ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — One night the Tampa Bay Rays play long ball. The next they rarely get the ball out of the infield and still beat the Los Angeles Angels.

The surging Rays won for the ninth time in 11 games last night, using Willy Aybar's two-run single to break an eighth-inning tie in a 4-2 win over the Angels that gave Tampa Bay the best record in the American League.

The AL East leader overcame a strong pitching performance by Los Angeles' Ervin Santana, who took a no-hit bid into the sixth and left with a 2-1 lead after allowing one run and four hits in seven innings.

"It just means we're starting to do things in the right way," manager Joe Maddon said after Tampa Bay improved to 77-48 and held on to its 4 1/2-game lead over second-place Boston in the division.

Los Angeles let the game slip away in the eighth when the Rays loaded the bases with no outs against Scot Shields (5-4) on two walks and an error. Carlos Pena drew a one-out walk from Darren Oliver, forcing in the tying run before Aybar singled.

James Shields (11-7) allowed two runs and nine hits in eight innings, and Dan Wheeler pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save in eight chances as Tampa Bay improved to 6-2 against the AL West-leading Angels, including 5-0 at home.

The Rays won the series opener, 6-4, getting two-run homers from Eric Hinske and Cliff Floyd. They got their first run last night on B.J. Upton's infield RBI single, then scored three unearned runs in the eighth, with Aybar's hit the only ball getting to the outfield.

"I don't think we've played particularly bad in any of these games, but tonight was one bad inning," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

Vladimir Guerrero hit his 23rd home run for Los Angeles, a solo shot in the second. Garret Anderson made it 2-0 in the fourth with an RBI double that extended his hitting streak to 22 games.

Maddon was ejected in the sixth for arguing with first base umpire Jerry Meals after Upton beat out his RBI infield single to trim the Angels' lead to 2-1. Upton was called out when Meals ruled he turned toward second and was tagged out by second baseman Howie Kendrick.

White Sox 5, Mariners 0: Clayton Richard pitched six innings for his first major league win, and Nick Swisher and Jim Thome homered for host Chicago. Richard (1-2), making his fourth major league start, allowed five hits, struck out two and walked one in his first appearance since he was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte on Friday.

Red Sox 7, Orioles 2: Daisuke Matsuzaka won his fourth straight start despite struggling through five innings, and visiting Boston got homers from Jason Varitek and Kevin Youkilis. Matsuzaka (15-2) gave up two runs, six hits and five walks. The right-hander failed to retire the side in order but stranded nine runners, including five in scoring position.

Blue Jays 2, Yankees 1: Johnny Damon allowed two balls to glance off his glove, including an eighth-inning drive by Marco Scutaro that became the go-ahead double in host Toronto's victory. A.J. Burnett (16-9) earned a win in his sixth straight start by allowing one run and five hits in eight innings.

Indians 9, Royals 4: Grady Sizemore hit a three-run homer to help host Cleveland beat Kansas City. Sizemore connected on the first pitch he saw from reliever Leo Nunez for his 28th homer that gave Cleveland a 7-3 lead in the sixth inning.

Twins 13, Athletics 2: Kevin Slowey had a career-high 12 strikeouts and Brian Buscher matched his career best with five RBIs for host Minnesota. Slowey (10-8) allowed two runs — one earned — and five hits with no walks in seven innings.

Tigers 11, Rangers 3: Matt Joyce homered twice, including a three-run shot in visiting Detroit's nine-run seventh inning, and Armando Galarraga beat his former team. Joyce's blast gave the Tigers a 4-3 lead. Galarraga (12-4) allowed three runs and eight hits, striking out five in six innings.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rockies 8, Dodgers 3: Rookie Ian Stewart homered and drove in a career-high five runs and visiting Colorado won its fourth straight. The loss was the second in eight games for the Dodgers, who dropped one game behind NL West-leading Arizona. Stewart hit a two-out, two-run single in the first off Hiroki Kuroda (7-9) and added a three-run homer off Hong-Chih Kuo in the eighth to cap a four-run rally that gave the Rockies a five-run lead.

METS 7, BRAVES 3: Carlos Delgado hit a go-ahead double off the left-center fence to end the Mets' 3-for-42 slide with the bases loaded, and host New York broke loose in the eighth to beat Atlanta. Damion Easley delivered a two-run single with the bases loaded and Ramon Castro added an RBI double to cap a five-run eighth against Atlanta's bullpen.

Phillies 5, Nationals 4: Jayson Werth hit a tiebreaking solo homer off Steven Shell (0-1) in the eighth, sending visiting Washington to its 11th straight loss. It is the longest skid for the franchise since the Montreal Expos dropped 11 in a row from June 23 to July 4, 1991.

Astros 5, Brewers 2: Geoff Blum hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the sixth inning for visiting Houston. Blum was hitless in nine at-bats before he hit a 1-2 pitch from Ben Sheets (11-7) for his career-high 12th home run. Brian Moehler (9-4) extended his winning streak to five games by allowing one earned run and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Pirates 4, Cardinals 1: Ian Snell threw seven scoreless innings to outpitch Braden Looper and lead visiting Pittsburgh. Snell (5-10) won for only the second time in 11 starts since June 17, allowing three hits while striking out eight and walking one. Looper (11-10) allowed one run and three hits in seven innings.

Cubs 5, Reds 0: Rich Harden allowed two hits in seven innings, struck out 10 and bunted in the go-ahead run for his first career RBI, leading host Chicago over Cincinnati. The NL Central-leading Cubs improved to a season-high 29 games over .500 at 77-48. Chicago has won seven of eight and 17 of its last 21.

Marlins 6, Giants 0: Ricky Nolasco pitched a two-hitter for his first career shutout and drove in two runs with his first double, leading visiting Florida past San Francisco. Nolasco (12-7) retired 21 straight following Randy Winn's single with two outs in the first. He walked one and struck out 11.

Diamondbacks 7, Padres 6: Adam Dunn hit his National League-leading 33rd home run in his Arizona home debut, powering the Diamondbacks over San Diego. Conor Jackson had two hits and two RBIs for the Diamondbacks, who have won four of five.