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Polanco long ball seals Tigers’ rally

MLB standings after Sunday’s games AMERICAN LEAGUE Eastern Division   W L PCT GB New York 82 48 0.631 _ Boston 76 54 0.585 6 Tampa Bay 70 59 0.543 11.5 Toronto 58 70 0.453 23 Baltimore 54 77 0.412 28.5 Central Division W L PCT GB Detroit 69 60 0.535 _ Minnesota 65 65 0.5 4.5 Chicago 64 67 0.489 6 Cleveland 58 72 0.446 11.5 Kansas City 50 80 0.385 19.5 Western Division W L PCT GB Los Angeles 77 52 0.597 _ Texas 72 57 0.558 5 Seattle 68 63 0.519 10 Oakland 57 73 0.438 20.5 NATIONAL LEAGUE Eastern Division W L PCT GB Philadelphia 75 53 0.586 _ Atlanta 68 62 0.523 8 Florida 68 62 0.523 8 New York 59 72 0.45 17.5 Washington 46 85 0.351 30.5 Central Division W L PCT GB St Louis 77 55 0.583 _ Chicago 65 63 0.508 10 Milwaukee 64 66 0.492 12 Houston 62 68 0.477 14 Cincinnati 56 73 0.434 19.5 Pittsburgh 53 75 0.414 22 Western Division W L PCT GB Los Angeles 78 53 0.595 _ Colorado 72 59 0.55 6 San Francisco 72 59 0.55 6 Arizona 59 72 0.45 19 San Diego 56 76 0.424 22.5

AMERICAN LEAGUE

REUTERS AND AP, DETROIT AND BOSTON

The Detroit Tigers roared from behind on Placido Polanco’s three-run, eighth-inning homer to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 and give Justin Verlander his 15th win of the season on Sunday.

Polanco drilled a two-out pitch off reliever Grant Balfour over the left field fence to rally the American League Central Division leaders from a 3-1 deficit.

“When I hit it, I knew it had a chance,” Polanco told reporters. “But I was kind of blowing it, pushing it, like: ‘Go, go, please.’”

Verlander (15-7) worked eight innings to join the Yankees’ CC Sabathia as the league’s only 15-game winners. The right-hander also was hoping the ball would clear the fence.

“I saw a similar ball get caught in the All-Star Game by the same guy,” Verlander said in a reference to Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford. “I was hoping it had just enough legs on it to get out behind the fence and he wouldn’t have a play on it.”

Adam Wainwright of the National League St Louis Cardinals leads the Major Leagues with 16 wins. He stopped the Washington Nationals 2-1 on Sunday, his 28th birthday.

Verlander survived a pair of fourth-inning home runs by the Rays while striking out four and walking three. He gave up six hits.

Curtis Granderson’s third-inning single put the Tigers on the scoreboard first.

Tampa Bay responded with Evan Longoria’s solo homer and a two-run blast by Akinori Iwamura in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead.

The win kept the Tigers four-and-a-half games ahead of the Minnesota Twins in the Central Division. Tampa Bay, last year’s AL champions, dropped to 11-and-a-half games behind the East-leading New York Yankees.

The Rays trail AL wild card leader Boston by five-and-a-half games.

YANKEES 8, WHITE SOX 3

At New York, Mark Teixeira homered and drove in four runs and Johnny Damon also went deep as New York polished off a three-game sweep of struggling Chicago.

Alfredo Aceves (9-1) provided stellar relief pitching after Joba Chamberlain’s abbreviated outing, and the streaking Yankees won for the 20th time in 26 games.

Derek Jeter scored three times for the AL East leaders, who boosted baseball’s best record to 82-48. They are 31-11 since the All-Star break, also the top mark in the majors.

Teixeira is making a push for AL MVP honors. The switch-hitting slugger, in his first season with the Yankees after signing a US$180 million, eight-year contract, has 32 homers and 101 RBIs.

RED SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 0

In Boston, Paul Byrd, making his first major league start since last September, pitched six shutout innings as the Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep over the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League on Sunday.



In other AL action it was:

• Orioles 5, Indians 2

• Twins 5, Rangers 3

• Angels 9, Athletics 1

• Royals 3, Mariners 0

NATIONAL LEAGUE

AP, SAN FRANCISCO

Edgar Renteria hit a grand slam in the seventh inning as the San Francisco Giants pulled even in the National League wild-card race with Colorado, beating the Rockies 9-5 on Sunday for a three-game sweep.

The Giants moved into a second-place tie in the NL West with Colorado, six games behind Los Angeles. The Rockies lost their season-high fifth in a row.

Renteria homered with two outs to overcome a 5-2 deficit, connecting two pitches after Rafael Betancourt (0-1) relieved Franklin Morales.



In other NL action it was:

• Phillies 3, Braves 2

• Brewers 4, Pirates 1

• Cardinals 2, Nationals 1

• Mets 4, Cubs 1

• Diamondbacks 4, Astros 3

• Marlins 6, Padres 4




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