Ortiz sets BoSox dinger mark

Boston ends Minnesota's brief stay atop AL Central

? David Ortiz’s fans cheered him and his teammates hugged him. Even the ace pitcher who gave up the slugger’s record-breaking homer was happy for him.

Boston’s designated hitter homered against Johan Santana in the first inning to pass Jimmie Foxx’s team record of 50 set in 1938 and added his 52nd drive in the seventh to help the Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 6-0 Thursday night.

Santana picked up his first loss since the All-Star break and the Twins stayed a half-game behind AL Central-leading Detroit, which lost to Baltimore 4-3 earlier Thursday.

Ortiz’s first-inning homer far over the Red Sox bullpen in right-center field provided a memorable moment in a forgettable season. Boston is 81â2 games back of the Twins for the wild card. The lefty slugger added an even longer shot into the center-field bleachers in the seventh.

“Great feeling, especially doing it here at home in front of my fans,” Ortiz said.

The loss ended the Twins’ three-hour stay in first place in the division and Santana’s unbeaten record since the break.

“I’m very proud of all he’s accomplished in his career. It’s unbelievable,” said Santana (18-6), who came up in the Twins’ system with Ortiz. “The only way I wasn’t going to give up a home run to him was not to throw the ball.”

On a rare off night, Santana was outpitched by Josh Beckett (16-10), who allowed six hits, struck out five in eight innings and passed the career high in wins he set last year. He walked none and allowed just one runner past second base.

Orioles 4, Tigers 3

Baltimore – Melvin Mora doubled in two runs in the eighth inning to help the Orioles rally for the win.

Detroit retained its half-game lead in the AL Central when the second-place Minnesota Twins lost 6-0 at Boston.

Kris Benson (11-11) allowed three runs and eight hits in eight innings for the Orioles. He walked off the mound with Baltimore trailing by a run, but ended up earning his first win since Aug. 18.

Fernando Rodney (7-4) allowed two runs and two hits in one inning to get the loss.

Athletics 7, Indians 4

Oakland, Calif. – Rich Harden struck out seven in a strong return from the disabled list and Jason Kendall hit a pair of two-run singles for Oakland.

The first-place A’s reduced their magic number to four to win their first division title since 2003 and lead the idle Los Angeles Angels by seven games heading into the teams’ key three-game series starting tonight.

Chad Gaudin (3-2) pitched 11â3 innings to get the win for the A’s, who won for the seventh time in eight games.

Mariners 9, White Sox 0

Chicago – Raul Ibanez drove in three runs and Adrian Beltre hit a ninth-inning grand slam as Seattle handed Chicago its sixth loss in seven games.

The defending World Series champions, who have nine games left this season, dropped six games behind AL Central-leading Detroit and 5 1â2 games behind Minnesota, which heads the wild-card race. The Tigers and Twins both lost Thursday.