American League Roundup: Lester, Red Sox blank Rays

Red Sox 3, Rays 0

Boston – Jon Lester pitched into the eighth inning, Jason Bay homered in a three-run first, and the surging Red Sox beat Tampa on Monday night to move within a half-game of the struggling AL East leaders.

Playing before their 456th straight regular-season sellout crowd, a major-league record, the Red Sox closed within a half-game of the division lead for the first time since July 23.

Boston improved to 6-1 in its last seven games while Tampa Bay is 1-6 in that same stretch after losing its fourth straight. The Rays were shut out for the second consecutive day for the first time this year, having lost 1-0 at Toronto on Sunday. They also dropped to 0-7 at Fenway Park.

Orioles 14, Indians 3

Baltimore – Aubrey Huff hit a grand slam to cap a seven-run sixth inning, and Baltimore ended an eight-game losing streak by defeating Cleveland.

Luke Scott, Adam Jones and Ramon Hernandez also homered for the Orioles, who had lost 13 of 14. Jones ended an 0-for-16 skid with three hits and four RBIs.

Tigers 14, Athletics 8

Detroit – Gary Sheffield’s second home run of the night – a grand slam – was the 250,000th homer in major-league history, and it helped Detroit beat Oakland. Sheffield drove in five runs, including his 13th career slam. Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera and Mike Hessman also went deep for the Tigers, who won their third straight.

Angels 12, Yankees 1

Anaheim, Calif. – Ivan Rodriguez and Torii Hunter were ejected after a bench-clearing scuffle in the sixth inning.