Daisuke Matsuzaka equaled the record for the most season wins by a Japanese pitcher in the US majors as he steered the Boston Red Sox to a 8-0 win over the Chicago White Sox in the American League on Friday. Matsuzaka notched his 16th win of the season to tie the mark set by Hideo Nomo. He struck out seven and gave up only two hits in eight innings, while also cutting down on his usual number of walks, conceding only two. The result cut Chicago's lead in the AL Central to just half a game, while Boston remained 4-1/2 games behind AL East leader Tampa Bay but 2-1/2 games ahead of its nearest rival in the wildcard race. Dustin Pedroia had four hits, while Jason Bay drove in three runs for the Red Sox. Bay's three-run double in the sixth put Boston ahead 7-0 and gave him 27 RBIs in 25 games since arriving from Pittsburgh. Angels 3, Rangers 1: In Anaheim, California, Los Angeles beat Texas to extend its lead atop the AL West to 17. Garret Anderson hit a go-ahead two-run homer for the Angels, who now need to win at most 11 of their remaining 28 games to reach the playoffs. Los Angeles center fielder Torii Hunter robbed Marlon Byrd of a two-run shot to secure the win. Anderson, the Angels' all-time leader in hits and RBIs, drove a pitch over right field with one out in the sixth for his 14th homer. Texas led off the seventh with a double and Byrd followed with a towering drive toward the fence, where Hunter timed his leap perfectly and grabbed the ball with his glove hanging over the other side. Rays 14, Orioles 3: In St. Petersburg, Florida, Tampa Bay hammered Baltimore to guarantee it would end the season with its first ever positive win-loss record. The Rays notched their 82nd win to stay 4-1/2 games clear of Boston in the AL East race. Tampa Bay had never won more than 70 games in a season before. Twins 12, Athletics 2: In Oakland, California, Minnesota edged within half a game of the AL Central lead by routing Oakland. Yankees 2, Blue Jays 1; Mariners 3, Indians 2; Tigers 6, Royals 3. Mets beat Marlins Carlos Beltran hit a grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning off Kevin Gregg and the bullpen held on for the New York Mets to top the Florida Marlins 5-4 in the National League on Friday. Before Beltran's homer, the Mets were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Trailing 2-1, they left the bases loaded in the seventh and stranded two in the eighth. New York was down to its final strike when Luis Castillo singled on a 1-2 pitch. David Wright also singled, Carlos Delgado was hit by a pitch and Beltran pulled the first pitch over the right-field wall. Beltran's homer was his 20th, and he drove in all five New York runs. Cubs 3, Phillies 2: At Chicago, Alfonso Soriano hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, and Chicago beat Philadelphia for its seventh straight win. Soriano's first homer in 15 days and 23rd of the season came off Clay Condrey (3-4). Chicago made the most of four hits and improved to a major league-best 85-50, including 51-19 at Wrigley Field. Philadelphia had put runners at the corners with two outs in the top of the seventh before Ryan Howard's hard grounder went off Derrek Lee. The first baseman retrieved the ball and flipped to pitcher Jeff Samardzija for the out, but replays showed Howard beat the throw. Phillies third-base coach Steve Smith was ejected by plate umpire Bill Welke during the ensuing argument. Brewers 3, Pirates 1; Astros 3, Cardinals 2; Red 11, Giants 7; Nationals 7, Braves 3.
