Last modified: Thursday, July 24, 2008 10:50 AM PDT Rays beat A’s to stay in front of AL East, Sabathia pitches 3rd straight complete game Tampa Bay (AP) — The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are set for another big series at Fenway Park this weekend. Once again, it could go a long way toward deciding who makes the playoffs. As the wild card, if the Rays keep playing like this. Ben Zobrist homered and drove in two runs — then was rewarded by getting shipped back to the minors — and James Shields pitched into the ninth inning, helping the AL East-leading Rays beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3 on Wednesday. The win kept the Rays a half-game in front of the Red Sox, who needed 12 innings to beat the Seattle Mariners 6-3. And despite winning six in a row and 10 straight at home, the Yankees are still 31⁄2 games back in the division after a 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. Jonny Gomes hit a two-run shot and Zobrist homered on the next pitch off Greg Smith in the fifth, giving the Rays a 3-2 lead. Gomes is just 6-for-42 over his last 24 games, but four of the hits have been homers. Yankees      5 Twins      1 At New York, Mike Mussina (13-6) baffled the Twins for eight innings, Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run double and the Yankees won their 10th straight at home. Glen Perkins (7-3) gave up a season-high five runs on eight hits and a walk for Minnesota. The 10-game winning streak at home is the Yankees’ longest since Sept. 9, 1998, to April 14, 1999. They last won 10 in a row at home in a single season from July 26-Aug. 14, 1998. White Sox      10 Rangers      8 At Chicago, Carlos Quentin hit two home runs, including the go-ahead, three-run shot during a five-run eighth inning to help the White Sox rally. Octavio Dotel (4-4) pitched the eighth, and Bobby Jenks worked the ninth for his 19th save. Eddie Guardado (1-2) wound up allowing four runs and three hits, retiring only two batters. National League That trade Milwaukee made for CC Sabathia just keeps looking better and better. Every time the Brewers’ new ace takes the mound, he gets them closer to October. The big lefty won his fourth straight start with Milwaukee, allowing just three hits in his third straight complete game to lead Milwaukee over the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 Wednesday night. Ryan Braun had four hits, missing the cycle by a double, and J.J. Hardy hit his 14th homer for the Brewers, who have homered in 19 straight games, tying the franchise record set in 1996. Mets      6 Phillies      3 In New York, Jose Reyes’ three-run homer snapped a sixth-inning tie and New York, with closer Billy Wagner back, rebounded from a demoralizing defeat. John Maine (9-7) pitched seven innings and New York took advantage of a wild Brett Myers in his return from the minors to again tie the Phillies for first place in the NL East.  Cubs      10 Diamondbacks      6 At Phoenix, Reed Johnson had three hits, including a grand slam in the eighth, for Chicago. Ted Lilly (10-6) drove in the tying run and threw six uneven innings to help the Cubs get their second win in six games since the All-Star break and remain one game in front of Milwaukee in the NL Central. The Cubs broke open a tight game with a six-run eighth after scoring a total of two runs while losing the first two games of the series.