AMERICAN LEAGUE
Jorge Posada came off the bench and helped the Yankees to yet another first-place finish with a go-ahead single in the eighth inning as New York swept the Tampa Bay Rays by identical 4-2 scores in a day-night doubleheader on Wednesday to win the American League East.
Accomplishing most of their regular-season goals with a week to spare, the Yankees earned their 16th playoff berth in 17 seasons by winning the day game behind Robinson Cano’s tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth.
Photo: Reuters
For the Rays, it was a damaging day as they missed a chance to move up on Boston in the AL wild-card race. The Red Sox lost to Baltimore 6-4, but still extended their lead over Tampa Bay to two games. The Los Angeles Angels also are two games behind.
ORIOLES 6, RED SOX 4
At Boston, the Red Sox blew another late lead and lost for the 14th time in 18 games, booed by fans at Fenway Park after Vladimir Guerrero and Baltimore rallied.
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Photo: Reuters
Despite the loss, Boston’s lead over Tampa Bay for the AL wild-card spot increased to two games. The Rays were swept by the New York Yankees in a day-night doubleheader.
Ace Josh Beckett took the mound, hoping to put some distance between Boston and the Rays. Beckett (13-6) allowed just one hit through five innings as the Red Sox built a 4-1 lead.
But Beckett allowed a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh on Mark Reynolds’ second homer that leveled the game.
MARINERS 5, TWINS 4
At Minneapolis, Ichiro Suzuki stopped Kevin Slowey’s no-hitter with a two-out infield single in the sixth inning and added an RBI double in the seventh, spurring Seattle to a victory in Minnesota, the 11th straight defeat for the Twins.
This is the third-longest losing streak in Minnesota’s 51-season history, behind a 14-game skid in 1982 and 13 in a row in 1961, the first year after the franchise moved from Washington. The Twins (59-95) need two more wins to top their worst finish in Minnesota, 60-102 in 1982.
Brandon League, who escaped a ninth-inning, no-out, bases-loaded situation to preserve the win the night before, gave up a two-out RBI single to Trevor Plouffe before retiring Brian Dinkelman on a roller in front of the plate with two runners on.
WHITE SOX 8, INDIANS 4
At Cleveland, Mark Buehrle bounced back from a poor outing and pitched six effective innings to lead Chicago past Cleveland.
Buehrle (12-9) gave up two runs and four hits. He had gone 0-3 with an 11.74 ERA in three previous September starts, allowing 33 hits in only 15-1/3 innings.
Buehrle’s skid included a career-worst 15 hits in 6-1/3 innings in a 7-2 loss to Kansas City last Thursday. The left-hander left after being hit in the left arm by a line drive off the bat of Alcides Escobar.
Alejandro De Aza hit a tiebreaking, two-run single off Ubaldo Jimenez (4-3) in a three-run seventh. Chicago added four runs on three homers off reliever Chad Durbin in the eighth.
In other games on Wednesday, it was:
‧ Angels 7, Blue Jays 2
‧ Tigers 6, Royals 3
‧ Rangers 3, Athletics 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, PHOENIX
Miguel Montero had a two-run homer among his three hits as the Arizona Diamondbacks jumped on the Pittsburgh Pirates early in an 8-5 win on Wednesday that cut their magic number for clinching the National League West to two.
A day after stranding 11 runners in a loss to Pittsburgh, the Diamondbacks put pressure on the Pirates from the start, setting a team record with four stolen bases while scoring three runs off Russ Ohlendorf (1-3) in the first inning.
Arizona added five more runs in the third inning with two-run hits by Aaron Hill and Ryan Roberts, giving Wade Miley (4-2) more than enough run support.
Derrek Lee homered and drove in two runs, and Ryan Ludwick added a solo shot for Pittsburgh, which has lost 10 of 14.
CARDINALS 6, METS 5
At St Louis, David Freese drove in five runs with a triple and a three-run homer as St Louis beat New York.
The Cardinals have won four straight and 12 of 14 to move within one game of Atlanta in the National League wild-card race. St Louis, a season-high 17 over .500 (86-69), has seven games left and would go for a sweep of the Mets yesterday.
The Mets fell to 73-82, ensuring the third straight losing season for the big-spending ballclub that has been plagued by injuries and off-field financial woes.
MARLINS 4, BRAVES 0
At Miami, Javier Vazquez allowed only two hits in seven innings on Wednesday against his former team as Florida played the spoiler’s role by beating Atlanta.
The Braves, who lost for the 13th time in their past 20 games, saw their lead over the St Louis Cardinals in the NL wild-card race fall to one game. The Cardinals were 10 games back on Aug. 25.
For the third start in a row, Vazquez (12-11) did not allow a run. He extended his streak of scoreless innings to 25, a Marlins record for a starter.
Leo Nunez walked two in the ninth before retiring Heyward to complete a two-hitter. It was the ninth time the Braves have been shut out.
CUBS 7, BREWERS 1
At Chicago, Matt Garza pitched a six-hitter and Marlon Byrd hit a three-run homer as Chicago prolonged Milwaukee’s drive to clinch the NL Central, beating the Brewers in the final game at Wrigley Field this season.
The Brewers’ magic number for winning the division title and closing out St Louis remained at three. Garza (9-10) allowed just an unearned run and struck out 10.
DJ LeMahieu broke a 1-1 tie with two-out, two-run double in the fifth off Randy Wolfe (13-10).
In other games on Wednesday, it was:
‧ Reds 2, Astros 0
‧ Padres 4, Rockies 0
‧ Nationals 7, Phillies 5
‧ Giants 8, Dodgers 5
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
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