Oakland, Calif. ? Forget AL Comeback Player of the Year. Frank Thomas is making a case for MVP.

Thomas hit his 37th home run, passed the 100-RBI mark and helped Oakland beat his former team, leading the Athletics over the Chicago White Sox, 7-4, Saturday.

“To us he’s definitely the MVP,” A’s second baseman Mark Ellis said. “It’s hard to argue with Jermaine (Dye), but as far as importance to a team? I think Frank is more important to this team than others are to their teams. Yes, I’d vote for him.”

Thomas drove in four runs for the AL West-leading A’s, who won their third in a row. Thomas has 485 career homers and has 102 RBIs, the 11th time in his career that he’s reached the century mark.

Tigers 2, Orioles 0

Detroit – Nate Robertson pitched eight strong innings, outdueling Kris Benson. Robertson (13-12) had his fourth impressive start in a row, allowing six hits and walking one.

Twins 4, Indians 1

Cleveland – Carlos Silva pitched seven strong innings to outduel C.C. Sabathia, and Mike Redmond had three RBIs.

Blue Jays 6, Devil Rays 1

Toronto – Adam Lind hit a line drive that struck Tampa Bay reliever Edwin Jackson and forced him to leave the game.

Rangers 12, Angels 6

Arlington, Texas – Chone Figgins hit for the cycle, but Texas’ Michael Young reached 200 hits.

Red Sox 5-5, Yankees 2-7

New York – Derek Jeter had hits in both games to extend his hitting streak to 25 games.

National League

Phillies 7, Astros 2

Houston – Cole Hamels pitched hitless ball for 62â3 innings.

Pirates 3, Mets 2

Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh prevented New York from clinching the NL East.

Padres 11, Dodgers 2

Los Angeles – Mike Cameron, Todd Walker and Adrian Gonzalez hit two-run homers in an eight-run third.

Nationals 8, Brewers 5

Washington – Alfonso Soriano became the fourth player in major-league history to record 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season. Jose Canseco (Oakland, 1988), Barry Bonds (San Francisco, 1996) and Alex Rodriguez (Seattle, 1998) are the other 40-40 players.

Braves 2, Marlins 1

Atlanta – John Smoltz won for the first time in four starts, and Marcus Giles had an RBI double in the seventh.

Cubs 4, Reds 0

Chicago – Rich Hill pitched a two-hitter for his first major-league shutout, and Jacque Jones homered.

Cardinals 6, Giants 1

St. Louis – Chris Carpenter carried a shutout into the eighth for his 100th career win.