AMERICAN LEAGUE FINALS

Final Score: New York 8, Baltimore 5

Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - The Yankees answered the Orioles' six-homer showing in the series opener with three of their own Friday, as New York regained sole possession of first place in the AL East with an 8-5 victory at Camden Yards.

Final Score: Toronto 7, Boston 5

Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Henderson Alvarez worked 6 1/3 effective innings on Friday and the Toronto Blue Jays knocked off the Boston Red Sox, 7-5, in the opener of a three-game series at Fenway Park. Alvarez (8-12) allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and a strikeout to earn his first win since July 28. Darren Oliver, Steve Delabar and Brandon Lyon combined to finish the game out of the bullpen.

Final Score: Tampa Bay 3, Texas 1 (11 innings)

St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - Ben Zobrist's two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 3-1 win over the Texas Rangers in the opener of a three-game set. B.J. Upton worked a leadoff walk off Mark Lowe (0-1) before Zobrist smacked a shot into the seats in right field.

Final Score: Kansas City 7, Chicago 5

Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Lorenzo Cain's second home run of the game provided the difference against the White Sox, as his two-run blast in the ninth inning gave the Kansas City Royals a 7-5 victory in the opener of a three-game series at U.S. Cellular Field.

Final Score: Cleveland 7, Minnesota 6

Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Michael Brantley drove home the go-ahead run during a three-run seventh inning on Friday and the Cleveland Indians held on for a 7-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins in the opener of a four- game series at Target Field. Russ Canzler went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and three RBI, Shin-Soo Choo had an RBI single among his three hits and Cord Phelps contributed a pinch-hit RBI for the Indians, who have won three of their last four.

Final Score: LA Angels of Anaheim 3, Detroit 2

Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Alberto Callaspo singled in the game-winning run in the ninth inning, as the Angels continued their hot stretch with a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers in the opener of a three-game series. Kendrys Morales fell a homer short of the cycle, and his one-out single in the ninth started the game-winning rally against Octavio Dotel (5-3).

Final Score: Oakland 6, Seattle 1

Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - George Kottaras hit a three-run homer as the Oakland Athletics downed the Seattle Mariners, 6-1, in the first of three games at Safeco Field. Josh Donaldson and Stephen Drew also knocked in a run for Oakland, which snapped a three-game slide and remains a game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for an AL wild card spot.

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