NATIONAL LEAGUE
The Philadelphia Phillies closed within touching distance of a fifth straight National League East title by winning both games in a double-header against the Florida Marlins on Thursday.
The Phillies won the opening game 3-1, with starter Kyle Kendrick (8-6) not allowing a hit until the fifth inning. He gave up just one while striking out six over five innings.
Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez (8-8) threw six strong innings, but was an unlucky loser giving up two runs.
Philadelphia backed that up with a 2-1 win in the night game, with Ryan Howard hitting the winning RBI double in the 10th inning.
Michael Martinez walked to lead off the 10th against Burke Badenhop (2-2). Howard then lined a pitch deep to left-center and Martinez scored easily.
Florida had tied the game 1-1 with two outs and two strikes in the ninth, when Jose Lopez hit a homer off Cliff Lee, who fell one pitch short of a shutout.
John Mayberry had given the hosts a 1-0 lead with a homer in the sixth inning.
Michael Schwimer (1-0) tossed a scoreless 10th for his first career win, as the Phillies notched their 97th win of the season.
NATIONALS, 10, METS 1
In New York, Ian Desmond had a career-high five hits, leading Washington to a win over New York that completed a four-game road sweep.
Desmond drove in three runs and Ryan Zimmerman had two RBIs for the Nationals, who won their fifth straight overall and moved past the Mets into third place in the NL East. The franchise has not finished third or higher since 2002, when it played in Montreal.
Wilson Ramos added three hits for the visitors.
Washington’s Tommy Milone (1-0) notched his first win in his third major league start, allowing one run in 5-2/3 innings.
New York have lost six straight, one shy of its longest slump this season. Chris Schwinden (0-2) tossed five solid innings in his second big league start.
Thursday’s other results:
‧ Pirates 6, Dodgers 2
‧ Giants 8, Rockies 5
‧ Reds 8, Cubs, 6, 11 innings
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
The Tampa Bay Rays beat Boston 9-2 in Thursday’s opening game of a vital series between the American League divisional rivals, cutting the Red Sox lead in the wildcard race to a precarious three games.
Boston has won only three games this month, and seen its seemingly guaranteed playoff berth put in jeopardy. The Red Sox trail the AL East-leading New York Yankees by 4.5 games and instead are looking over their shoulders at the fast-finishing Rays.
The two teams play three more games at Fenway Park this weekend in a series that will likely decide who takes the wildcard.
Tampa Bay’s B.J. Upton broke a scoreless tie in the third inning when his broken bat sailed toward Boston shortstop Marco Scutaro, who had to dodge it and let the single through his legs. Evan Longoria followed with a three-run homer. Casey Kotchman added a two-run shot in the sixth to make it 6-1. In the seventh, Upton hit a two-run homer and Kotchman added an RBI single.
Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson (13-10) allowed one run in 5-2/3 innings.
Boston’s Kyle Weiland (0-2) pitched three-plus innings, giving up four runs.
ATHLETICS, 6, TIGERS, 1
In Oakland, California, Detroit missed their first chance to seal the AL Central Division title.
The Tigers’ 12-game winning streak came to an end, as David DeJesus hit a three-run homer in the first inning to lay the foundation for a comfortable A’s victory.
Detroit needs only one win or a single Cleveland loss over the remaining 12 games of the season to take the division crown.
Oakland starter Brandon McCarthy (9-8) went seven innings, allowing only one run and striking out eight to improve to a 2.15 ERA over his past five starts.
Tigers starter Max Scherzer (14-9) lasted five innings, giving up five runs.
RANGERS, 7, INDIANS, 4
In Arlington, Texas, Michael Young hit a three-run double to pass 100 RBIs in a season for the second time, and AL West-leading Texas completed a three-game series sweep of Cleveland.
Josh Hamilton homered his third straight game and Adrian Beltre also homered in extending his career-best hitting streak to 19 games.
ROYALS, 7, WHITE SOX, 2
In Kansas City, Missouri, Melky Cabrera had four hits, including a home run, to power Kansas City over Chicago, officially eliminating the White Sox from playoff contention.
Cabrera’s four-hit game matched a career high and his double in the sixth was his 40th as an outfielder. The Royals are the first team in major league history to have three outfielders with 40 or more doubles. Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur both have 45.
Billy Butler hit a three-run homer in the sixth for the Royals, whose five game winning streak is their longest since 2009.
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