The Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Alfonso Soriano tied a major-league record with his 12th leadoff homer of the season, sending Jose Contreras and the New York Yankees over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2-1 Friday night.

The Yankees won for the 11th time in 13 games and reduced their magic number for clinching their sixth straight AL East title to five.

Soriano hit his 33rd homer, connecting against Doug Waechter (3-1) on the third pitch of the game. Soriano matched the single-season mark for leadoff homers set by Baltimore's Brady Anderson in 1996.

It was the 20th leadoff homer of Soriano's career and extended New York's major-league mark for leadoff homers in a season to 14.

White Sox 8, Royals 5

CHICAGO - Frank Thomas broke out of a slump with three hits for Chicago, which trails Minnesota by 3 1/2 games in the AL Central. Third-place Kansas City is 5 1/2 games out.

Mark Buehrle (14-13) went 7 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits and five runs, and won his third straight start for the White Sox.

Twins 6, Tigers 2

MINNEAPOLIS - Eric Milton won a regular-season game for the first time in more than a year, and Minnesota posted its seventh straight victory. The Twins cut their magic number for clinching the division to six.

Detroit (38-115) lost its seventh game in a row and needs at least five wins in its last nine games to avoid matching the modern-era record of 120 losses by the 1962 New York Mets.

Rangers 3, Angels 2

ARLINGTON, Texas - Mark Teixeira drove in two runs and Michael Young had three hits as Texas sent Anaheim to its eighth defeat in its last 10 games.

Red Sox 2, Indians 0

CLEVELAND - John Burkett pitched into the eighth inning and Nomar Garciaparra homered for Boston, which entered the game with a 2 1/2-game lead over Seattle in the race for the AL wild card.

The Indians were shut out for just the fourth time this season, an AL low.

Blue Jays 5, Orioles 2

BALTIMORE - Vernon Wells went 4-for-4, and Carlos Delgado drove in two runs for Toronto to back a solid pitching effort by Kelvim Escobar.

Needing a home run for the cycle, Wells singled in a three-run eighth that gave the Blue Jays their fourth straight victory and clinched third place in the AL East for a sixth straight season. Wells' four hits increased his league-leading hit total to 207, and the two RBI upped Delgado's total to an AL-best 130.

Larry Bigbie homered for the Orioles, who have lost seven of their last 10 games.

Mariners 6, Athletics 1

OAKLAND, Calif. - Edgar Martinez had four hits, and John Olerud hit a two-run homer as Seattle closed within four games of AL West-leading Oakland. The Mariners and Athletics play five more times in the final nine days of the regular season.

Ryan Franklin (10-13) allowed one run and four hits in eight innings for his first win in six starts. Tim Hudson (15-7), who had been 2-0 against Seattle this year, gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings.