ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Six straight wins. Eleven in a row at home. First place in the AL East.

The Tampa Bay Rays realize it's only mid-May, but they're having a ball during the best start in franchise history.

"I've been around a long time. It's early, but I love the way we're doing it by not giving in to anyone," veteran closer Troy Percival said last night after Gabe Gross singled with no outs in the 11th inning to drive in the first run Mariano Rivera has allowed all season in a 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees.

"We're winning close games against good teams," Percival said. "The way we're fighting, you can see it's not a fluke."

Cliff Floyd began the 11th with a single and pinch-runner Jonny Gomes stole second before Gross delivered the winner up the middle on a 1-1 pitch. Rivera (0-1) had not allowed a run in 14 previous appearances.

J.P. Howell (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, the Rays' 15th in their past 20 games.

Even sweeter, they're a half-game ahead of Boston in the AL East after the Red Sox lost 5-4 at Baltimore. It's the first time the Rays have sat alone atop the division standings beyond the first week of a season.

"It's great to be here, and a big part of it is the confidence derived from it," manager Joe Maddon said, adding that he thinks his young team has the capability of remaining in the race. "Nobody's cocky or complacent. Everybody's coming to the ballpark with the right attitude."

At 23-16, the Rays are seven games over .500 for the first time in the team's 11 seasons. They've finished last nine times in the past decade.

INDIANS 4, ATHLETICS 0: Paul Byrd (2-3) allowed five hits over 7 1/3 innings, two relievers finished up the six-hitter, and Ryan Garko hit a three-run homer as host Cleveland beat Oakland with its fourth shutout in seven games.

Orioles 5, Red Sox 4: Luke Scott hit a three-run homer off Josh Beckett (4-3), who came in 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA in four career starts at Camden Yards, and Jeremy Guthrie (2-3) allowed three runs and eight hits in six-plus innings to help host Baltimore beat Boston.

Royals 3, Tigers 2: Jose Guillen drove in two runs and Esteban German, pinch running for Guillen, who doubled with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, scored on error to help Kansas City beat Detroit. Joakim Soria worked a perfect ninth to earn his ninth save.

Blue Jays 5, Twins 3: Matt Stairs homered and scored twice, and Lyle Overbay and Shannon Stewart each had two hits, including RBI doubles, as Toronto held on to hand Minnesota only its second loss in its last 13 home games.

Rangers 5, Mariners 2: Ramon Vazquez broke a 2-all tie with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth inning, then added an RBI single to trigger a two-run eighth as Texas beat Seattle for its 12th victory in its last 14 games.

Angels 2, White Sox 0: Jered Weaver gave up one hit in seven innings, Scot Shields (2-0) pitched one inning for the win and Francisco Rodriguez got three outs for his major league-leading 16th save to complete the three-hitter as host Los Angeles beat Chicago.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

REDS 5, MARLINS 3: Edinson Volquez (6-1) allowed one earned run, a season-high seven hits, and struck out five — to increase his league-best total to 57 — over six innings, and Joey Votto homered to lead host Cincinnati over Florida.

Padres 4, Cubs 3: Khalil Greene hit a three-run homer, Shawn Estes (1-0) gave up three runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings for his first victory since 2005, and Trevor Hoffman pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save, and 531st of his career, as host San Diego beat Chicago.

Mets 6, Nationals 3: Ryan Church homered, doubled and drove in four runs against his former team and John Maine (5-2) allowed two runs and two hits over six innings, retiring 11 of the last 12 batters he faced, to lead host New York over Washington.

Phillies 5, Braves 4: Jayson Werth drove in four runs and Kyle Kendrick (3-2) shook off a shaky three-run first inning and allowed three runs and six hits over six innings as host Philadelphia beat Atlanta. The Braves' Chipper Jones went 3 for 4, raising his major league-leading average to .415.

Brewers 5, Dodgers 3: Ryan Braun, coming off two consecutive two-homer games, had a two-out, two-run double off the left field wall in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 5-3 lead, and Eric Gagne pitched the ninth for his 10th save as Milwaukee beat Los Angeles.

Pirates 8, Cardinals 4: Ronny Paulino drove in the go-ahead run in a four-run top of the 10th inning and Adam LaRoche added a three-run double to lead Pittsburgh past St. Louis for its seventh win in eight games.

Giants 4, Astros 2: Matt Cain (2-3) hit a solo home run and allowed two runs on seven hits over eight innings for his first victory in three starts, and San Francisco started the bottom of the first inning with three consecutive extra-base hits and a passed ball for a 3-0 lead to end Houston's four-game winning streak.

Diamondbacks 8, Rockies 4: Backed by Stephen Drew's three-run homer, Randy Johnson (3-1) gave up four runs and nine hits over five shaky innings for his 287th career victory as host Arizona hammered Colorado starter Jeff Francis (0-4), a 17-game winner a year ago.