AMERICAN LEAGUE
Russell Martin homered and drove in three runs, and the New York Yankees regained sole possession of first place in the AL East with a 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.
Second baseman Eliot Johnson’s errant throw to home plate that led to two runs in the seventh inning helped the Yankees win for the fifth time in 15 games.
Photo: Reuters
New York sat atop the division standings by itself for 84 consecutive days — its longest streak since 2004 — until Tuesday night’s loss to Tampa Bay dropped the Yankees into a tie with Baltimore.
BLUE JAYS 6, ORIOLES 4
In Toronto, Blue Jays rookie Adeiny Hechavarria drove in the go-ahead run with a bunt single, Rajai Davis homered and had three RBIs and Toronto beat Baltimore to avoid a three-game sweep.
Steve Delabar (4-1) worked one inning of relief for the win as the Blue Jays snapped a four-game slide and ended Baltimore’s winning streak at three.
Adam Jones hit a solo home run and Mark Reynolds added a two-run drive off Casey Janssen in the ninth, his sixth in six games and 18th of the season, but it wasn’t enough for Baltimore.
The Orioles return home Thursday for a pivotal seven-game homestand that begins with four against the Yankees, followed by three against Tampa Bay.
RANGERS 7, ROYALS 6
In Kansas City, Missouri, Adrian Beltre hit a three-run homer, Michael Young also went deep and Texas held on to beat Kansas City.
Ryan Dempster (5-1) gave up RBI doubles to Billy Butler in the first inning and Salvador Perez in the sixth, but was otherwise stingy for the AL West-leading Rangers. He only allowed two other hits in six innings, striking out eight to win his fourth straight game.
Beltre’s homer came off Everett Teaford (1-4), who was making his fifth start of the year. Young’s solo shot came off Vin Mazzaro during a three-run seventh.
The runs proved handy when Kansas City mounted a late comeback. Alcides Escobar’s RBI single off Joe Nathan put the potential tying run on first with two outs in the ninth, but Alex Gordon flied out to end the game. It was Nathan’s 27th consecutive save and 28th in 29 chances this season.
WHITE SOX 6, TWINS 2
In Chicago, Alex Rios homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs to lead the White Sox over Minnesota.
Rios hit a grand slam in the first inning off P.J. Walters (2-3) and a two-run shot in the sixth to help Chicago maintain its one-game lead in the AL Central over Detroit.
The Twins scored 18 runs against Chicago pitching Tuesday, but White Sox starter Jake Peavy (10-10) silenced Minnesota’s bats a day later, allowing one run and six hits to win for the first time since Aug. 1.
In other AL play, it was:
‧ Tigers 7, Indians 1
‧ Angels 7, Athletics 1
‧ Mariners 2, Red Sox 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, CINCINNATI, OHIO
Erik Kratz hit a three-run home run, Chase Utley added a two-run shot, and Roy Halladay stayed perfect when given a big lead as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-2 on Wednesday.
Halladay, 4-1 in his last six starts, is 110-0 when he is staked to a lead of at least four runs. Halladay (9-7) scattered eight hits over 7-1/3 innings, allowing one run with five strikeouts and one walk. Philadelphia won two of three in the series against the NL Central leaders.
All-Star first baseman Joey Votto returned to the Reds lineup for the first time since July 15 and lined the third pitch he saw in 52 days to left field for a single with two outs in the first inning. The Reds went 32-16 while Votto was out due with a knee injury.
METS 6, CARDINALS 2
In St Louis, Missouri, R.A. Dickey became the first pitcher in the majors to win 18 games this season, and Ike Davis hit a three-run homer to lift the New York Mets over St. Louis.
The knuckleballer allowed two runs in 6-2/3 innings en route to his 18th win, the first Mets pitcher to reach the mark since Frank Viola (20-12) and Dwight Gooden (19-7) both did it in 1990. Dickey (18-4) gave up eight hits and struck out five to help New York salvage a win to close out the three-game series.
Davis gave the Mets a 5-1 lead with his 26th homer, and Daniel Murphy went 3-for-4 to lift his average in day games to an NL best .351 (65 for 185). Josh Thole and Andres Torres had RBI singles, and Lucas Duda drove in the Mets’ other run with a bases-loaded walk.
The Mets did most of their damage off of Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright (13-12), who allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings. Wainwright delivered the Cardinals’ first run when he led off the third inning with a home run against Dickey.
It was Wainwright’s first homer of the season, and the sixth in his major league career.
NATIONALS 9, CUBS 1
In Washington, Bryce Harper hit two homers and the Nationals went deep six times for the second consecutive game, sending Gio Gonzalez to his 18th victory in a rout of the Cubs.
Adam LaRoche kept up his tear at the plate with three hits for the Nationals, who have won four straight and own the best record in the majors at 84-52.
For the second night in a row, Washington tied a team record for home runs in a game. LaRoche has hit three of those 12 long balls.
The 19-year-old Harper had his second multihomer game.
Gonzalez (18-7), who shut out St. Louis on five hits in his last start, allowed only three singles in seven scoreless innings to tie Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey for most wins in the majors.
Gonzalez struck out nine and walked none.
In other NL play, it was:
‧ Braves 1, Rockies 0
‧ Pirates 6, Astros 3
‧ Brewers 8, Marlins 5
‧ Diamondbacks 6, Giants 2
‧ Padres 4, Dodgers 3
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