The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS - Esteban Loaiza will have to wait for another chance at 20 wins, and the Minnesota Twins moved a step closer to their second straight division title.

Brad Radke beat Loaiza for the second time in six days as the Twins stretched their AL Central lead over the Chicago White Sox to 1 1/2 games with a 5-2 victory Tuesday.

Torii Hunter and rookie Michael Ryan each had two hits as the Twins took advantage of some uncharacteristic wildness in the shortest start of the season by Chicago's Cy Young candidate.

Loaiza (19-8) walked five in 2 1/3 innings. He entered tied for seventh in the league in fewest walks per nine innings (2.0).

The Twins have been alone in first place for two straight days, the first time that has happened since June 22-23.

Rangers 10, Mariners 5

ARLINGTON, Texas - Alex Rodriguez hit his major league-leading 44th homer and rookie Laynce Nix homered twice to lead Texas.

Hank Blalock had a three-run homer for the Rangers, who dropped Seattle 2 1/2 games behind Boston in the AL wild-card race. The Mariners have lost three straight games and are 6-8 in September.

Red Sox 3, Devil Rays 2

BOSTON - Pedro Martinez pitched a six-hitter for his 100th win with Boston, and the Red Sox used a two-run eighth inning to rally for their third straight victory.

Yankees 6, Orioles 3

BALTIMORE - Roger Clemens moved into a tie for 17th place on the career victory list, allowing two earned runs in seven innings for New York.

Clemens (15-9) allowed three runs and seven hits in his 308th victory, tying with Hall of Famer Hoss Radbourn.

Royals 12, Indians 8

CLEVELAND - Joe Randa and Rondell White hit three-run homers as Kansas City powered through a sloppy, error-filled game for its fourth straight win. The teams combined for 25 hits and six errors.

Blue Jays 9, Tigers 6

DETROIT - Frank Catalanotto singled home the go-ahead run in a four-run seventh inning, and Toronto handed Detroit its 112th loss.

The Tigers (38-112) tied the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates (42-112) and 1965 New York Mets (50-112) for the seventh most losses in a major-league season.

They moved within five losses of the American League record, set by the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (36-117), and need five or more wins in their last 12 games to avoid the post-1900 major-league mark, set by the 1962 Mets.

Angels 6, Athletics 5

Scott Spiezio hit a three-run homer off Jim Mecir (2-3) in the ninth at Anaheim, ending Oakland's seven-game winning streak. The A's maintained their 4 1/2-game lead in the AL West over Seattle.

Derrick Turnbow (1-0) got his first major league victory with a scoreless ninth.