ANAHEIM, Calif. - Troy Glaus drove in three to back a strong outing by John Lackey, and the Angels beat Oakland 6-2 Sunday to pull within one game of the West-leading Athletics with a week to play.
Mark Mulder was knocked out in the fourth inning, his shortest outing this season. Oakland, which has had sole possession of the division lead since Aug. 6, dropped to 10-14 in September.
After taking two of three from the A's, Anaheim goes to Texas for a four-game series starting today before closing with three games at Oakland. The A's, who hold a two-game lead over the Rangers, host Seattle for four games starting today.
Lackey gave up two runs and four hits in seven innings, evening the season series at eight.
Glaus and David Eckstein homered for Anaheim, which pulled away with two runs in the eighth off Arthur Rhodes.
Mulder gave up four runs and six hits in 32/3 innings, his second straight poor performance. Tuesday, he lasted four innings in a 9-4 loss at Texas, giving up nine runs for the first time since Aug. 10, 2000.
Eric Chavez hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Oakland's first run in the first, but Glaus' run-scoring single tied it in the bottom half.
Adam Riggs, the replacement for suspended outfielder Jose Guillen, gave the Angels a 2-1 lead with a double off the centerfield wall in the second, and Glaus hit a two-run homer in the third that made it 4-1.
One of Lackey's two wild pitches led to Oakland's second run, scoring Eric Byrnes in the fifth.
Oakland put two on with one out in the eighth, but Erubiel Durazo flied out against Francisco Rodriguez - Durazo was so frustrated, he tapped his bat against his helmet - and Jermaine Dye grounded out.
Bengie Molina squeezed home a run for the Angels in the bottom half, and Eckstein homered in the inning.
MARINERS 9, RANGERS 0: Texas might not be in a must-win situation, but it's hurting its playoff chances with each loss.
The host Rangers managed three hits off rookies Cha Seung Baek and Scott Atchison in a loss to last-place Seattle.
"Any loss at this point is a tough loss," shortstop Michael Young said. "We realize this loss is not the end of the season, but it does make it tougher on us."
The Rangers started their final homestand with a three-game sweep of West-leading Oakland against the starting trio of Mark Mulder, Barry Zito and Tim Hudson. They got within two games but missed a chance to get closer by losing two of three to Seattle.
A surprise contender after four straight last-place finishes, the Rangers end the regular season this weekend at Seattle.
"What's shorter than a sprint? A dash. How about a leap?" manager Buck Showalter said. "There is still an opportunity for us if we keep grinding."
Ichiro Suzuki moved within six of the season hits record, going 1-for-4 with an intentional walk. His sixth-inning single raised his total to 251 with seven games left to reach the record of 257 set by George Sisler in 1920.
Baek allowed three hits in eight innings, and Atchison pitched a perfect ninth to complete Seattle's seventh shutout of the season.
"To shut out this team in this ballpark is impressive. It's about as good as it gets," Mariners manager Bob Melvin said.
TWINS 6, INDIANS 2: Omar Vizquel got a warm sendoff in possibly his final home game for Cleveland, and Minnesota reached 90 wins for the third straight season.
Vizquel, the Indians' wildly popular shortstop, went 1-for-4 in the team's home finale, perhaps his last time wearing Cleveland's white jersey.
Carlos Silva allowed one run and eight hits in seven innings, improving to 4-0 in his past eight starts.
WHITE SOX 5, ROYALS 1: Jon Garland pitched into the ninth and Wilson Valdez hit his first career homer to lead Chicago. Former South Florida standout Ross Gload also homered for the White Sox, who have 145 at home, second in history to Colorado's 149 in 1996.
ORIOLES 5, TIGERS 0: Rodrigo Lopez pitched a three-hitter for his second career shutout, and host Baltimore completed its first season sweep of Detroit.
