Rangers Rolling as Blue Jays Reel

The Texas Rangers are building momentum heading into the postseason. The Toronto Blue Jays might be playing themselves out of the postseason.

Rafael Palmeiro set a team record with his 39th run batted in of the month and the Rangers sent the Blue Jays to their ninth consecutive home loss Sunday, 4-2.

The AL West-leading Rangers swept the three-game series and won their fourth in a row overall. Texas (79-52) moved 27 games over .500 for the first time in club history.

“We’re trying to build momentum, and we’re trying to get better and we’re trying to figure out how to be on full speed when we enter the playoffs,” Palmeiro said. “The Blue Jays are on a bad streak, but you can’t count them out yet.”

Toronto, which fell to four games back in the AL wild-card race, is in the midst of its second-worst home losing streak. The 1977 expansion Blue Jays dropped 11 in a row at Exhibition Stadium.

Tampa Bay 6, Cleveland 4--Roberto Hernandez retired Harold Baines and Jim Thome with the bases loaded to end the game and the Devil Rays defeated the Indians at Cleveland.

The Indians tried to rally in the ninth inning, loading the bases with one out. But Baines, who had gotten a big hit in each of his two games for Cleveland since being acquired in a recent trade with Baltimore, lined out to shortstop and Thome struck out looking.

Chicago 7, Oakland 2--Carlos Lee drove in four runs and James Baldwin won his fifth consecutive decision as the White Sox finally solved Kevin Appier and defeated the Athletics at Chicago.

Baldwin (9-11) gave up seven hits and two runs in six innings with three walks and seven strikeouts. Appier entered the game 4-0 against the White Sox this season, but gave up eight hits and seven runs with six walks in four-plus innings.

New York 11, Seattle 5--Ricky Ledee hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run in the fifth inning at New York and the Mariners committed three errors as they lost their eighth consecutive game to the Yankees.

The Yankees have won six of seven overall to move a season-high 31 games over .500 and one game ahead of Cleveland for the best record in the AL.

Minnesota 6, Kansas City 2--Corey Koskie homered and drove in four runs as the Twins defeated the Royals at Minneapolis for their fourth victory in a row and sixth in a row over the Royals.

Koskie hit a two-run homer in the second off Blake Stein (0-1). Koskie doubled home a run in the fourth and chased Stein with a run-scoring single in the sixth. Needing a triple for the cycle, Koskie drew a walk in the eighth.

Baltimore 11, Detroit 4--Albert Belle hit a team record-tying four doubles and the Orioles defeated the Tigers at Detroit to end a four-game losing streak.

Belle doubled in the fourth and added RBI doubles in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. He also scored three times as the Orioles won their final game at Tiger Stadium.