Minnesota trips up White Sox

Maybe Ozzie Guillen was right about Javier Vazquez.

Two days after the manager said Vazquez hasn’t been a big-game pitcher during his career, the White Sox right-hander lasted just four innings in Chicago’s biggest game of the year, a 9-3 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night that pulled the Twins within 11/2 games in the A.L. Central race.

Vazquez gave up five runs and seven hits, including a two-run homer and a triple to Jason Kubel, whose Twins practically need a sweep to position themselves for a fifth division title in seven years.

The only bright spot for the White Sox was Ken Griffey Jr. passing Sammy Sosa for sole possession of fifth place on the career list with his 610th home run.

Other A.L. highlights

Rays 5-7, Orioles 2-5: At Baltimore, Tampa Bay reduced its magic number to win the East to two with another franchise first: a doubleheader sweep. After James Shields pitched seven effective innings in a victory over the Orioles in the opener, Tampa Bay rallied to also win the nightcap.

Red Sox 5, Indians 4: At Boston, the World Series champion Red Sox are back in the playoffs, thanks to a victory over Cleveland that clinched at least a wild-card berth. Tim Wakefield outpitched Cliff Lee and midseason acquisition Jason Bay hit the go-ahead single as Boston scored three times in the fifth inning to rally from a two-run deficit.

Yankees 3, Blue Jays 1: At Toronto, Mike Mussina pitched five shutout innings to earn his 19th win, Jason Giambi homered and New York beat Toronto. It wasn’t enough to keep the Yankees’ slim postseason hopes alive as the Red Sox beat Cleveland. The New York Yankees will miss the postseason for the first time since starting their run in 1995.

N.L. highlights

Mets 6, Cubs 2: At New York, Johan Santana sparked the Mets’ offense with an unusual broken-bat infield single and struck out 10 in eight innings, leading the Mets to a much-needed victory over Chicago. New York moved within 11/2 games of East-leading Philadelphia.

Brewers 7, Pirates 5: At Milwaukee, Prince Fielder homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Brewers rallied twice to beat Pittsburgh and remain one game behind the Mets in the wild-card race.

Braves 3, Phillies 2: At Philadelphia, Casey Kotchman homered, Mike Hampton won for the first time in a month and Atlanta curbed streaking Philadelphia’s playoff push with a win over the Phillies.

Cardinals 7, Diamondbacks 4: At St. Louis, Ryan Ludwick hit a three-run homer in the first and Albert Pujols had two hits and two RBIs to help the Cardinals put a dent in Arizona’s postseason hopes.

Dodgers 10, Padres 1: At Los Angeles, Nomar Garciaparra and Blake DeWitt each hit three-run homers and the Dodgers reduced their magic number for clinching the West title to three. Los Angeles leads the Diamondbacks by three games with five to play.

Japanese legend Oh to retire

Baseball legend Sadaharu Oh announced he was leaving the game after 50 years.

Japan’s greatest home run hitter and the man who managed Japan to the 2006 World Baseball Classic championship, Oh cited failing health and the poor performance of his club.

He will continue on as manager of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks until the end of the season.

“I’m drawing a line under this stage (of my life),” said Oh, who had expressed his desire to resign earlier in the month.

Oh, who hit 868 home runs for the Yomiuri Giants as a player, managed the Giants for five seasons and is in his 14th season at the helm of the Hawks.

Red Sox to honor Pesky

The Boston Red Sox will retire Johnny Pesky’s number on Friday night, putting his No. 6 on the upper deck facade alongside those of teammates Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr.

“I appreciate this. This is very flattering to me,” Pesky said. “To be still with the Red Sox, I’m very proud of that.”

Clearing the bases

A specialist recommended injured Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter have surgery for a compressed nerve in his shoulder, a procedure the team believes could have their ace back by spring training. … Pirates outfielder Brandon Moss will get a second opinion on his left knee and may need surgery to repair a cartilage problem in the joint. … Wally Joyner quit as hitting coach of the San Diego Padres with six games left in the season. … Cleveland infielder Asdrubal Cabrera began serving his three-game suspension for his part in a brawl with the Detroit Tigers. … Atlanta Braves minor league pitcher Matthew Small was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a banned amphetamine. The penalty will take effect at the start of next season. … Spring training is expanding by nearly a week next year because of the World Baseball Classic. Players will start reporting to training camps on Feb. 14, under an agreement between the players’ association and the commissioner’s office. Exhibition games will start about Feb. 25. … The Toronto Blue Jays signed a two-year agreement with the Las Vegas 51s, making the Pacific Coast League team its Triple-A affiliate.