The New York Yankees made it a season-record eight straight wins by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5 in the American League on Saturday.
With scores tied in the bottom of the seventh, Toronto pitcher Jason Frasor (3-4) retired his first two batters before Robinson Cano singled. Marcus Thames then drove a pitch to the back of the Blue Jays’ bullpen in left-center for his 11th home run, snapping a 1-for-14 skid.
With the best record in baseball, but only a slim lead in the AL East over Tampa Bay, the Yankees improved to 6-0 in their 10-game homestand.
Tigers 6, Royals 4
In Kansas City, Austin Jackson hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth inning for his third hit of the game, lifting Detroit over Kansas City.
Jackson also hit a solo homer in the fifth for the Tigers, who have won three straight to reach .500 for the first time since Aug. 24.
Tigers starter Rick Porcello (8-11) pitched seven innings to earn the win.
Athletics 3, Angels 1
In Oakland, California, Trevor Cahill pitched six scoreless innings to become Oakland’s first 15-game winner in three years with a victory over Los Angeles.
Cahill (15-6) allowed only one runner past second.
Angels starter Jared Weaver (11-11) walked three and allowed six hits in seven innings. He is winless in five starts.
Twins 12, Rangers 4
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jim Thome homered twice for Minnesota, moving past Mark McGwire for ninth place on baseball’s all-time homer list and powering the Twins past Texas.
Thome went deep for the 583rd time in his career leading off the third inning, a shot to the second deck above right field estimated at 137m. Then, with two on and two outs in the fourth, Thome’s full-count drive into the bullpen behind left-center made it 9-0 and gave him No. 584.
After six straight one-run games, the Twins let loose against slumping Rangers starter Colby Lewis (9-12) and the AL West-leading Rangers.
Minnesota gave starter Carl Pavano (16-10) plenty of support and kept its AL Central lead over Chicago at four games.
In other AL play, it was:
• White Sox 3, Red Sox 1, 1st game
• White Sox 3, Red Sox 1, 2nd game
• Orioles 8, Rays 4
• Indians 4, Mariners 2
AP, ST LOUIS, Missouri
Rookie pitcher Travis Wood hit his first homer and allowed just one unearned run over seven innings to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-1 win over the St Louis Cardinals in the National League on Saturday.
Wood (5-2) bettered St Louis starter Adam Wainwright (17-10), who lost a career-worst fourth successive decision, giving up seven hits in five innings.
The Reds moved eight games ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central, having made up nine games in the standings since being swept by the Cardinals early last month.
Giants 5, Dodgers 4
In Los Angeles, Juan Uribe hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the ninth inning and Brian Wilson escaped a jam in the bottom half to preserve San Francisco’s thrilling win over Los Angeles.
Uribe was hitless in three at-bats before sending a Jonathon Broxton (5-5) pitch into the left-field pavilion with one out.
Broxton was back at closer for the first time since Aug. 21, but blew his sixth save in 28 chances.
Los Angeles put runners on first and third with one out in the bottom half, but Wilson elicited a fly out and a fielder’s choice to end the game and earn his 39th save.
San Francisco erased a 4-0 deficit and moved within two games of NL West-leading San Diego.
Giants reliever Jose Lopez (4-2) pitched a perfect eighth to get the win.
Nationals 9, Pirates 2
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, John Lannan allowed only one run for the second consecutive start, guiding Washington past Pittsburgh.
Lannan improved to 5-1 with a 2.93 ERA in seven starts since returning from a six-week stint the minor leagues.
Ivan Rodriguez had three hits and four RBIs, homering for the 308th time in his career in the fifth, an inning after hitting a two-run single off the wall as part of the Nationals’ five-run fourth inning. It was his first four-RBI game since 2007.
Pittsburgh pitcher Paul Maholm took over the NL lead in losses with 14.
Rockies 6, Padres 2
In San Diego, California, the hosts slumped to their ninth straight defeat — their longest skid in seven years — with a loss to Colorado.
The NL West-leading Padres hadn’t lost more than three in a row all season before this slump, during which they’ve gone from having the best record in the NL to having the third-best.
A pre-game players-only meeting could not pull the Padres out of their tailspin.
NL batting leader Carlos Gonzalez had three hits and two RBIs for the Rockies.
Colorado starter Jason Hammel (10-7) held San Diego to two runs in six-and-two-third innings.
In other NL play, it was:
• Braves 2, Marlins 0
• Phillies 5, Brewers 4
• Cubs 5, Mets 3
• Astros 6, Diamondbacks 5
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