The Boston Red Sox left the door wide-open on Saturday and both the Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay Rays took advantage. The Red Sox still sit atop the AL Wild Card standings, but with a midday loss on Saturday, they allowed Tampa Bay and Los Angeles to make up ground. By the end of the evening, the Red Sox lead was 1½ games over the Rays, with the Angels just 2½ games back.
Los Angeles avenged a Friday night loss to the Oakland A's, downing its division rival on Saturday night, 4-2. The Angels did their damage in the sixth, breaking a 1-1 tie with a three-run inning to put the game out of reach. A two-out Bobby Abreu single scored Erick Aybar, giving Los Angeles a 2-1 lead. The next batter, Torii Hunter, added much-needed insurance with a two-run shot to left as the Angels took a 4-1 lead.
Jerome Williams earned the win, pitching 6-1/3 innings while allowing one run on five hits. Jordan Walden earned the save, striking out two while allowing one run to close out the game.
For more on this game, head over to Halos Heaven, for Angels fans, and Athletics Nation, for Oakland fans.