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 Mariano Rivera retired David Ortiz on a shallow fly with the bases loaded for the final out, and Derek Jeter broke an eighth-inning tie with a three-run homer off Curt Schilling that sent the New York Yankees to a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night.
"It kind of seems appropriate that when we play them it should come down to something like that," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "We gave ourselves a chance. We came up short, but we'll take that spot again with David batting."
New York got a strong outing from a healthy Roger Clemens and took two of three at Fenway Park to move within 4 1/2 games of first-place Boston in the AL East with two weeks left in the season. The Yankees, who lead Detroit in the wild-card standings by 2 1/2 games, have won nine of 11 overall.
"We still have our fate in our hands," manager Joe Torre said. "We can't look for help."
Thome had been looking for his 500th home run since last Wednesday, when he hit No. 499. Turns out he saved the milestone for a special moment.
The White Sox slugger connected for a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving Chicago a 9-7 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. He became the 23rd player to reach the plateau and third this season, joining Frank Thomas and Alex Rodriguez.
"Just can't believe it. I really can't," Thome said. "I would never have imagined doing that as a walk-off. Just amazing to see your teammates standing there. It's like a movie script."
In other AL games, it was: Kansas City 4, Cleveland 3; Detroit 6, Minnesota 4; Tampa Bay 9, Seattle 2; Texas 11, Oakland 9; and Baltimore 8, Toronto 6 in 12 innings.
Thome drove a 3-2 pitch from Dustin Moseley (4-3) to left-center, ending an 0-for-11 slump. The slugger raised his arm in the air as he rounded the bases and was mobbed by the White Sox at the plate.
He hugged his father and wife, then teammates Bobby Jenks and Jermaine Dye hoisted the 6-foot-3, 250-pound Thome on their shoulders.
"It's hard to explain what's going through me right now," Thome said. "What a great day. It's tough to hit home runs when people want you to."
It was the first time a player hit a game-ending homer for No. 500, and the first time three players reached the mark in one season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Thome made it to the milestone in 6,809 at-bats, the fourth-fewest among members of the 500-homer club behind Mark McGwire (5,487), Babe Ruth (5,801) and Harmon Killebrew (6,671).
Vladimir Guerrero and Juan Rivera homered as the AL West leaders built a 7-1 lead.
At Boston, Schilling (8-8) outlasted Clemens in their first matchup since Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, but Jeter drove a 2-2 splitter over the Green Monster to give New York a 4-1 lead. Joba Chamberlain and Rivera held on.
Jeter is batting .441 with runners in scoring position and two outs -- the best mark in the majors.
"Even when you're a little kid you think about those situations," he said. "Every time you envision yourself in those situations, you come through. ... I like those situations."
The Red Sox have a magic number of nine to clinch their first division title since 1995, but the Yankees won the season series 10-8
-- the first tiebreaker should the teams finish the year with the same record and both qualify for the playoffs. New York won six of the final seven meetings after Boston took the first four.
Chamberlain (2-0) earned the win despite giving up the first earned run of his career
-- a solo homer by Mike Lowell that made it 4-2 in the eighth.
Rivera allowed Julio Lugo's two-out RBI double in the ninth, then hit Jacoby Ellsbury with a pitch and walked Dustin Pedroia. But Ortiz popped up a 2-2 pitch into shallow center field, and a backpedaling Jeter made the catch before pumping his fist.
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"It's an honor to watch the best clutch hitter in history do his thing, and the best closer in history do his thing," said Clemens, who pitched well in his first outing since Sept. 3. "Jeter is one of the reasons that I got up off the couch and came back."
It was Rivera's 28th save. Robinson Cano also homered off Schilling, who is 0-3 in his past four starts.
The 45-year-old Clemens, coming back from a blister on his foot and ligament damage to his right elbow, allowed one unearned run, two hits and three walks. He struck out four
-- all in a row in the third and fourth.
Tigers 6, Twins 4
At Minneapolis, Jair Jurrjens (3-1) took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning in his fifth major league start, and Detroit cut Cleveland's AL Central lead to 4 1/2 games. The Tigers and Indians begin a three-game series Monday night in Cleveland.
Detroit has won five in a row and nine of 11. Curtis Granderson hit a leadoff homer for the Tigers, who beat Minnesota for the seventh consecutive time.
Todd Jones pitched a shaky ninth for his 300th save, becoming the 21st pitcher to reach the mark. Michael Cuddyer grounded out with the bases loaded to end it.
Royals 4, Indians 3
At Cleveland, Billy Buckner (1-1) took a shutout into the sixth for his first major league win and Joakim Soria got his 15th save.
The Indians had a chance to tie it in the ninth, but pinch-runner Josh Barfield was tagged out in a rundown after trying to advance from second to third on Franklin Gutierrez's one-out grounder to shortstop.
Devil Rays 9, Mariners 2
At Seattle, Carlos Pena hit his 40th homer and Delmon Young had four RBIs to back Andy Sonnanstine (6-9). The Mariners fell 6 1/2 games behind New York in the wild-card race. Jarrod Washburn (9-15) lost his fifth straight start.
Rangers 11, Athletics 9
At Oakland, Calif., Michael Young drove in a career-high seven runs, including a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth, and Texas won a game that featured a bench-clearing brawl.
Athletics outfielder Nick Swisher, who homered in each of the first three games of the series, rushed the mound and tackled Rangers starter Vicente Padilla after getting hit in the ribs by a pitch in the first inning.
Both benches emptied, with Oakland second baseman Jack Hannahan diving into the pile and A's manager Bob Geren getting into a heated argument with the umpires. Padilla and Swisher, who had to be restrained by several teammates, were the only players ejected.
Orioles 8, Blue Jays 6, 12 innings
At Toronto, Scott Moore singled home the go-ahead run in the 12th and Nick Markakis homered for Baltimore, which won for only the sixth time in 25 games. The Orioles had dropped eight straight series since Aug. 13-15, when they took two of three at Yankee Stadium.
[Associated Press]
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