NEW YORK — At this rate, the relentless Boston Red Sox might eliminate the Yankees sooner than anyone thought.

Jason Bay drove in four runs, Dustin Pedroia hit a grand slam and Boston routed the listless Yankees, 11-3, last night, putting an emphatic dent in New York's dwindling playoff chances.

"I never write the Yankees off until the season's over and the standings are set," Pedroia said. "They've been around too long and been in the playoffs for such a long time that we're definitely not counting them out."

Paul Byrd (9-11) allowed two runs and five hits in six innings to beat the Yankees in a crucial game for the second consecutive year, and David Ortiz reached base four times for the second straight night.

In their final regular-season trip to Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox have outscored their longtime rivals 18-6 in the first two games of this three-game series.

"We just dug ourselves a bigger hole," New York's Johnny Damon said. "This is definitely a tough time for us."

Pedroia's first career slam capped a seven-run eighth inning and sent hordes of booing Yankees fans shuffling toward the exits. New York dropped seven games behind Boston, which leads the AL wild-card race by 2 1/2 games over Minnesota.

The Yankees haven't missed a postseason since 1993.

"It couldn't have been any worse the first two games, but we've got to come back tomorrow," New York shortstop Derek Jeter said. "What we've done before makes no difference."

In a game they needed badly, the injury-depleted Yankees gave the ball to Sidney Ponson (7-5). He lasted 4 2/3 innings and dropped to 3-13 with a 6.95 ERA in 22 starts against the Red Sox.

Boston tries for a sweep today with lefty Jon Lester on the mound against 16-game winner Mike Mussina. The Red Sox are 3 1/2 games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Byrd has won six of his last seven starts following a five-game losing streak. He stymied New York's struggling hitters with floaters and soft stuff, just as he did last October when the right-hander won at Yankee Stadium to clinch a first-round playoff series for Cleveland.

"When I walked into this clubhouse, I remembered getting champagne poured on me right over there, about 20 feet away, and I got a smile on my face because it just has a good memory to me," Byrd said. "And I know this is the last year of the stadium, so you think about that."

RAYS 1, BLUE JAYS 0

Matt Garza (11-7) allowed six hits over 7 2/3 innings, two relievers completed the six-hitter and Carlos Pena homered to lead AL East-leading Tampa Bay past visiting Toronto.

ORIOLES 11, WHITE SOX 3

Brian Roberts drove in three runs and Aubrey Huff, Melvin Mora and Kevin Millar hit homers to help host Baltimore beat Chicago and end a five-game losing streak.

TWINS 6, MARINERS 5

Center fielder Denard Span drove in two runs and threw out the potential tying run at the plate in the bottom of the eighth as Minnesota held off Seattle to snap a four-game losing streak.

INDIANS 9, TIGERS 7

Kelly Shoppach homered and drove in three runs and Shin-Soo Choo hit a home run to lift host Cleveland to its 10th straight win, while extending Detroit's losing streak to four.

RANGERS 3, ROYALS 2

Matt Harrison (6-3) gave up two runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings, and Texas went ahead when pitcher Brian Bannister dropped Joaquin Arias' popup in the bottom of the seventh to allow a run.

ATHLETICS 6, ANGELS 5

Emil Brown homered and drove in three runs, Rajai Davis had a career-high four hits and host Oakland took a 6-0 lead after four innings, then held off Los Angeles, which closed to 6-4 with four runs in the bottom of the fourth.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

METS 6, PHILLIES 3

Daniel Murphy hit a tiebreaking double after Carlos Delgado's second solo homer had tied the game in the eighth and Brian Schneider followed with a two-run bloop single to lead visiting New York past Philadelphia and back into first place in the NL East.

CUBS 2, PIRATES 0

Jason Marquis (9-7) allowed five hits over seven innings, Kerry Wood got his 27th save, and visiting Chicago scored two runs in the seventh inning for its third three-game sweep of the Pirates this season.

PADRES 5, DIAMONDBACKS 4

Jody Gerut singled in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth and San Diego handed Arizona its fourth straight loss and denied Randy Johnson his 295th career win.

NATIONALS 5, DODGERS 4

Tim Redding (9-8) spaced three solo homers among eight hits over six innings and Ryan Zimmerman gave host Washington a 5-3 lead with a solo homer in the seventh in beating Los Angeles.

MARLINS 4, BRAVES 1

Florida's Josh Johnson (4-0) threw a four-hitter for the first complete game of his career, Hanley Ramirez had a two-run single and Dan Uggla homered in a victory over host Atlanta.

ASTROS 4, REDS 1

Roy Oswalt (12-9) gave up to a run on five hits in seven innings to beat Cincinnati for the 22nd time in 23 decisions, and Hunter Pence and Ty Wigginton hit two-run homers to propel Houston.

CARDINALS 5, BREWERS 3

Ryan Ludwick was a triple short of a cycle and had two RBIs, and St. Louis rallied from a three-run deficit with four runs in the bottom of the eighth to defeat Milwaukee.

GIANTS 4, ROCKIES 1

Bengie Molina and Pablo Sandoval hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the seventh and Tim Lincecum (15-3) struck out 10 to boost his majors-leading strikeout total to 210 as San Francisco avoided a three-game sweep.

NOTES

Braves-Red Sox: The Boston Red Sox acquired outfielder Mark Kotsay from Atlanta for a minor leaguer yesterday. Kotsay hit .289 with six home runs and 37 RBIs in 88 games with the Braves. Atlanta got 20-year-old outfielder Luis Sumoza, who batted .301 in 51 games for Class A Lowell of the New York-Penn League this season.

Phillies: Philadelphia called up pitcher Andrew Carpenter from Double-A Reading before their game last night against the New York Mets. Infielder Andy Tracy was designated for assignment to make room for Carpenter. Carpenter was 6-8 with a 5.67 ERA in 16 starts at Reading. He'll be used out of the bullpen in Philadelphia.

Pirates: No. 2 draft pick Pedro Alvarez refused to sign his contract with Pittsburgh, and the players' association filed a grievance yesterday claiming the Aug. 15 deadline was unilaterally extended by Major League Baseball without the union's permission. Alvarez, a power-hitting third baseman from Vanderbilt, agreed to a minor league contract with a $6 million signing bonus. The Pirates said his agent, Scott Boras, told the team Alvarez would not report unless the deal was renegotiated.

Rangers: Texas right-hander Vicente Padilla will miss his scheduled start tomorrow against the Los Angeles Angels with inflammation in the muscle joint between the neck and shoulder. Padilla, who leads the Rangers with 12 victories and has a 4.98 ERA in 25 starts, couldn't throw bullpen sessions Tuesday or yesterday.