushing Detroit one step closer to baseball history.

“He’s amazing. I’ve said it before, but he’s Cy Young,” Toronto manager Carlos Tosca said. “I saw Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling when I was in Arizona, and he’s made out of the same stuff. I’ve run out of things to say about him.”

Halladay had a 10-inning shutout against the Tigers Sept. 7 at SkyDome, and is 9-1 in his career against Detroit.

“They have a younger team and they like to swing the bats,” Halladay said. “A big part of what I do is to throw strikes with movement and get guys swinging, so it is nice to face an aggressive team that is anxious to try to get out there and put some runs on the board.”

Detroit (38-113) has lost five straight and needs five wins in its final 11 games to avoid matching the post-1900 record of 120 losses set by the 1962 New York Mets.

The Tigers became just the fifth team since 1900 to lose 113 games, and the first AL team to do so since the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics. That club set the AL record with 117 losses.

“We gave up some runs today on balls that landed right in the middle of three fielders,” Tigers catcher Brandon Inge said. “Those are the type of things that just keep happening in a season as bad as this.”

Halladay (21-6) pitched his second shutout of the season, becoming the first 21-game winner in the majors. He tied the team record for wins in a season held by Roger Clemens (1997) and Jack Morris (1992).

Toronto starter Roy Halladay pitches against Detroit. The Blue Jays' Cy Young candidate dominated the Tigers for the second time in 10 days, 6-0, Wednesday in Detroit.

“He’s awfully good,” Tigers manager Alan Trammell said. “The only question left about the Cy Young is if the voters will like this guy, who has the better stuff, or (Chicago’s) Esteban Loaiza for what he has done in the pennant race.”

Halladay has allowed only an unearned run in his last 36 innings, strengthening his Cy Young credentials. He walked none and struck out seven, throwing 72 of 102 pitches for strikes.

“This has been a fun run,” Halladay said. “I think it is important for me to stay focused for my next two starts, and then I can start thinking about awards. Right now, I’m just trying to make my best pitches and not think about anything.”

Twins 4, White Sox 2

Minneapolis — Kenny Rogers allowed two runs and six hits in 61/3 innings, and Michael Ryan homered for Minnesota.

The win put Minnesota 2 1/2 games ahead of Chicago, which will try to avoid a sweep tonight at the Metrodome.

Rogers (12-8) struck out three and walked none in his first win since Aug. 21. Eddie Guardado pitched the ninth for his 37th save in 40 chances.

Luis Rivas went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a walk and scored two runs for the Twins, who won their fourth straight over the White Sox.

Pitching after a week off, Jon Garland (11-12) lasted just 4 2/3 innings. He allowed four earned runs, six hits and walked a season-high five.

Orioles 5, Yankees 3

Baltimore — Larry Bigbie and Jay Gibbons homered, and Baltimore ruined David Wells’ bid for his 200th career victory. Eric DuBose (3-5) allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings for the Orioles, who took a 5-0 lead in the second inning and won for only the fifth time in their last 23 games against the Yankees.

Athletics 2, Angels 1

Anaheim, Calif. — Barry Zito took a shutout into the ninth inning, and Oakland got RBI doubles from Scott Hatteberg and Billy McMillon to beat Anaheim. Zito (13-12) retired the first 15 batters before walking Adam Kennedy to lead off the sixth. Rookie Alfredo Amezaga singled one out later to break up the no-hit bid. The A’s, who came into the day with a 4 1/2-game lead over Seattle in the AL West, reduced their magic number for clinching the division to six. Scot Shields (4-6) allowed two runs and four hits — all doubles — over eight innings and retired 19 of his last 20 batters.

Devil Rays 7, Red Sox 0

Boston — Victor Zambrano allowed three hits in seven innings, and Rocco Baldelli homered, leading Tampa Bay over Boston — the first time the Red Sox have been shut out at Fenway Park in more than a year. Tampa Bay had 16 hits to win for just the second time in nine games. Zambrano (11-9) improved to 4-0, with one save, in his last five appearances at Fenway. He walked five, struck out three and hit two batters with pitches. Todd Walker’s ninth-inning double was Boston’s 608th extra-base hit of the season, breaking the major league record set by the 1996 Mariners. Jeff Suppan (2-3) allowed five runs — four earned — on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Mariners 5, Rangers 1

Arlington, Texas — Jamie Moyer pitched eight strong innings and Carlos Guillen hit a solo homer as Seattle beat Texas. Seattle ended a three-game losing streak and moved within 1 1/2 games of Boston in the AL wild-card race. Moyer (19-7) allowed one run on four hits while striking out five and walking two in becoming the fourth AL pitcher to win at least 19 games. He improved to 12-3 in his career against Texas. Guillen homered in the first off Ryan Drese (2-4) for the Mariners, who remain 4 1/2 games behind Oakland in the AL West.