Baseball report: Red Sox rout Rays

Ryan Kalish hit a grand slam, David Ortiz had a two-run shot and Adrian Beltre hit a solo homer last night to lead the Boston Red Sox over visiting Tampa Bay, 12-5. Jon Lester (16-8) pitched six solid innings, striking out 10. The Rays lost their third straight and stayed 21/2 games behind the Yankees.

Twins 5, Royals 4

Jason Kubel hit a two-run homer to break a 2-2 tie in the fifth and Jim Thome launched a 480-foot shot for his 585th career homer moments later.

White Sox 5, Tigers 4

A.J. Pierzynski hit a go-ahead single in the 10th inning and finished with three RBIs for visiting Chicago's seventh straight win.

Blue Jays 7, Rangers 2

Vernon Wells' three-run homer, Aaron Hill's two-run blast and Yunel Escobar's solo shot lifted host Toronto.

Giants 2, Diamondbacks 0

Nate Schierholtz hit a two-run triple in the 11th inning for visiting San Francisco.

Phillies split

Adalberto Mendez pitched one-hit ball for six scoreless innings in his major-league debut before suffering a quadriceps cramp as visiting Florida beat the Phillies, 7-1, in the opener of a day-night doubleheader. In Game 2, Roy Oswalt pitched seven effective innings and Placido Polanco had a double, a triple and two RBIs as the Phillies moved within a half-game of Atlanta with a 7-4 win.

Pirates 3, Braves 1

Neil Walker hit a two-run homer and Brian Burres limited visiting Atlanta to one run in six innings. - AP