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 BOSTON (AP) - Mike Lowell drove in five runs to lead Boston's revived hitting attack and the Red Sox cut their magic number to clinch the AL East title to two with an 11-6 win over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday.
Lowell had three of Boston's 17 hits and took over the team lead with a career-high 116 RBIs, two more than David Ortiz. He also set a club record for most RBIs by a third baseman, passing Butch Hobson's total of 112 in 1977, and raised his batting average to a career-best .326.
The Red Sox increased their lead to 3 1/2 games over the New York Yankees, who played later Wednesday at Tampa Bay. Boston, seeking its first division title since 1995, won for the fourth time in five games after a four-game losing streak in which it struggled at the plate, scoring just eight runs and allowing its lead to shrink to 1 1/2 games.
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