OAKLAND, Calif. - Barry Zito finally got a little good fortune, and the Athletics finally pushed ahead of Boston in the wild-card race.
Zito pitched into the sixth for his first win since July 3, and Eric Chavez and Terrence Long homered during Oakland's five-run first as the A's beat the Red Sox 5-3 Tuesday night.
Zito ended his five-game losing streak and six weeks of frustration with a strong beginning and a shaky finish against baseball's most prolific lineup. The Cy Young Award winner allowed six hits and three runs while laboring through 101 pitches in 51/3 innings.
Oakland relievers Chad Bradford and Keith Foulke escaped tough jams as the A's hung on for their 11th win in 13 games at the Coliseum. Foulke, in one of the best performances of his outstanding season, pitched the final two innings for his 29th save in 33 chances.
With their second straight win in a key four-game series, the A's pulled one game ahead of the Red Sox atop the wild-card chase, though both second-place clubs are more focused on their tight division races. Oakland has been nipping at Boston's heels for six weeks but hadn't pulled ahead until this head-to-head matchup.
Jason Varitek drove in Boston's first runs of the series with a three-run double in the fifth, and Johnny Damon had three hits as the Red Sox lost for the fifth time in six games.
Boston outfielder Trot Nixon and manager Grady Little were ejected in the seventh. Nixon was tossed for arguing a called third strike, and plate umpire Dan Iassogna ejected Little after the manager argued Nixon's dismissal.
Zito faced the minimum 13 batters through 41/3 innings before Boston's rally in the fifth. Six of Boston's final nine hitters against Zito reached, but Bradford induced an inning-ending double play in the sixth.
Zito wasn't nearly as sharp as Tim Hudson, who faced 28 batters in a two-hit, 4-0 victory in the series opener, but after being victimized by blown leads and meager support all season, Zito got some breaks.
Boston had two in scoring position and nobody out when Foulke entered in the eighth, but Oakland's closer got three quick outs.
YANKEES 6, ROYALS 0: With Mike Mussina in command of six or seven pitches, he had little trouble taking command of Kansas City.
One day after the host Royals rapped out a team-record 11 doubles, Mussina held them to four hits in eight masterful innings for New York.
Jorge Posada was 4-for-5 as the East leaders snapped a three-game skid and stopped the Central leaders' three-game winning streak.
"I think the stuff was okay today," Mussina said. "I thought I had pretty good life on my fastball. I threw some slow curves in there. But the splitter was useful again."
Mussina, who improved to 13-6 against the Royals and 7-1 at Kauffman Stadium, struck out five and walked four. He said he had about six or seven pitches working for him.
"I can't tell you for sure. Some days I've got five or six and some days I'm thinking up more than that. It just depends on what's necessary."
MARINERS 3, BLUE JAYS 1: Freddy Garcia snapped a career-worst six-game losing streak, outpitching Roy Halladay for host Seattle.
Edgar Martinez's run-scoring double put the Mariners ahead for good. Garcia overcame a shaky start, winning for the first time in eight starts since beating Anaheim 6-4 on June 24.
He gave up four hits and five walks in 61/3 innings, striking out four. During his past seven starts, Garcia was 0-6 with a 10.03 ERA.
INDIANS 9, TWINS 6: Ryan Ludwick hit two home runs and visiting Cleveland rallied to end Minnesota's four-game winning streak.
Ludwick, Angel Santos and Casey Blake homered during a four-run seventh that put the Indians ahead 8-4. Ludwick had the first multihomer game of his career as Cleveland improved to 6-3 against the Twins this season.
TIGERS 7, RANGERS 4: Jeremy Bonderman pitched seven solid innings and Brandon Inge had three RBIs as visiting Detroit spoiled Texas starter Juan Dominguez's major-league debut.
