SEATTLE — Jon Lester held Seattle to three hits over eight innings, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Mariners 5-1 on Monday night.

Lester (17-8) has won four straight decisions and six of his last seven starts. He gave up three singles, two to Chone Figgins, walked three and struck out 12. It’s the seventh time this season he has struck out 10 or more.

Lester is tied for second in the American League in wins, third in strikeouts (208) and eighth in ERA (3.17).

Daniel Nava and Lars Anderson each had an RBI double during a three-run second inning, and Ryan Kalish hit a two-run homer in the eighth.

 

RAYS 3, YANKEES 2: Reid Brignac homered on a 3-2 pitch leading off the bottom of the 11th inning, sending Tampa Bay into first place in the AL East.

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Brignac connected off Sergio Mitre (0-3), the fourth Yankees reliever after CC Sabathia pitched eight scoreless innings in pursuit of his 20th win. The Yankees dropped a half-game behind Tampa Bay.

 

ORIOLES 4, BLUE JAYS 3: Luke Scott hit an RBI single in the 11th inning, and Baltimore ended a 12-game losing streak against visiting Toronto.

 

ATHLETICS 3, ROYALS 1: Bobby Cramer, a former substitute teacher who started this season in the Mexican League, allowed one run and four hits in 51/3 innings to win his big league debut, at Kansas City, Mo.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

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PHILLIES 11, MARLINS 4: Carlos Ruiz matched a career high with four RBI, and Joe Blanton allowed one run in six innings for visiting Philadelphia.

Ruiz, Jayson Werth, Chase Utley and Greg Dobbs homered for the Phillies, who remained a game ahead of Atlanta in the NL East.

 

BRAVES 4, NATIONALS 0: Derek Lowe set a career high with 12 strikeouts and combined with Billy Wagner on a six-hitter to lead Atlanta to a win at home.

 

REDS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 2: Jay Bruce returned from a two-week layoff because of a strained abdomen and homered in each of his first two at-bats as Cincinnati won at home to secure its first winning season since 2000.

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Drew Stubbs, Joey Votto and Orlando Cabrera also homered for the Reds.

 

CUBS 5, CARDINALS 1: Jeff Samardzija pitched 51/3 scoreless innings in his first start of the season and also drove in a run for visiting Chicago.

 

PADRES 6, ROCKIES 4: Miguel Tejada drove in four runs, and San Diego moved a half-game ahead of San Francisco in the NL West with a win over visiting Colorado, which had won 10 straight.

 

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ASTROS 4, BREWERS 2: Brett Myers pitched seven strong innings and Carlos Lee drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh.

 

METS 1, PIRATES 0: Pinch-hitter Nick Evans singled home the winning run off Chan Ho Park in the 10th inning to give New York a victory over visiting Pittsburgh.

 


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