Around the Bases: Rays’ collapse continues; Yankees top Orioles
Tampa Bay’s lead in the AL Wild Card standings is down to one game after an extra-innings loss to Boston, whose main rival is quite pleased with the outcome.
First pinch hit slam for the #RedSox since Kevin Millar 6-7-2003. What a crazy season.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) September 12, 2013
Carp's big hit spoiled a Rays' rally in the seventh and eighth innings, which was capped by James Loney's game-tying home run. The Rays had a shot at extending their lead in the American League Wild Card race, but instead saw their advantage shrink to one game over the Yankees.
Tampa Bay fell to 4-13 since Aug. 24, when they were tied with the Red Sox for first place in the AL East. The Rays at that point also held a 10½-game lead over the Royals, who have since cut their deficit to two.
Yankees 5, Orioles 4: Robinson Cano led off the top of the ninth inning with a home run off of Orioles reliever Tommy Hunter, and Lyle Overbay added an all-important insurance run via an infield single later in the inning.
Cano, Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson all went deep for the Yankees, who moved to within a game of the Rays in the American League Wild Card standings. Baltimore first baseman Chris Davis didn't reach 50 home runs, but did drive in a pair of runs with a third-inning double.
Danny Valencia went 4-for-4 for the Orioles, who outhit the Yankees, 13-6, but fell a half-game behind the Yankees and 1½ behind the Rays.
Pirates 7, Rangers 5: Justin Morneau went 4-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and Clint Barmes hit a solo home run to lift Pittsburgh to a three-game sweep in Arlington. A.J. Burnett struck out seven in 6⅓ innings, working around five runs and six hits.
Rangers starter Matt Garza needed 89 pitches to get through four innings. He walked four and allowed three runs en route to the loss. Texas fell to three games behind the Athletics in the AL West and its lead over Tampa Bay for the first AL Wild Card spot is down to 2½.
Royals 6, Indians 2: James Shields notched seven strikeouts and allowed two runs on four hits in eight innings to lead Kansas City to a series victory over Cleveland. The Royals pulled to within a half-game of the Indians in the AL Central and Wild Card standings.
Emilio Bonifacio had three hits, including a triple, and Alex Gordon homered off Indians starter Scott Kazmir on the first pitch of the game.
Athletics 18, Twins 3: Oakland took advantage of Texas' loss by scoring 10 runs in the fourth inning en route to a season-high scoring output in Minneapolis. Coco Crisp, Stephen Vogt and Jed Lowrie each homered for the A's.
Nationals 3, Mets 0: Ryan Zimmerman went 2-for-5 with a home run and Dan Haren turned in one of his best starts of the season to allow Washington to keep pace with the Reds in the race for the final NL Wild Card spot. Haren struck out eight batters in six scoreless innings.
The Nats remain six games behind Cincinnati.
Marlins 5, Braves 2: Jose Fernandez struck out five and allowed a run on five hits in seven innings in his final start of what was a phenomenal rookie season. The 21-year-old right-hander also hit -- and admired -- a long home run off of Braves starter Mike Minor ...
... and appeared to spit in the direction of a chattering Chris Johnson while rounding third base ...
... which resulted in a dust-up between the NL East rivals.
Cardinals 5, Brewers 1: St. Louis remains atop the NL Central after Lance Lynn struck out 10 in six innings of work. He did not allow an earned run. Matt Adams hit a two-run homer in the eighth to give the Cards a big cushion.
Tigers 1, White Sox 0: Anibal Sanchez notched 10 strikeouts in 7⅓ scoreless innings. Detroit scored the game's only run on a two-out single by Omar Infante in the eighth.
Reds 6, Cubs 0: Jack Hannahan hit a pinch-hit, three-run homer off of Jeff Samardzija in the sixth inning. Devin Mesoraco added three hits and a long ball.
Angels 5, Blue Jays 4: Josh Hamilton went 3-for-3 with a walk, Mark Trumbo hit his 33rd home run of the season and Mike Trout scored twice to become the first AL player to reach, and surpass, 100 runs scored.
Giants 4, Rockies 3: San Francisco scored twice in the bottom of the eighth inning against struggling Colorado reliever Matt Belisle to earn the series victory. Rockies outfielder Michael Cuddyer went 3-for-4 to take over the NL batting lead.
Diamondbacks 4, Dodgers 1: Hyun-jin Ryu allowed 10 hits in six innings of work. Paul Goldschmidt went 3-for-4 with two RBI and Tuffy Gosewisch doubled twice. Yasiel Puig's seventh-inning homer represented the Dodgers' only run.
Astros 6, Mariners 1: Chris Carter drove in a pair of runs and Matt Dominguez had two hits and scored twice. Houston starter Brad Peacock struck out four and allowed a run on three hits in six innings.
