hot Tampa Bay Rays improved their Major League Baseball playoff hopes by moving to within two games of rivals Boston for the American League wild card spot with an 8-5 win over the slumping Red Sox Sunday. The Rays (85-67), who trailed Boston (87-65) by nine games as recently as two weeks ago, have won seven of their last 10 to close the gap. Both have 10 games remaining. Rangers 3, Mariners 0: Adrian Beltre got the best of friend and former teammate Felix Hernandez, hitting a two-strike pitch for a two-run homer in the fourth inning and propelling the Texas Rangers to victory over the Seattle Mariners. Beltre lined his 27th homer of the season into the bullpens in left field, then playfully jawed with Hernandez (14-13) as he approached home plate. It was just Beltre's second hit of the three-game series, both home runs. It was an important victory for Texas, remaining 4½ games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West after the Angels beat Baltimore earlier Sunday. Angels 11, Orioles 2: Erick Aybar went 4 for 4, homered twice and tied a franchise record by scoring five runs, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles to avert a three-game sweep. Vernon Wells also connected for the Angels, who are frantically pursuing a postseason berth. Los Angeles began the day 4½ games in back of division-leading Texas and five games behind Boston in the wild-card hunt. Blue Jays 3, Yankees 0: Mariano Rivera was denied a chance to go for the career saves record when Adam Lind homered twice to back Brandon Morrow and lead the Toronto Blue Jays over the New York Yankees. In other games it was: White Sox 10, Royals 5; Indians 6, Twins 5; Tigers 3, Athletics 0. In the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers inched closer to clinching the Central division by capping a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds 8-1. The defending World Series champion San Francisco, trying to claw its way into the playoffs, beat Colorado 12-5 to move within four games of wild card-leading Atlanta who lost to the New York Mets 7-5. San Francisco trail Arizona by five games in the NL West. In other games it was: Nationals 4, Marlins 3; Astros 3, Cubs 3; Diamondbacks 5, Padres 1; Dodgers 15, Pirates 1; Cardinals 5, Phillies 0.
