A.L. Playoffs Chase: Sunday-Morning Update
Another apparent missed call by umpire Jerry Meals has injected itself into a pennant race.
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The American League East remains with three teams now within two games of first place, and a tie for the top spot.
Orioles 5, Yankees 4: A controversial and probably missed call by umpire Jerry Meals at first base cost the Yankees the potential tying run in the ninth inning and gave Baltimore a 5-4 victory, putting the O's back into a first-place tie in the AL East. Three Orioles (Mark Reynolds, Lew Ford and J.J. Hardy) homered off CC Sabathia, who some say might still be having elbow trouble.
Rangers 4, Rays 2, 10 innings: Tampa Bay could not take advantage of the Orioles' win over the Yankees to move to within one game of the leaders. 19-year-old rookie Jurickson Profar drove in the lead run in the 10th off Kyle Farnsworth to give Texas the win; in so doing the Rangers reduced their magic number to clinch the AL West to 20.
White Sox 5, Royals 4: The White Sox had lost six straight to their division rivals and had to hold off a Kansas City rally in the ninth inning to win. Dayan Viciedo, Tyler Flowers and Paul Konerko homered for the Chisox to back Chris Sale's six strong innings for the victory.
Angels 6, Tigers 1: It was all supposed to go just fine for Detroit, with ace Justin Verlander on the mound. Back to the proverbial drawing board: the Angels pounded Verlander, scoring six runs off him in six innings. Angels rookie Mike Trout, continuing his spectacular season, hit his 26th home run. The Angels kept pace in the wild-card race, remaining two games behind the second spot; they moved into a tie with the Rays, who lost.
Athletics 6, Mariners 1: No, this is not a misprint; for the second straight night, the A's defeated their division rivals by the same score. Saturday, in another repeat of Friday, recent Oakland acquisition George Kottaras homered. A's lefthander Brett Anderson threw six innings, allowing six hits, no walks and just one unearned run.
| A.L. Wild Card | W | L | |
| Athletics | 78 | 60 | ½ |
| Orioles | 78 | 61 | - |
| Rays | 76 | 63 | 2 |
| Angels | 76 | 63 | 2 |
| Tigers | 73 | 64 | 3½ |
Next Up: All of the above series conclude Sunday. Key pitching matchup of the day between contenders: the Rangers' Roy Oswalt against the Rays' James Shields. All of the American League games are afternoon affairs; the Yankees/Orioles matchup will be shown on national TV via TBS at 1:35 p.m. ET.
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