MLB: Twins hammer White Sox as Orioles move level with Yankees

Minnesota routed Chigago 18-9 thanks to a Chris Parmelee-inspired 10-run fifth inning.

Minnesota Twins players celebrate their win over the White Sox in Chicago.

Chris Parmelee homered to cap a 10-run fifth inning as the Minnesota Twins routed the Chicago White Sox 18-9 on Tuesday night.

The Twins also batted around in a seven-run second, but first-place Chicago remained one game ahead of Detroit in the AL Central. The Tigers lost 3-2 to Cleveland thanks to six solid innings from Justin Masterson.

Minnesota pecked away methodically with 17 hits - only three went for extra bases.

Parmalee drove in four runs while Ryan Doumit had three hits and three RBIs. Doumit hit a solo homer in the seventh and scored three times.

Minnesota's Eduardo Escobar had two hits and three RBIs against his former team.

Chicago outfielder Dewayne Wise pitched a scoreless ninth for the White Sox, who had a franchise-record 10 doubles - five in a four-run eighth.

"Balls were flying all over the place, as they always do in this ballpark," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

"Fortunately, we were on the good side of it. That's crazy. We've seen it here before."

Meanwhile the Baltimore Orioles thrashed the Toronto Blue Jays 12-0 on Tuesday to earn a share of first place in the American League East after the New York Yankees went down 5-2 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Left-hander Zach Britton pitched seven scoreless innings for the Orioles, limiting the Blue Jays to four hits, while Mark Reynolds drove in four including a three-run homer.

Baltimore (76-59) entered the clash trailing New York by one game, but the Yankees' third straight defeat - and fifth in their last six - saw them surrender sole possession of top spot.

Evan Longoria smacked a two-run homer, with BJ Upton and Desmond Jennings also hitting solo shots as the third-placed Rays moved within 1 1/2 games of the leading pair.

Los Angeles pitcher Zack Greinke won his third consecutive start as the Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 6-1 on the road on Tuesday to stay in the playoff hunt.

Greinke, acquired by Los Angeles (73-63) in July, allowed just one run and four hits over seven innings to get the win.

Los Angeles snapped Oakland's nine-game winning streak in the opener of a three-game series on Monday, and the back-to-back wins have pulled them within 3 1/2 games of a wild-card spot.

American League batting leader Mike Trout gave Los Angeles the lead with an RBI single in the fifth, and the visitors made sure of the wine with two runs in both the eighth and ninth innings.

The Kansas City Royals toppled the West-leading Texas Rangers 6-3, while the Boston Red Sox broke their seven-game losing streak with a 4-3 triumph over the Seattle Mariners.

In the National League, Adam LaRoche struck two of Washington's six homers and Ian Desmond drove in four runs as the Nationals established a season-high 7 1/2-game advantage atop the East with an 11-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Jay Bruce's two-run go-ahead shot in the sixth inning proved decisive for the Central-leading Cincinnati Reds in a 2-1 win against the Philadelphia Phillies, but the West-leading San Francisco Giants went down 8-6 the Arizona Diamondbacks after the game went to 11 innings.

Jason Kubel's RBI triple at the top of the innings put his side in front before Miguel Montero's hit to centre field to send Kubel home sealed the win.

The Pittsburgh Pirates ended a four-game losing run with a 6-2 success against the Houston Astros, while the St Louis Cardinals overcame the New York Mets 5-1.

Elsewhere, the Colorado Rockies saw off the Atlanta Braves 6-0, while the San Diego Padres won 6-3 at the Los Angeles Dodgers.