Reid Brignac homered on a full count pitch leading off the bottom of the 11th inning Monday to send the Tampa Bay Rays into first place in the American League East with a 1-0 victory over the New York Yankees. Brignac connected off Sergio Mitre (0-3), the fourth Yankees reliever that followed CC Sabathia, who pitched eight scoreless innings in pursuit of his Major League-leading 20th win. Grant Balfour (2-1) pitched one inning to get the win for the Rays, who pulled ahead of the defending world champions for the division lead. The Yankees have lost a season-high four straight and managed just four hits - three off 17-game winner David Price - as the teams began a stretch in which they'll meet seven times over 11 days. Orioles 4, Blue Jays 3, 11 innings: At Baltimore, Luke Scott singled in the winning run in the 11th inning as Baltimore ended a 12-game losing streak against Toronto. Brian Roberts homered for the Orioles, now 1-12 against Toronto this season. Those 12 losses came before manager Buck Showalter arrived in Baltimore and rejuvenated a 32-73 team that has gone 24-15 since his debut on Aug. 3. Nick Markakis led off the 11th with a single off Brian Tallet (2-6). After a groundout by Ty Wigginton advanced Markakis, Scott lined a single to center that easily brought home the decisive run. Athletics 3, Royals 1: At Kansas City, Missouri, Bobby Cramer, a former teacher who started this season in the Mexican League, won his big league debut by pitching Oakland over Kansas City. Cramer held the Royals to one run and four hits in 5 1-3 innings. He struck out four and walked one. Cramer (1-0), a left-hander who turns 31 next month, started his pro career in 2003 in the Tampa Bay system. He was a high school math teacher and worked in pipeline maintenance while out of baseball in 2005-06, and played in an independent league in 2008. Red Sox 5, Mariners 1: At Seattle, Jon Lester held Seattle to just three hits over eight innings in Boston's win over the Mariners. Lester (17-8) has won four straight decisions and six of his last seven starts. He gave up three singles, two to Chone Figgins, walked three and struck 12. It's the seventh time this season he has struck out 10 or more. Lester now is tied for second in the American League in wins. He is third in strikeouts (208), eighth in ERA (3.17), and tied for third in opponents batting average (.220).
