Rays sting Red Sox with four home runs

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – The Tampa Bay Rays crept closer to Boston in the tightening American League East race, beating the Red Sox, 6-4, on Wednesday.

Carlos Peña, Carl Crawford, Pat Burrell and Jason Bartlett all homered as Tampa Bay made it successive wins over Boston, moving within three games of the Red Sox.

Facing Boston for the first time since last season’s AL championship series, Rays pitcher David Price allowed only two runs in six innings to improve to 5-1 at home compared to 0-3 with an 8.20 ERA on the road.

Peña hit a two-run homer in the second inning. Crawford, celebrating his 28th birthday, went deep with a man on in the third. Burrell added a solo shot for a 5-2 lead in the sixth. Jason Bartlett sent one out in the seventh.

In Chicago, Jim Thome homered twice, giving him 561 for his career, as Chicago downed Los Angeles, 6-2.

Thome hit a three-run shot in the sixth – his second of the game and 20th of the season. With 561 homers, the 38-year-old is now only two homers behind Reggie Jackson, who is in 12th place all-time.

Gavin Floyd pitched into the ninth for the White Sox, who won their fifth in six games. Floyd, aided by three double plays, allowed two runs in eight-plus innings.

In Toronto, Johnny Damon hit a solo home run and had three RBIs in New York’s 8-4 win over Toronto.

Nick Swisher also connected for the Yankees, who used a four-run seventh inning to win their third straight game.

The AL East-leading Yankees, winless in eight games against second-placed Boston, return home to open a four-game series against the Red Sox Thursday.

In Oakland, California, Adam Kennedy hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning, helping Oakland beat Texas for the third straight time, 7-5. (AP)