Tuesday American League Capsules.
Tuesday American League Capsules.
BOSTON 5, CLEVELAND 4
BOSTON Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia have led the Boston Red Sox charge towards another playoff berth all season. How fitting they guided the club that last step Tuesday night at Fenway Park.
Youkilis slugged a two-run homer and reached base all four times and Pedroia had a two-run double and scored the winning run to lead the Red Sox to a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians, clinching a postseason berth for the defending world champs.
Boston (92-65) has now reached the playoffs in five of the past six seasons. It still trails Tampa Bay (94-62) in the American League East Division by three games but has assured itself a chance to claim a third World Series crown in five years.
Jonathan Papelbon, the fifth pitcher on in relief of starter Tim Wakefield, came on to strand three inherited runners in the eighth and set down the side in the ninth to send Fenway Park into a frenzy now common this time of year in Boston.
He embraced catcher Kevin Cash when the last out fell into the glove of shortstop Alex Cora and was soon mobbed by his teammates.
In a season that saw its share of injuries, roster moves and the headline-grabbing exodus of superstar slugger Manny Ramirez, Youkilis and Pedroia have been the mainstays. Pedroia leads the team in runs, Youkilis in home runs and RBI and they rank 1-2 in batting average among regulars.
They teamed on Tuesday to help the Red Sox get the best of likely AL Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee (22-3), who lost for the first time since July 6.
After David Ortiz doubled to lead off the fourth in a scoreless game, Youkilis tagged Lees offering over the Green Monster in left for his 27th homer and first at home since August 17.
Some sloppy Boston defense allowed Cleveland to take a lead on four runs off Wakefield (10-11) in the fifth, but Pedroia had a quick reply.
After Coco Crisp reached on a fielders choice and Jacoby Ellsbury doubled with one out in the fifth, Pedroia hammered a 2-0 delivery from Lee off the wall in left to tie it, 4-4. Youkilis was intentionally walked one out later and Jason Bay made the Indians pay for the maneuver with a single to plate Pedroia.
Wakefield lasted one more inning and the Red Sox bullpen wiggled out of bases-loaded jams in the seventh and again in the eighth when Papelbon got Jamey Carroll to ground out.
The Indians (79-78) saw their season-high seven-game winning streak snapped and lost for the first time in Lees last 10 starts. The veteran left hander gave up five runs and nine hits in seven innings, striking out eight and walking three.
MINNESOTA 9, CHI WHITE SOX 3
MINNEAPOLIS Jason Kubel homered twice and Scott Baker tossed seven strong innings as the Minnesota Twins pulled within 1 1/2 games of the lead in the American League Central Division with a 9-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
The Twins (85-72) can take the lead in the Central with a sweep of the three-game series against the White Sox (86-70).
Kubel started the offensive onslaught with a two-run blast in the second, and Minnesota added three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth before Kubel and Delmon Young capped the scoring with back-to-back homers in the seventh.
Baker (10-4) allowed one run and five hits while walking one and striking out four. The righthander worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth and retired the last eight batters he faced en route to his third straight win.
NY YANKEES 3, TORONTO 1
TORONTO Mike Mussina earned his 19th win as the New York Yankees won their sixth straight game, a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Jason Giambi homered and Robinson Cano also drove in a run for the Yankees (86-71), who were eliminated from playoff contention when the Boston Red Sox (92-65) posted a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
En route to tying his career-high for wins in a season, Mussina (19-9) hurled five scoreless innings while striking out six without a walk. Five relievers hurled the final four innings, including Mariano Rivera, who recorded his 38th save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Scott Rolen drove in the lone run for the Blue Jays, who left eight runners on base.
TAMPA BAY 5, BALTIMORE 2 (1ST GAME)
BALTIMORE James Shields tossed seven effective innings and Fernando Perez went 3-for-3 with two RBI as the Tampa Bay Rays recorded a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of a doubleheader.
Shields (14-8) surrendered a two-run homer by Luis Montanez in the first inning, but that proved to be his only blemish. The righthander gave up two runs and eight hits while striking out eight en route to winning his third straight decision.
Perez smacked an RBI double off Baltimore starter Garrett Olson (9-10) in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2, and Jason Bartletts run-scoring two-base hit a frame later gave Shields all the support he needed.
TAMPA BAY 7, BALTIMORE 5 (2ND GAME)
BALTIMORE Dioner Navarro smacked a two-run, go-ahead single to highlight a six-run eighth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays rallied to a 7-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the second game of a doubleheader.
Trailing, 5-1, after the seventh, the Rays lineup came alive en route to shrinking their magic number to clinch the American League East Division to two. Willy Aybar smacked an RBI groundout and Evan Longoria connected on a solo home run off Orioles starter Alfredo Simon to cut the deficit to 5-3.
Jamie Walker (1-3) then came on in relief but surrendered a run-scoring single to Jason Bartlett before Navarro delivered his decisive hit. B.J. Upton capped the outburst with an RBI double.
Jeff Niemann (2-1) tossed 2 1/3 innings to notch the win and J.P. Howell got the final five outs to record his third save of the season for Tampa Bay.
KANSAS CITY 5, DETROIT 0
DETROIT The Kansas City Royals blasted three home runs en route to a 5-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Mike Aviles hit his ninth home run in the first inning; Ryan Shealy his seventh in the fourth; and Alex Gordon added his 16th, a two-run shot, later in that inning.
Zack Greinke (13-10) was the beneficiary as the Royals won for the 10th time in 12 games. The righthander threw seven solid innings, allowing four hits while striking out four and walking two. Leo Nunez finished up with two innings of hitless relief.
Freddie Garcia (1-1) was victimized for all three home runs, allowing seven hits and five runs in five innings. Garcia struck out six and walked two as the Tigers lost their fifth straight.
Kansas City (72-86) and Detroit (71-85) are in a virtual tie for fourth place in the American League Central.
TEXAS 6, OAKLAND 4
ARLINGTON, Texas Hank Blalock homered for the third straight game as the Texas Rangers pulled out a 6-4 comeback victory over the Oakland Athletics.
Blalock connected on a two-run shot in the seventh inning to snap a 4-4 tie and help Texas end to a five-game losing streak.
Sidelined for nearly half the season due to a recurring shoulder injury, Blalock continued to finish the year on a high note, improving to .346 (27-for-78) with six home runs and 17 RBI in 20 games in September.
Marlon Byrd also drove in a pair of runs for the Rangers, including an RBI single with two outs in the seventh that knotted the game at 4-4.
Oakland took its short-lived lead in the top of the seventh, when Daric Barton led off with a single and later scored on a fielders choice by Cliff Pennington.
SEATTLE 9, LA ANGELS 6
SEATTLE Kenji Johjima drove in three runs as the Seattle Mariners erased a four-run deficit and posted a 9-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim that snapped a 12-game losing streak.
Yuniesky Betancourt, Jeremy Reed and Wladimir Balentien each had two RBI for the Mariners, who pounded out 13 hits.
Trailing, 6-2, in the sixth inning, Seattle delivered a four-run outburst when Reed and Balentien ripped run-scoring hits before Johjima capped the scoring with a two-run double off Angels starter Jered Weaver. Each member of the aforementioned trio added a run-scoring hit in the seventh off Kevin Jepsen (0-1) to provide the final margin.
Weaver allowed six runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings while striking out eight without a walk for Anaheim.
