St. Petersburg, Fla. ? With ground to make up in their quest for another AL East title, the New York Yankees refused to lose.

Alex Rodriguez hit his 42nd home run, and Robinson Cano erased a four-run deficit with a grand slam Thursday night, helping Aaron Small and the seven-time defending division winners rally to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 9-5.

“The team is playing with a lot of urgency right now. We realize how important each game is, and we’re taking this as our playoff,” Rodriguez said.

Small (8-0) became the first pitcher to win his first eight decisions with the Yankees since Doug Bird in 1980 and ’81, and New York’s fourth straight victory continued its strong push in the AL East and wild-card races.

Coupled with Boston’s loss to Oakland, the Yankees pulled 11â2 games behind the Red Sox in the division and one-half game of idle Cleveland for the AL wild card. It’s the closest New York has been to first place in the division since Aug. 29.

“I don’t think we’re seeing colors in the other team’s uniforms,” Rodriguez said. “We know each game is important, whether it’s Boston or Tampa. We need each game desperately, and we’re playing that way.”

Tigers 8, Angels 6

Anaheim, Calif. – Curtis Granderson gave Detroit the lead with a three-run inside-the-park homer, and Magglio Ordonez and Craig Monroe also homered in the Tigers’ victory over Los Angeles.

The Angels lost their fourth in a row, dropping them into a first-place tie in the AL West with Oakland.

Mike Maroth (13-13) got the victory, allowing six runs on seven hits in six innings, striking out two and walking two. Craig Dingman pitched the ninth for his fourth save in five chances.

Athletics 6, Red Sox 2

Boston – Mark Kotsay singled in two runs before Curt Schilling recorded his first out, and Mark Ellis also drove in a pair of runs for Oakland as the Athletics beat Boston.

Joe Blanton (10-11) returned to his stingy ways, allowing just two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three in 61â3 innings. Before giving up four runs in his last outing, he had allowed two or fewer in nine consecutive starts.

Schilling (6-8) gave up a double and two singles on his first five pitches, then gave up another run on three straight singles in the second inning. In all, he allowed four runs on 11 hits and three walks in 62â3 innings.

Rangers 4, Mariners 3

Arlington, Texas – Michael Young reached 200 hits for the third straight season, and Gary Matthews Jr. had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly to lead Texas.