A.L. Playoff Races: Friday-Morning Update
There were two walkoff wins in games involving contenders Thursday. One helped a contender. The other didn’t.
We’re starting to get a clearer picture of who the American League playoff teams will be; the wild-card trailers are trailing by a bit more, and while the division races remained close, with every day crossed off the calendar, trailers there get a bit more desperate.
Yankees 10, Blue Jays 7: Who'd have guessed that of all people, Ichiro Suzuki would be the one to step up his game in a playoff chase, after almost two years of being mediocre? Ichiro went 9-for-12 with three doubles, a home run, four RBI and four stolen bases in the Yankees' three-game sweep of the Blue Jays. He's hitting .321 since the stunning trade that sent him from Seattle to New York. Nick Swisher hit a grand slam in a seven-run fourth inning that helped bury the visitors. The Yankees increased their lead in the AL East to a full game over the Orioles, who had Thursday off. (And probably needed it, after the O's played back-to-back extra-inning games in Seattle.)
Royals 4, White Sox 3: The White Sox blew a 3-0 lead fashioned by Francisco Liriano and three relievers over eight innings. The Chicagoans could have had more runs, but hit just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Kansas City won the game in walkoff fashion; Billy Butler led off the last of the ninth with a double. He was replaced by pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson, who stole second. An intentional walk to Jeff Francoeur followed, and then Eric Hosmer singled in Dyson with the game-winner.
Athletics 12, Tigers 4: The Tigers had leads of 2-1 and 3-2, but couldn't hold them; a four-run A's sixth gave Oakland a 6-4 lead and then blew the game open with a six-run ninth inning. Seth Smith had a bases-clearing double in that inning and Josh Donaldson also doubled in two runs. The game was as important for the A's as for the Tigers; the win allowed Oakland to keep pace in both the AL West -- where the Rangers have not yet clinched -- and the wild-card race.
Rangers 3, Angels 1: The visiting Rangers dealt a blow to the streaking Angels' postseason hopes. The Angels had won 11 of their last 15, but the Rangers won the final two games of their series in Anaheim, Thursday night on a two-run, ninth-inning home run by Adrian Beltre off Angels closer Ernesto Frieri. Beltre hadn't played Wednesday due to abdominal troubles, but played through them Thursday and delivered that game-winning hit. Yu Darvish threw eight strong innings for the Rangers, striking out nine and posting his 16th win. The teams will meet again next week in Texas.
Rays 7, Red Sox 4: Perhaps there's a bit of magic left for the Tampa Bay Rays, though at 5½ games behind the co-wild-card leaders, they'll have to make quite a run over the season's last two weeks. Thursday, they entered the bottom of the ninth inning against the Red Sox trailing 4-1. Closer Andrew Bailey was ineffective, allowing four hits and a walk that tied the score. He was then replaced by Vicente Padilla. B.J. Upton hit Padilla's fourth pitch for a three-run, walkoff homer.
Up next: Two weekend matchups will involve postseason candidates facing each other: the A's visit the Bronx to take on the Yankees, while the White Sox visit Anaheim for a three-game set with the Angels. Other contending teams' weekend series: the Orioles head to Fenway Park to meet the Red Sox; the Rays host the Blue Jays; and the Rangers visit Seattle to play the Mariners..
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