Tigers 3, Royals 2: Alex Avila hit a game-winning homer in the bottom of the eighth, a solo blast off Jeremy Guthrie. Avila hit a two-run homer earlier in the game. Detroit had 13 hits against Guthrie, but went 0-9 with runners in scoring position, stranding ten. Max Scherzer only allowed one run over seven innings, striking out 12.
Around the Bases: Rays, Reds blow costly leads
The Athletics completed a three-game sweep of the Rangers, while the Cardinals and Pirates remained tied atop the NL Central.
Hannah Foslien
Orioles 3, Blue Jays 1: Baltimore won its first road series since Aug. 9-11, helping the Orioles keep pace in the AL Wild Card race. Danny Valencia hit a key two-run double in the third, while Chris Davis drew a walk with the bases loaded in the fourth. Miguel Gonzalez tossed 5 1/3 solid innings before leaving the game with a strained right groin. Nate McLouth also left the game early after being hit in the knee by a Kyle Drabek fastball.
Pirates 3, Cubs 2: Justin Morneau hit the game-winning single in the bottom of the eighth, driving in Andrew McCutchen. Francisco Liriano carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but surrendered a two-run homer to Welington Castillo. Jose Tabata led off the bottom of the first with a triple, scoring on a Travis Wood wild pitch, while Tony Sanchez cracked a solo homer in the fourth.
A Pirates fan was the real winner of the game, showing off his awesome water-jet boots between innings:
Padres 4, Braves 0: Rookie starter Burch Smith earned his first major-league win, shutting out the Braves for seven innings. Smith only gave up three hits and two walks, fanning 10. Will Venable led the Padres with three hits, while Chase Headley smacked a two-run bomb in the top of the sixth.
Nationals 11, Phillies 2: Wilson Ramos powered the Nationals attack, going 4-for-4 with a homer and driving in five runners. Jordan Zimmermann earned his 18th win of the season, holding Philadelphia to two runs over seven innings.
Angels 2, Astros 1: Jerome Williams turned in a quality start, only allowing one run on three hits over seven innings. Mike Trout drew a walk in the win, giving him a ridiculous stat line this season:
There it is...100th walk for @Trouty20. Becomes first A.L. player ever with 70 XBH, 30 SBs & 100 BB. #Angels
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) September 15, 2013
Twins 6, Rays 4: Josmil Pinto blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth as the Twins scored four runs in the inning off Joel Peralta.
Peralta recorded two outs in the eighth before allowing a solo homer to Ryan Doumit and the three-run blast to Pinto. The Rays stranded eight runners, leaving the bases loaded in the top of the eighth.
Cardinals 12, Mariners 2: St. Louis' offense exploded for 12 runs on 19 hits as every Cardinals starting position player collected a hit. Yadier Molina paced the offense with four hits, while Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday, Matt Adams and Daniel Descalso each drove in two. Shelby Miller earned his 14th win of the season, allowing two runs on three hits over five innings.
Brewers 6, Reds 5: Sean Halton hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth, completing the Brewers' comeback:
Todd Frazier hit a solo homer in the top of the sixth to give the Reds a 5-1 lead, but Milwaukee scored five unanswered runs, four against Cincinnati relievers. Jean Segura went 2-for-4, hitting a two-run triple in eighth.
Carlos Gomez kept the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, robbing Jay Bruce of a three-run homer:
Diamondbacks 8, Rockies 2: Paul Goldschmidt went 4-for-4 on the day, collecting a double, home run and five RBI. Matt Davidson had two hits, including the first home run of his MLB career.
Athletics 5, Rangers 1: Josh Donaldson, Chris Young and Josh Reddick all hit homers for the Athletics, who increased their lead over the Rangers in the AL West to 6 1/2 games. Texas had 10 hits against Oakland pitchers, but went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, stranding 10.
The Rangers have lost six straight games and 12 of their last 15, causing an existential crises among their fanbase:
I don't even remember the last time the Rangers won a game. did they win a game this year? did this season even happen?
— Lana Berry (@Lana) September 15, 2013
Giants 4, Dodgers 3: Brett Pill hit a pinch-hit, go-ahead home run in the eighth inning to vault the Giants past the Dodgers. Hunter Pence had two homers and three RBI for San Francisco. Giants closer Sergio Romo loaded the bases in the ninth, but he got Yasiel Puig to ground out to end the game.
Indians 7, White Sox 1: The Indians are now just one-half game behind the Rangers and Rays in the American League Wild Card race after sweeping away the White Sox. Cleveland roughed up Chris Sale, hitting three home runs off the Chicago ace. Nick Swisher went yard twice.
Red Sox 9, Yankees 2: Clay Buchholz gave up one unearned run over six innings and moved to 11-0 on the season. Mike Napoli had a home run and two RBI for Boston, while David Ortiz also knocked in two runs. Daniel Nava racked up four hits in the victory.
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