AMERICAN LEAGUE
Alex Rodriguez hit his 300th home run with the Yankees, Russell Martin and Steve Pearce also homered, and New York regained sole possession of first place in the AL East by defeating Baltimore 8-5 on Friday night.
The Yankees built a 7-0 lead in the fifth inning against rookie Wei-Yin Chen (12-9) and held on for their third win in nine games. New York had lost eight of 11 to the Orioles, including the opener of this four-game series.
Adam Jones, Robert Andino and Manny Machado homered for the Orioles, who got three hits from Nate McLouth but missed a chance to move ahead of the Yankees for the first time since June 7.
Rodriguez chased Chen with a two-run drive in the fifth — the 645th home run of his career. A-Rod, who also singled, extended his hitting streak to 11 games — his longest run since a 12-gamer in 2009.
Phil Hughes (14-12) allowed three runs, two earned, in six innings to break a streak of five straight road losses since June 15.
RAYS 3, RANGERS 1, 11 innings
In St Petersburg, Florida, Ben Zobrist’s home run in the bottom of the 11th inning lifted Tampa Bay over Texas.
Zobrist’s 16th homer came off Mark Lowe (0-1) after a leadoff walk to B.J. Upton.
Wade Davis (3-0) got the win after striking out five of the six hitters he faced in the 10th and 11th innings.
The Rays’ fifth win in six games featured a total of 29 strikeouts for both teams.
In Friday’s other games, it was:
‧ Royals 7, White Sox 5
‧ Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 5
‧ Indians 7, Twins 6
‧ Angels 3, Tigers 2
‧ Athletics 6, Mariners 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, WASHINGTON
Stephen Strasburg matched his career low by lasting only three innings in what likely was his final home start this season, allowing five runs on Friday night in the Washington Nationals’ 9-7, 10-inning loss to the Miami Marlins.
Jose Reyes tripled twice and drove in three runs for the Marlins, including a two-run triple in the 10th off Tyler Clippard (2-4) that made a winner off Chad Gaudin (3-1). Washington, which has the best record in the major leagues, lost for only the second time in 10 games.
Strasburg, 15-6 with a 3.16 ERA, allowed two runs in the first, one in the second and two in the third, giving up six hits — including home runs to Giancarlo Stanton and Rob Brantly. He threw 67 pitches and was pinch hit for in the third.
In his first full season following elbow-ligament replacement surgery on Sept. 3, 2010, Strasburg has 197 strikeouts in 159-1/3 innings. The Nationals, wanting to protect the arm of the 24-year-old right-hander, have said Wednesday’s start at the New York Mets likely will be his final appearance of the season, even though Washington are likely to see postseason baseball for the first time since the original Senators in 1933.
In Friday’s other games, it was:
‧ Brewers 5, Cardinals 4, 13 Innings
‧ Braves 3, Mets 0
‧ Astros 5, Reds 3
‧ Phillies 3, Rockies 2
‧ Cubs 12, Pirates 2
‧ Padres 6, Diamondbacks 5
‧ Giants 5, Dodgers 2
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