The Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Indians both won important games on Sunday, increasing their lead over the Texas Rangers for the two AL Wild Card spots.
AL Wild Card standings: Rays, Indians increase lead over Rangers
Taking a look at the updated standings in the AL Wild Card race.
Al Messerschmidt
Tampa Bay used six pitchers against the Baltimore Orioles, only allowing one run on three hits in a 3-1 victory. David DeJesus hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first, helping the Rays earn their third straight victory over the Orioles.
Cleveland completed a four-game sweep of the Houston Astros, blowing out the last-place ball club, 9-2, at Progressive Field. Jason Kipnis paced the offensive attack with three hits, while Carlos Santana added a double, home run and two RBI.
The Rangers lost a tough game, falling 4-0 to the Kansas City Royals in 10 innings. Justin Maxwell crushed a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the 10th against Joakim Soria.
James Shields and Alexi Ogando both had impressive performances, combining to throw 15 shutout innings. Texas has lost 15 of 20 games in September.
The New York Yankees' slim Wild Card chances also took a shot, as they lost, 2-1, to the San Francisco Giants. Andy Pettitte gave the Yankees a strong performance in his final home start, but the offense struggled against Yusmeiro Petit and the Giants bullpen.
Here are the updated AL Wild Card standings:
American League Wild Card Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay | 86 | 69 | .555 | +½ | Won 3 |
| Cleveland | 86 | 70 | .551 | -- | Won 4 |
| Texas | 84 | 71 | .552 | 1½ | Lost 1 |
| Kansas City | 82 | 73 | .529 | 3½ | Won 1 |
| New York | 82 | 74 | .526 | 4 | Lost 1 |
| Baltimore | 81 | 74 | .523 | 4½ | Lost 4 |
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