Matt Wieters drove in three runs, Miguel Gonzalez pitched 6 1 /3 solid innings and the Baltimore Orioles remained one game behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East with a 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.
The Yankees beat Oakland 2-1 in 10 innings. The Orioles broke a tie with the Athletics for the top wildcard spot. All three teams have 12 games remaining.
Jon Lester (9-13) lost for the first time in his 21 career starts against the Orioles. He had been 14-0, the longest winning streak against the Orioles franchise for a pitcher at the start of his career since at least 1901. It had been the longest current winning streak by an active pitcher against any team. But he's 0-1 in his last four starts against them, all Orioles victories.
Gonzalez (7-4) allowed two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and one walk as the Orioles improved to 6-1 this season at Fenway Park. They lead the AL with 44 wins on the road.
Jim Johnson pitched the ninth for his club-record 46th save, one more than the previous record Randy Myers set in 1997.
The score was tied 2-2 after five innings before the Orioles went ahead with two runs in the sixth.
Adam Jones walked with one out and scored on a double by Wieters. A wild pitch by Lester sent Wieters to third and Mark Reynolds drove him in with a single. Reynolds went 2 for 4 and is 15 for 34 in 10 games against Boston this year.
Baltimore second baseman Robert Andino left the game in the ninth after being hit in the left ear flap by a fastball from Mark Melancon.
BREWERS 4, NATIONALS 2
WASHINGTON - Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez had consecutive RBI hits in the ninth inning off Nationals closer Tyler Clippard and the Milwaukee Brewers extended their season-high winning streak to six games with a 4-2 win over the Washington Nationals.
The victory, combined with a St. Louis loss, moved the Brewers within 1 1 /2 games of the Cardinals for the final wild card berth in the National League.
