Chicago ? The Chicago White Sox keep wasting opportunities.

Jorge Cantu hit a two-run single in the 10th inning, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the White Sox, 5-3, Thursday to keep Chicago from pulling within 31â2 games of first-place Detroit in the AL Central.

“We don’t do any good when Detroit is losing and we’re losing,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “We need to win the most games we can, and obviously it would have been nice to win today and be one game (closer), but we didn’t. Watching the scoreboard right now is too much, at least for me.”

Chicago, which remained a half-game ahead of Minnesota in the AL wild-card race, has not been within 31â2 games of first since before play on July 19.

“This is a game we should’ve won. We had chances, and we just didn’t get it done,” said A.J. Pierzynski, whose two-run homer in the sixth gave the White Sox a 3-2 lead. Dioner Navarro tied it with an eighth-inning homer off Matt Thornton.

With Pierzynski’s homer, the defending World Series champions became the first major-league team to hit 200 homers in seven straight seasons.

“Congratulations,” Guillen said sarcastically. The New York Yankees have hit 200 homers in the past six seasons and have 167 this year.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Pierzynski said. “It’s nice we’ve hit 200 home runs, but we needed to win this game.”

After winning two of three from Tampa Bay, the White Sox head to Kansas City for a weekend series.

Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 4

Boston – Alex Rios gave the Red Sox an unusual lift that stopped Boston’s six-game losing streak. Trying to catch Alex Cora’s seventh-inning fly about 10 feet from the right-field fence, Rios juggled the ball and accidentally knocked it over the wall for a two-run homer that boosted the reeling Red Sox over Toronto.

Rios drifted back toward the three-foot fence and was in position to make the catch. The ball hit his glove and bounced toward his bare right hand. He tried to catch it barehanded, but instead swatted it into the stands.

Rangers 7, Orioles 5

Arlington, Texas – Gary Matthews Jr. led off with a home run to end Daniel Cabrera’s scoreless streak, and Texas defeated Baltimore. Mark Teixeira homered in his third straight game for Texas. Carlos Lee had a home run and an RBI double, but was also charged with an error when he knocked a ball out of Matthews’ glove in the outfield that led to an unearned run.

Yankees 6, Tigers 4

New York – Alex Rodriguez snapped out of a 1-for-24 slump with three hits, including his 27th home run, backing Randy Johnson and leading New York over Detroit. Rodriguez connected leading off the seventh inning and was called out of the dugout for a curtain call.