A’s edge Yankees; playoff race tightens
With his back to the wall, Josh Reddick caught a deep fly from Alex Rodriguez, then Grant Balfour notched the final out as Oakland bounced back to avoid a sweep, edging New York, 5-4, Sunday and halting the Yankees’ seven-game winning streak.
Cliff Pennington hit the go-ahead single in the sixth inning after a key error by backup shortstop Eduardo Nunez. A day after their stunning 14-inning loss — capped by a misplay on Nunez’s grounder — the visiting A’s maintained their 2½-game lead for the second AL wild-card spot over the Los Angeles Angels.
The Yankees kept their one-game lead in the AL East over Baltimore.
Pennington, the No. 9 hitter, also hit a two-run homer.
Nunez, demoted in May because of his struggles in the field, was playing shortstop in place of Derek Jeter (sore ankle). Jeter had two hits as the designated hitter to extend his hitting streak to 17 games.
Rays 3, Blue Jays 0 — B.J. Upton hit his eighth homer in 14 games, Jeremy Hellickson won for the first time in more than a month, and host Tampa Bay beat Toronto, staying within 3½ games of Oakland in the AL wild-card race.
Upton’s 26th home run came off Chad Jenkins, who was making his first start.
Angels 4, White Sox 1 — In Anaheim, Calif., Jered Weaver kept Los Angeles within striking distance of the playoffs, posting his league-leading 19th victory by dominating struggling Chicago.
Albert Pujols reached the 100-RBI mark for the 11th time in 12 seasons with a two-run double, and Kendrys Morales hit a two-run homer.
Braves 2, Phillies 1 — Tim Hudson tossed two-hit ball over 7⅓ innings and David Ross hit a solo homer to help Atlanta move to the brink of a playoff spot with a win in Philadelphia.
Hudson just an unearned run to send the Braves back to Atlanta with a shot at winning the top NL wild-card berth.
Twins sweep Tigers,10-4, 2-1 — Joe Mauer drove in four runs and visiting Minnesota rallied against Detroit’s Max Scherzer in the opener, and Jamey Carroll hit an RBI single in the 10th inning of the nightcap.
The Twins prevented the Tigers from at least tying Chicago atop the AL Central. Detroit trails the White Sox by one game.
Dodgers 5, Reds 3 — Adrian Gonzalez hit a pair of solo homers off Homer Bailey, powering Los Angeles past host Cincinnati to remain three games back for the final NL playoff spot.
Manager Dusty Baker briefly visited Cincinnati’s clubhouse after his release from a Chicago hospital, where he was treated the last four days for an irregular heartbeat.
Rangers 3, Mariners 2 — Ryan Dempster allowed two runs over six-plus innings and Mike Napoli and Geovany Soto homered to lead Texas past host Seattle and preserve a four-game lead in the AL West.
Cardinals 6, Cubs 3 — St. Louis won for the sixth time in seven games behind a quality start from Kyle Lohse, and the Cardinals maintained a 2½-game lead for the second NL wild-card spot with a win at Chicago.
Brewers 6, Nationals 2 — Jonathan Lucroy had a pair of RBI singles and Milwaukee beat host Washington to keep the Brewers in the playoff chase.
The Brewers trail St. Louis for the final NL wild-card berth.
Padres 6, Giants 4 — Yonder Alonso’s two-run single in the seventh inning snapped a tie and helped San Diego beat host San Francisco, which rested its regulars a day after clinching the NL West.
Pirates 8, Astros 1 — A.J. Burnett allowed one run and struck out a season-high 11 in eight innings for his 16th win, and Josh Harrison tied a career high with four hits to jump-start Pittsburgh’s offense in a sweep-avoiding win over Houston.
The win snapped a five-game skid for the Pirates, who are in danger of posting their 20th straight losing season, which would extend their major North American professional sports record.
Diamondbacks 10, Rockies 7 — In Denver, Aaron Hill hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning and Arizona handed Colorado its season-high ninth straight loss. Arizona remained 4½ games back for the second NL wild-card spot.
Indians 15, Royals 4 — Carlos Santana hit two homers and drove in five runs as visiting Cleveland routed Kansas City in its highest-scoring game of the season.
The loss eliminated the Royals from playoff contention and sealed a losing record. Kansas City has not made the postseason since 1985, the longest active playoff drought in the majors.
Mets 3, Marlins 2 — Ruben Tejada singled home the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give New York the edge over Miami, its seventh straight win against the Marlins. David Wright had a two-run homer in the first inning.
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