DETROIT (AP) - Gary Sheffield hit two home runs and Ramon Santiago also went deep to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 6-4 win over Tampa Bay on Friday night, keeping the Rays from clinching their first division title for the second straight day.
The Rays' magic number for winning the AL East is one, pending the outcome of the New York Yankees' game against the Boston Red Sox. Tampa Bay would win the division with a Boston loss.Sheffield has 499 career home runs and Santiago homered for the third time in two days. Magglio Ordonez drove in two runs for Detroit, which beat Tampa Bay 7-5 on Thursday.
B.J. Upton homered and drove in two runs for the Rays.
Justin Verlander (11-17) won his first game since Aug. 22. He allowed two runs and five hits in five innings, walking three and striking out eight.
Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 12th save in 18 chances. He allowed a run on first baseman Miguel Cabrera's error, but escaped a second and third, two-out jam by getting Jason Bartlett to fly out.
Andy Sonnanstine (13-9) gave up five runs on five hits in 5 2-3 innings for the Rays, walking five and striking out seven.
Detroit won despite losing Placido Polanco in the first inning, when the second baseman slid into home and sprained his left ankle.
He rolled over and writhed in pain after sliding across the plate and beating the tag by catcher Dioner Navarro. X-rays were negative and Polanco, hitting .307 with eight home runs and 58 RBI, was scheduled to be re-evaluated Saturday.
After Ordonez's two-run double, Detroit pushed its lead to 3-0 on Sheffield's first home run. Santiago added a two-run shot in the second.
Tampa Bay got on the board in the third on Upton's fielder's choice grounder, and Pena's two-out RBI single in the fifth closed the gap to 5-2. Upton's ninth homer of the season made it 5-3 in the seventh.
Sheffield added his second homer and 19th of the season in the eighth.
