AMERICAN LEAGUE
Manny Machado led off the ninth inning with a single and scored the winning run on a single by Nate McLouth, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Wednesday night to retain a share of first place in the AL East.
The rookie also made a key defensive play in the top of the ninth for the Orioles, who moved 18 games over .500 (80-62) for the first time since the end of the 1997 season.
Photo: AFP
Baltimore started the day tied atop the division with the New York Yankees, who beat Boston 5-4. The Orioles would seek to complete a three-game sweep of Tampa Bay yesterday.
B.J. Upton homered for the Rays, who fell three games behind the Orioles and Yankees. Tampa Bay stranded 11 and went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
Machado led off the ninth with a single off Kyle Farnsworth (1-5), took second on a bunt and scored when McLouth hit a liner off the right-field wall.
Jim Johnson (2-1) got the win.
YANKEES 5, RED SOX 4
In Boston, Curtis Granderson hit two home runs, Robinson Cano also homered and New York defeated Boston to remain tied for first place in the AL East.
The Yankees finished the game without Derek Jeter, who left in the eighth after pulling up lame running out a double-play grounder to end the inning.
Manager Joe Girardi said Jeter wanted to stay in the game, but he told the shortstop to go put ice on his foot. Girardi said it was a bone bruise, but Jeter said it was a sprained ankle that was no big deal.
David Phelps (4-4) gave up one run in 5-2/3 innings, striking out five. Rafael Soriano got four outs for his 37th save, but not before allowing a solo homer to Jarrod Saltalamacchia to lead off the ninth.
Aaron Cook (3-10) allowed three runs in five-plus innings. Saltalamacchia had a double, a triple, a homer and a walk for Boston, which lost for the 12th time in 14 games.
TIGERS 8, WHITE SOX 6
In Chicago, Max Scherzer pitched six effective innings to earn his career-high 16th win, Prince Fielder hit a three-run homer and Detroit beat Chicago to move within a game of the first-place White Sox in the AL Central.
Scherzer (16-6) allowed a run and four hits, including the first of two homers by Kevin Youkilis. The right-hander struck out seven to increase his major league-leading total to 220 and improved to 10-1 over his last 14 starts.
The series finale last night was to feature a pair of aces, with Detroit’s Justin Verlander facing White Sox lefty Chris Sale.
Fielder hit his 26th homer in the seventh against reliever Leyson Septimo, snapping an 0-for-18 slump and giving the Tigers a 6-1 lead.
Youkilis belted a three-run shot off Joaquin Benoit in the eighth to get the White Sox within three. Jose Valverde earned his 30th save in 34 chances.
Chicago starter Gavin Floyd (9-10), activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, pitched well for the first four innings, but gave up three runs in the fifth.
In other AL play, it was:
‧ Rangers 5, Indians 2
‧ Athletics 4, Angels 1
‧ Royals 10, Twins 5
‧ Mariners 3, Blue Jays 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, PHILADELPHIA
Jimmy Rollins hit a two-run homer and Cliff Lee pitched seven strong innings to lead the streaking Philadelphia Phillies to their seventh straight win, 3-1 over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.
The Phillies continued their late push for an NL wild-card spot with a three-game sweep of the Marlins. Up next for the Phillies are four games in Houston against the NL-worst Astros.
Philadelphia pulled within three games of St Louis for the second wild card. The Phillies (72-71) are on a season-best win streak and have won 15 of 19 to move over .500 for the first time since June 3 (28-27).
Rollins hit a two-run homer off Josh Johnson (8-12) in the seventh for a 3-1 lead.
Phillippe Aumont worked a scoreless eighth and Jonathan Papelbon completed the four-hitter with his 34th save.
Lee (5-7) tossed four-hit ball and struck out six in seven innings to earn only his second home victory of the season.
NATIONALS 2, METS
In New York, John Lannan pitched 5-2/3 shutout innings and Washington lowered its magic number for clinching a playoff berth to six with a win over punchless New York.
Ryan Zimmerman homered in the fourth off rookie Matt Harvey (3-5) and Ian Desmond connected off Jon Rauch in the eighth, helping the NL East leaders complete a three-game sweep.
Lannan (3-0) allowed five hits, struck out two and walked one in the slot that opened when the Nationals cut short Stephen Strasburg’s season.
Harvey allowed one run on five hits with 10 strikeouts in five innings.
REDS 2, PIRATES 1
In Cincinnati, Homer Bailey pitched seven solid innings and Cincinnati came up with just enough offense to squeeze out a win over Pittsburgh for a three-game sweep.
The Reds (87-57) scored both of their runs on outs while widening their lead in the NL Central over second-place St Louis to 11.5 games.
Bailey (11-9) allowed six hits and one run with two walks and four strikeouts to extend his career-high in victories. J.J. Hoover worked the ninth for his first career save.
Pittsburgh starter A.J. Burnett (15-7) allowed five hits and two runs with two walks and eight strikeouts.
GIANTS 8, ROCKIES 3
In Denver, Tim Lincecum pitched effectively for six innings, Brandon Crawford doubled twice and drove in two runs, and San Francisco beat Colorado.
Marco Scutaro added three hits, including a pair of run-scoring singles, to help the NL West-leading Giants take two of three from the Rockies and improve to 21-7 on the road since the All-Star break, best in the NL. They are unbeaten in their last nine series on the road (8-0-1).
Lincecum (9-14) allowed three runs on six hits. He finished with eight strikeouts and four walks in his career-best fifth straight road win.
Jeff Francis (5-5) gave up five runs on seven hits in three innings. He struck out five.
In other NL action, it was:
‧ Padres 3, Cardinals 2
‧ Diamondbacks 3, Dodgers 2
‧ Brewers 8, Braves 2
‧ Cubs 5, Astros 1
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