BOSTON (AP) – Pedro Martinez pitched the Red Sox to their longest winning streak in nine years Friday night and pulled Boston within 2 games of the New York Yankees in the AL East.

Martinez allowed four hits in seven innings, and Manny Ramirez and Bill Mueller in a 2-0 victory over the Texas Rangers that extended Boston’s winning streak to 10.

The Red Sox, who have won 16 of 17 and 22 of 26, has not been this close to first place since before games of June 12. The Yankees lost to Baltimore 3-1.

Boston, which trailed by 101/2 games on June 16, is on its longest winning streak since winning 12 in a row from Aug. 3-14, 1995. The Red Sox have lost just once since Aug. 15, when Toronto’s Ted Lilly pitched a three-hit shutout to beat Martinez on Aug. 23, and their run has given them a wide lead in the wild-card race, 4 games over Anaheim coming in.

Martinez (15-5) pitched shutout ball for the second time in five starts, striking out nine, walking one and leaving after matching his season high with 117 pitches.

Mike Timlin and Alan Embree pitched the eighth, and Keith Foulke worked the ninth for his 27th save in 32 opportunities. Boston leads the AL with 11 shutouts.

John Wasdin (2-3) allowed two runs and four hits in 6 1-3 innings for Texas, which fell seven games behind Boston in the wild-card race.

Ramirez hit his 37th homer with two outs in the first, and Mueller hit his 11th leading off the third. Both came on the first pitch from Wasdin.

Wasdin got out of jams in the fifth and sixth innings, when the Red Sox put their first two batters on base.

Martinez struggled in the seventh when Laynce Nix struck out with one out but reached first when the ball got by catcher Jason Varitek. Kevin Mench struck out, and Nix took third on a single by Gary Matthews Jr.

Pinch-hitter Andy Fox had a 2-2 count when Matthews tried to steal on the next pitch, a ball. But Varitek threw him out, stranding Nix at third.

Through six innings, Martinez allowed just three hits and a walk through innings.

In the first, he walked Hank Blalock with two outs then struck out Mark Teixeira. Matthews led off the third with a single before Martinez retired the next three batters.

Alfonso Soriano hit a two-out single in the fourth, but Martinez retired Nix on a groundout to first baseman Mientkiewicz. And in the sixth, Martinez allowed a leadoff double to Eric Young, who took third on Michael Young’s groundout. But Blalock struck out and Teixeira fouled out to third baseman Mueller.

Notes: Red Sox outfielders Gabe Kapler and Trot Nixon had their three-game suspensions overturned on Friday for their roles in an on-field brawl with the New York Yankees on July 24.

The decision on the appeals followed a hearing Kapler and Nixon had Thursday at Fenway Park with executive vice president John McHale Jr. of the commissioner’s office.

“We felt like we had a pretty strong case from the beginning,” Kapler said. “I was excited to be able to state my case and let them know how I felt about the situation and I think it worked out really well.”