Chicago ? Nick Punto hit an RBI single with two outs in the 11th and the Twins increased their AL wild-card lead to 11â2 games by beating the White Sox, 8-7.

Jermaine Dye’s two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth off Minnesota closer Joe Nathan tied it at 7, but the Twins used a small-ball approach to push across the game winner against Matt Thornton (4-2).

Pinch-hitter Lew Ford led off the 11th with a single, moved to second on Jason Bartlett’s sacrifice and to third on Luis Castillo’s grounder. Punto then hit the ball the other way past diving Chicago first baseman Ross Gload to score Ford.

Willie Eyre (1-0) pitched two innings for the win.

Athletics 5, Rangers 3

Arlington, Texas – Joe Blanton pitched 62â3 innings and Nick Swisher homered in the Athletics’ win.

Indians 8, Tigers 5

Cleveland – Rookie Joe Inglett’s two-run triple off Justin Verlander highlighted Cleveland’s six-run fifth inning that sent the Indians to the win.

Angels 12, Yankees 7

Anaheim, Calif. – Rookie Howie Kendrick went 4-for-4 with a tiebreaking homer, Garret Anderson homered and drove in four runs.

Orioles 3, Devil Rays 2

Baltimore – Ramon Hernandez singled in the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Orioles to the win.

Mariners 4, Red Sox 3

Seattle – Pinch-hitter Ben Broussard hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning for Seattle.

National League

Cardinals 2, Cubs 1

St. Louis – Chris Carpenter pitched eight sharp innings.

Mets 11, Phillies 5

New York – Shawn Green delivered his first big hit for the Mets, a go-ahead double during a seven-run rally in the seventh inning.

Astros 7, Pirates 4

Pittsburgh – Andy Pettitte made another effective start against Pittsburgh and Houston won consecutive games for the first time in more than two weeks.

Marlins 7, Brewers 2

Miami – Dontrelle Willis pitched seven innings to help Florida win its sixth straight game.

Giants 4, Reds 1

San Francisco – Shea Hillenbrand homered and Noah Lowry won back-to-back starts for the first time all season for the Giants.

Braves 10, Nationals 1

Atlanta – John Smoltz allowed one run and three hits in eight innings for the Braves.

Dodgers 4, Diamondbacks 3

Phoenix- Jeff Kent homered to lead off the ninth inning.

Padres 5, Rockies 2

Denver – Clay Hensley scattered seven hits over seven innings.