BOSTON — The surging Red Sox are one win from passing Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.

A message from both teams: Don't be deceived by the Rays' recent slide.

"Obviously, they're still in first place and everybody knows why," Coco Crisp said after Boston's 3-0 win last night, "because they have a good team."

A good team that, for two straight games, hasn't scored a single run. A team that has seen five games shaved from its AL East lead in eight days and is clinging to a meager half-game edge going into tonight's second game of the three-game series.

"We've just run into a little bit of a snag hitting-wise and when you don't hit, all of a sudden everybody wants to magnify the negativity about it," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "We're playing well right now. We're just not hitting."

Jon Lester pitched into the eighth inning, Jason Bay homered in a three-run first and the Red Sox won their sixth in seven games. The Rays have lost four straight and six of seven.

Lester (14-5) matched his season high with nine strikeouts, accomplished in his no-hitter against Kansas City on May 19. He allowed six hits and three walks in 7 2/3 innings.

Lester was pulled with runners at second and third. Jonathan Papelbon struck out Rocco Baldelli, who fanned in all four at-bats, and finished up for his 36th save in 40 opportunities.

Boston leads the majors with 14 shutouts.

Edwin Jackson (11-10) settled down after the three-run first and lasted seven innings.

Tigers 14, Athletics 8: Gary Sheffield's second home run of the night — a grand slam — was the 250,000th homer in major league history and it helped host Detroit beat Oakland. Sheffield drove in five runs, including his 13th career slam. Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera and Mike Hessman also went deep for the Tigers.

Orioles 14, Indians 3: Aubrey Huff hit a grand slam to cap a seven-run sixth inning and host Baltimore ended an eight-game losing streak by defeating Cleveland. Luke Scott, Adam Jones and Ramon Hernandez also homered for the Orioles, who had lost 13 of 14. Orioles starter Garrett Olson (9-7) allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings.

Angels 12, Yankees 1: Ivan Rodriguez and Torii Hunter were ejected after a bench-clearing scuffle in the sixth inning when host Los Angeles scored six runs on the way to a victory over New York that reduced the Angels' magic number to two for clinching the AL West title. Brandon Wood hit two homers, and Vladimir Guerrero and Sean Rodriguez also connected for the Angels, who own the best record in baseball at 86-56.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Phillies 8, Marlins 6: Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer, Jimmy Rollins had three hits and three steals and host Philadelphia beat Florida to close within 1 1/2 games of the NL East-leading New York Mets. Joe Blanton (2-0) allowed four runs in five innings to earn his first win since Aug. 2 and Brad Lidge finished for his 35th save in as many chances.

Reds 5, Brewers 4: Jeff Keppinger's double capped a three-run, ninth-inning rally off Milwaukee closer Salomon Torres (6-5) to lift visiting Cincinnati. With the loss, the Brewers' lead in the NL wild-card race shrunk to three games over the Phillies. Jared Burton (5-1) pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory. Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 28th save in 34 chances.

Astros 3, Pirates 2: Pinch-hitter Mark Saccomanno homered on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues to help host Houston beat Pittsburgh. Called up from the minors earlier in the day to help fill in for injured third baseman Ty Wigginton, Saccomanno batted for pitcher Alberto Arias (1-0) in a scoreless game and connected off Ian Snell (6-11) in the fifth and triggered a three-run inning.

Padres 4, Dodgers 0: Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run homer off former teammate Greg Maddux and last-place San Diego beat NL West leader Los Angeles, snapping the visiting Dodgers' eight-game winning streak. Cha Seung Baek (5-9) combined with two relievers to four-hit the Dodgers, who have a 1 1/2-game lead over Arizona. Maddux (7-12) allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings.

Giants 6, Diamondbacks 2: Tim Lincecum struck out nine, Bengie Molina hit a three-run homer and host San Francisco sent Arizona to its fourth straight defeat. Lincecum (16-3) had a shot at a complete game but loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, giving way to Alex Hinshaw to a standing ovation following his 127-pitch gem. Lincecum's 8 1/3 innings were a career best.

NOTES

Mets: Billy Wagner is out for the rest of this season and likely all of next. The New York Mets closer will have surgery after an MRI yesterday showed a torn medial collateral ligament in his left pitching elbow.

Braves: 'Iolani alum Kala Kaaihue hit a solo home run and finished 2 for 5 to help the Mississippi Braves beat the Carolina Mudcats (Florida Marlins), 5-4, yesterday in the opener of the Double-A Southern League Championship Series at Zebulon, N.C.

Yankees: New York plans to retain Joe Girardi as manager next year, co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner said yesterday. Girardi is in his first season managing the Yankees after agreeing to a three-year contract last October. The team is likely to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993.