ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Rays kept things simple, clinching the first playoff berth in franchise history on their own.

Carlos Pena hit a two-run double and Scott Kazmir rebounded from the worst start of his career to pitch six scoreless innings Saturday, helping the AL East leaders wrap up at least a wild-card spot with a 7-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Cliff Floyd and Fernando Perez capped the biggest win in the club’s 11 seasons with solo home runs. The Rays also extended their lead in the division to 2 games over Boston, which lost 6-3 at Toronto.

The crowd of 36,048 that packed Tropicana Field stood for entire ninth inning, chanting “Let’s Go Rays” and clanging cowbells. The Twins delayed the celebration by scoring twice, but the party was on once third baseman Evan Longoria chased down Joe Mauer’s foul pop for the final out.

The struggling Twins, who have lost six of seven, remained 2 games behind the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox, who lost to Kansas City.

Pena’s double off Kevin Slowey (12-11) gave Kazmir (12-7) a 2-0 lead in the third inning.

The Rays lost their shutout in the ninth when Troy Percival surrendered an RBI single to Denard Span and a run-scoring groundout to Alexi Casilla.

Yankees 1, Orioles 0

NEW YORK – Robinson Cano hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning and the Yankees staved off postseason elimination.

Playing what is likely to be the penultimate game at Yankee Stadium, New York got a perfect inning from Mariano Rivera (6-5) and a fine start by impressive rookie Alfredo Aceves.

But it was a painful victory. Derek Jeter left after getting hit on the hand by a pitch in the ninth, which started the winning rally. Jeter’s status for Sunday night was uncertain, though it’s hard to imagine him missing the Yankee Stadium farewell no matter how badly he’s hurt.

Brian Burres was even better than Aceves, shutting down the Yankees on three hits through seven innings. Jim Miller (0-2) got the loss.

Athletics 8, Mariners 7

OAKLAND, Calif. – Daric Barton hit a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning and the Athletics handed the Mariners their season-worst 10th straight loss.

Carlos Gonzalez led off the eighth with a single and advanced on Rob Bowen’s sacrifice. He went to third on Travis Buck’s hit off Justin Thomas (0-1) and scored when Barton lined a single into right.

Kenji Johjima homered and drove in four runs for the Mariners. After being shut out in its previous two games, Seattle pounded out 11 hits, getting most of the production from the bottom of the lineup.

Jeff Baisley went 2-for-2 with four RBIs and Bowen also drove in two runs for Oakland, which has won six of seven and 10 of 14.

Huston Street (6-5) pitched two innings for the win and Brad Ziegler worked the ninth for his 11th save in 12 chances.

Royals 5, White Sox 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kyle Davies gave up three hits in seven-plus innings and the Royals beat the White Sox.

David DeJesus hit an inside-the-park home run, and Alex Gordon and Kila Ka’aihue also homered for the Royals, who won for the eighth time in nine games. The White Sox have lost nine of their past 13 road games.

The White Sox remained 2 games in front of the Minnesota Twins, who lost 7-2 at Tampa Bay earlier Saturday, in the American League Central.

Davies (8-7), who has allowed just seven hits and two runs in 15 innings in winning his past two starts, yielded leadoff singles to Orlando Cabrera and Jim Thome in the first and second innings, but erased both with double plays. Davies faced the minimum number of batters in the first seven innings, retiring 17 in a row in one stretch.

Joakim Soria worked the ninth to log his 41st save in 44 opportunities.

Gavin Floyd (16-8) took the loss, only his second in 12 starts since July 19.

Indians 6, Tigers 3

CLEVELAND – Shin-Soo Choo continued his hot September and Jeremy Sowers pitched six strong innings to help the Indians beat the Tigers.

With the exception of one hit batter that didn’t cause an incident, all was quiet one night after the teams were involved in a bench-clearing brawl Friday.

Tigers designated hitter Gary Sheffield, one of the main principals in the fight, was in the starting lineup. Booed during pregame introductions and in every at-bat, Sheffield was 2-for-4.

Choo, who is batting .448 (26-for-58) with 17 RBIs in 18 games this month, drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the fourth.

Sowers (4-8) gave up a first-inning run, but held the Tigers to two hits over his final five innings. Jensen Lewis pitched the ninth for his 11th save.

Justin Verlander (10-17) allowed four runs in four innings for the loss.