Matt Harrison pitched seven strong innings for his career-high 10th victory, Nelson Cruz homered, and the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 9-2 on Monday night. Harrison (10-8) allowed two runs and five hits with six strikeouts and no walks in 104-degree heat, surpassing his nine-win rookie season in 2008. Cruz, Mitch Moreland and Yorvit Torrealba all had three hits for the AL West-leading Rangers, who stretched their lead over second-place Los Angeles to 1 1-2 games. The Angels had the night off. Red Sox 8, Twins 6: In Minneapolis, David Ortiz had four hits and three RBIs, delivering the go-ahead single with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Boston Red Sox to a victory over the Minnesota Twins. Ortiz, a former Twin, hit a two-run homer in the sixth and finished a triple shy of the cycle. Jarrod Saltalamacchia added a homer and two RBIs to help the Red Sox win for the fifth time in seven games and move 1½ games ahead of the idle New York Yankees in the AL East. Jason Kubel had a homer among his three hits and two RBIs for the Twins, who have lost five in a row. White Sox 7, Orioles 6: In Baltimore, A.J. Pierzynski homered and drove in three runs, and Alex Rios singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning to help Chicago to its fourth straight victory. Gordon Beckham also connected for the White Sox, who blew a four-run lead before rallying to secure their season-high sixth consecutive road win. Rays 2, Royals 1: In St Petersburg, Fla. Casey Kotchman led off the ninth inning with a home run and also hit a run-scoring single to lift Tampa Bay. Kotchman drove the first pitch from Blake Wood (5-1) over the center field fence. Rays closer Kyle Farnsworth (4-1) pitched a perfect ninth to earn the win. Luke Hochevar allowed one run and five hits over seven innings for the Royals.
