MAJOR LEAGUES
The Los Angeles Angels used eight pitchers — a club record for a nine-inning game — in a 2-0 victory over Oakland on Saturday to increase their American League West lead over the Athletics to four games.
The deficit is the largest for the A’s this season. They led the division by four games on Aug. 9 before going on their current 6-13 slide.
Photo: AFP
Their only hits were infield singles by Josh Donaldson in the first and fourth, and a single by Sam Fuld in the ninth.
Cory Rasmus made his first major league start for the Angels in place of Garrett Richards, out for the season because of a torn patellar tendon in his left knee.
The 26-year-old right-hander threw 49 pitches over three innings, matching his longest stint in 43 relief appearances over two big league seasons.
Yoslan Herrera (1-1) got the win in the Angels’ fifth consecutive victory.
In Chicago, Kyle Ryan pitched six scoreless innings in his major league debut as the Detroit Tigers salvaged a split of a day-night doubleheader 3-6, 8-4 with a potentially costly victory.
Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera pulled up lame while running out a grounder in the fourth inning, forcing him from the game.
The All-Star has been dealing with a sore right ankle.
In the opener, Chris Sale struck out a season-high 13, beating Max Scherzer in a matchup of All-Star aces and leading Chicago to a 6-3 win.
Ezequiel Carrera, Don Kelly and Ian Kinsler each had three hits for Detroit in the nightcap.
Cleveland’s Michael Brantley and Carlos Santana each had an RBI single in the 11th inning as the Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 for their third consecutive win.
Kansas City have lost three in a row to fall into a first-place tie with Detroit.
The Royals got a run back in the bottom of the 11th, when Salvador Perez’s two-out double scored Jarrod Dyson. However, Erik Kratz struck out to end the game.
The Baltimore Orioles edged the Minnesota Twins 3-2 after Chris Davis hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the seventh inning and Jimmy Paredes homered.
The Orioles have won five of their past six games and lead the Yankees by eight games in the AL East. The Twins have lost 10 of their past 14 games.
In other games, Jake Peavy took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, leading the San Francisco Giants over the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1, the San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodhers 2-1 over 10 innings, the Washington Nationals downed the Seattle Mariners 3-1 and the Toronto Blue Jays blanked the New York Yankees 2-0.
Jake Odorizzi and two Rays relievers combined on a one-hitter as Tampa Bay shut out the Boston Red Sox 7-0, the Chicago Cubs split a doubleheader 5-1 and 2-13 with the St Louis Cardinals, the Miami Marlins Blanked the Atlanta Braves 4-0, the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 and the Houston Astros completed a 2-0 shutout of the Texas Rangers.
Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard drove in three runs and Marlon Byrd homered on his 37th birthday as the Phillies downed the New York Mets 7-2, and the Colorado Rockies shut the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-0.
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