NEW YORK — Joba Chamberlain looked toward Jorge Posada behind home plate, nodded his head at the signal and sent another pitch zipping past Oakland's Eric Patterson.

The fiery young right-hander pumped his fist as he spun off the mound and headed for the dugout, the fifth-inning strikeout stranding two runners in scoring position. It was the only real trouble Chamberlain got in while pitching the Yankees to their eighth straight win.

"Emotion is real important to him," manager Joe Girardi said, after the Yankees' 8-3 victory last night. "I don't think he's showing anybody up. I think he feeds off that emotion."

Derek Jeter drove in two runs and passed Ted Williams on the career hit list, Johnny Damon drove in three runs and Posada hit a solo homer for the Yankees, who are 21-5 over the past month to take over first place in the AL East. They lead the Boston Red Sox by 2 1/2 games.

"You just have to take it day by day. We're not coming in here saying we have any streaks," said Jeter, whose three hits gave him 2,655.

Chamberlain (6-2) gave up a run and two hits pitching into the eighth inning. He struck out six in his longest outing since June 1.

"I'm just having fun, back to being myself," Chamberlain said. "It's hard to be good at this game. You're going to have your failures, but it's how you react to those failures."

RED SOX 3, ORIOLES 1

Brad Penny scattered five hits over 6 1/3 innings to help host Boston snap a season-high five-game losing streak. Penny (7-4) allowed one unearned run, striking out four and walking none for his first victory since June 17.

TIGERS SWEEP WHITE SOX

Clete Thomas drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning to force home the tiebreaking run in the second game and host Detroit beat Chicago, 4-3, to sweep a day-night doubleheader. Justin Verlander (11-5) threw a six-hitter in the opener, allowing only an unearned run in a 5-1 victory over Jose Contreras (4-9).

RANGERS 2, ROYALS 0

Scott Feldman outpitched Zack Greinke (10-6) with eight scoreless innings and visiting Texas extended its winning streak to five games. Feldman (9-3) pitched beyond the seventh inning for the first time, allowing four hits for his career-high ninth win. Marlon Byrd homered and Hank Blalock hit a run-scoring single.

ANGELS 6, TWINS 3

John Lackey shrugged off a pair of solo homers by AL batting leader Joe Mauer to win his third straight start for host Los Angeles. Lackey (6-4) allowed two runs and four hits over 7 2/3 innings and struck out three. Robb Quinlan, Jeff Mathis and Mike Napoli each homered in the Angels' seventh straight win.

RAYS 4, BLUE JAYS 2

Evan Longoria hit a two-run double in the 10th inning and visiting Tampa Bay spoiled what could have been Roy Halladay's final start with Toronto. Halladay, the most sought-after player available on the trade market, pitched nine innings, then the Rays scored the go-ahead run against Scott Downs (1-2).

INDIANS 9, MARINERS 0

Travis Hafner hit a two-run homer and Ryan Garko added a three-run shot to give Aaron Laffey and visiting Cleveland all they needed against Seattle. Laffey (4-2) allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked three in seven innings. He retired his last 13 batters.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

CARDINALS 8, PHILLIES 1

Matt Holliday had four hits and an RBI just hours after being traded to St. Louis, and the visiting Cardinals beat Philadelphia. Holliday had two soft hits and a stolen base to help the Cardinals build a 5-0 lead. He ripped a double in the seventh and got his second infield single in the ninth. Joel Pineiro (9-9) tossed six scoreless innings for the win.

GIANTS 3, ROCKIES 1

Matt Cain became the major leagues' second 12-game winner, scattering three hits over seven innings and visiting San Francisco beat Colorado to pull even with the Rockies in the NL wild-card race. Cain (12-2) gave up one run and struck out five. Fred Lewis finished a home run shy of the cycle and Nate Schierholtz hit a solo shot in the fourth for the Giants.

PADRES 6, NATIONALS 2

Mat Latos pitched into the sixth inning to notch his first career victory, and light-hitting Luis Rodriguez homered and matched a career high with three RBIs as visiting San Diego snapped a five-game losing streak. Latos (1-1), who lost in his major league debut July 18, allowed two runs and five hits over 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five.

PIRATES 10, DIAMONDBACKS 3

Zach Duke won for the first time in a month and rookie Garrett Jones hit his major league-best 10th homer in July, leading visiting Pittsburgh over Arizona. Duke (9-9) gave up three runs and 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings, struck out four and walked one.

ASTROS 5, METS 4

Mike Hampton hit a two-run homer off Johan Santana and host Houston beat New York. Hampton (6-7) struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings. Santana (11-8) allowed 12 hits, matching a career high, in 6 2/3 innings.

CUBS 8, REDS 5

Aramis Ramirez homered, doubled twice, singled and drove in three to lead host Chicago. Mike Fontenot, Jeff Baker and Derrek Lee also homered for the Cubs, who have won eight of their last 11 games.

BRAVES 9, BREWERS 4

Chipper Jones, Martin Prado and Nate McLouth homered to pace a 17-hit effort by visiting Atlanta and Javier Vazquez struck out nine in seven innings. Vazquez (8-7) gave up four runs off seven hits and struck out home run derby champ Prince Fielder four times.

MARLINS 6, DODGERS 3

Pinch-hitter Jeremy Hermida drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, pinch-hitter Chris Coghlan homered in the eighth and visiting Florida beat Los Angeles. All-Star Josh Johnson (9-2) allowed three runs in seven innings for Florida.