The surging Tampa Bay Rays moved to within one game of New York in the AL East with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Yankees on Friday.
Matt Joyce belted a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to erase a 2-0 Yankees lead and the Rays held on for their seventh successive win, tying a season high.
The Yankees jumped to an early 2-0 lead when the second batter of the game, Nick Swisher, smacked a two-run homer into the right field seats.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Rays rookie starter Wade Davis pitched brilliantly through seven innings, allowing just the two runs on four hits while striking out six to earn his ninth win of the season.
“To shut them down after having given up a two-run homer in the first inning tells you a lot about his makeup and his stuff,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said of his starter. “It’s a different moment for him. I was kind of curious where it was going to go and I thought he responded, obviously, very well.”
Rafael Soriano collected his 29th save by pitching a scoreless ninth.
Yankees starter Phil Hughes (12-4) pitched six innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out six.
“He made one mistake,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “It’s unfortunate, because he pitched a great game, but these are the types of games that you play against these guys.”
New York third baseman Alex Rodriguez was 0-for-4 as he continued his quest to become the seventh player to hit 600 career home runs. The Yankees slugger hit his 599th on July 22.
Tigers 6, Red Sox 5
In Boston, Jhonny Peralta hit two homers in his first game since being traded and struggling Detroit withstood a grand slam by David Ortiz in the ninth inning to post the victory.
Peralta, obtained from the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday, hit a solo homer in his first at bat in the second inning then connected again off Jon Lester, a two-run shot in the fifth.
Detroit took a 6-1 lead into the ninth and Jose Valverde struck out leadoff hitter Eric Patterson. Then he walked the next three batters and Ortiz connected for his 22nd homer, just clearing the low fence in right field. With two outs, Adrian Beltre doubled and J.D. Drew was walked intentionally before Mike Cameron took a called third strike.
In other AL play, it was:
Blue Jays 8, Indians 1
Angels 9, Rangers 7
White Sox 6, Athletics 1
Twins 5, Mariners 3
Royals 7, Orioles 5
REUTERS AND AP, WASHINGTON
Roy Oswalt’s debut with Philadelphia was a dud as the Washington Nationals pounded the Phillies and their newly acquired pitcher 8-1 on Friday.
Oswalt, acquired by the Phillies in a trade with Houston on Thursday, allowed five runs (one unearned) on seven hits over six innings.
The 32-year-old right-hander walked two and stuck out four in an 86-pitch performance at Nationals Park.
“I came out a little amped up, holding the ball a little bit tight,” Oswalt told reporters. “I didn’t really start feeling better until the last two innings, actually ... It didn’t really go my way.”
Nyjer Morgan tripled on the first pitch from Oswalt in the first inning and scored on an RBI ground out by Adam Kennedy to put Oswalt in an early hole.
“I just basically wanted to get the party started off right, and it happened,” Morgan said. “Same Oswalt. He’s got electric stuff, but we just jumped on him.”
The Nationals added two more in the third on a throwing error by Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz and a sacrifice fly by Ryan Zimmerman.
In the fifth, Oswalt (6-13) surrendered a double to Kennedy and with two outs hit Adam Dunn with a pitch. Both came in to score on Josh Willingham’s double.
The Nationals scored three more in the seventh inning off reliever Chad Durbin while the Phillies scored their lone run on a solo home run by Jayson Werth in the seventh.
Giants 6, Dodgers 5
In San Francisco, Aubrey Huff hit a go-ahead two-run double in the third inning and added a solo homer as San Francisco held off a late rally to beat Los Angeles.
Tim Lincecum (11-4) scattered seven hits and two runs over seven innings to win for the first time since July 15 and pull the Giants within two-and-a-half games of first-place San Diego in the NL West.
The Dodgers, seeing their playoff hopes dimming, were reportedly talking with the Chicago Cubs about the possibility of acquiring left-hander Ted Lilly to bolster their pitching staff.
Huff, who passed the 1,500-hit mark earlier this week, singled and scored on Pat Burrell’s line drive double down the third base line in the sixth when the Giants chased Dodgers starter Carlos Monasterios (3-3).
In other NL play, it was:
Astros 5, Brewers 0
Diamondbacks 9, Mets 6
Braves 6, Reds 4, 10 innings
Rockies 17, Cubs 2
Marlins 4, Padres 2
Cardinals 1, Pirates 0, 10 innings
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