Orioles beat Blue Jays
J.P. Arencibia broke open a tight game with a seventh-inning grand slam, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Baltimore, 9-5, Monday night at Camden Yards to earn a doubleheader split and drop the Orioles 1½ games out of first place in the AL East.
In the opener, Adam Jones went 4 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs and Ryan Flaherty added a solo shot to lead Baltimore to a 4-1 victory. But the Orioles lost a half-game in the standings Monday to the Yankees, who won 6-3 at Minnesota.
The Orioles fell behind 4-0 in the nightcap and missed several bases-loaded chances to take the lead before Arencibia connected off Jake Arrieta to give Toronto a 9-4 lead.
Edwin Encarnacion hit his 41st home run for the Blue Jays, who snapped a seven-game skid. Arencibia, who came into the game mired in a 2-for-36 slump, finished with three hits and five RBIs.
Ricky Romero (9-14) allowed four runs, eight hits, four walks, and a homer in five-plus innings. But a strong performance by the Toronto bullpen enabled the lefthander to end a 13-game losing streak over 15 starts since June 22.
Encarnacion put the Blue Jays up 2-0 against Wei-Yin Chen (12-10) with a two-run drive in the first inning. In the second, Arencibia hit a sacrifice fly and Anthony Gose added an RBI single.
Robert Andino singled in two runs in the bottom half, but Baltimore left the bases loaded. Nate McLouth hit an opposite-field drive to left in the fifth to get Baltimore to 4-3, but the Orioles again left the bases full.
After Moises Sierra homered for Toronto in the sixth, the Orioles loaded the bases with no outs in their half, bringing many in the crowd of 31,015 to their feet. Brad Lincoln replaced Romero and gave up a first-pitch RBI single to J.J. Hardy before striking out Jones. Chris Davis followed with a fly ball to Gose in left field, and Taylor Teagarden was thrown out at the plate after tagging up.
Baltimore also loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth, but scored only once on a double-play grounder.
Yankees 6, Twins 3 — Andy Pettitte turned in another ageless performance with six scoreless innings and New York hit four home runs to beat host Minnesota and extend its AL East lead.
The Yankees took a 1½-game edge over Baltimore, which split a doubleheader with Toronto. This is the first time since Sept. 2 their margin has been more than one game.
After playing three tense, one-run games against Oakland over the weekend, including their startling comeback for a 14-inning win on Saturday, the Yankees enjoyed an easy one for a change. This was New York’s 10th victory in 12 games.
Rangers 5, Athletics 4 — Adrian Beltre singled home the winning run in the ninth inning and host Texas rallied past Oakland to stretch their AL West lead over the Athletics to five games with nine to play.
Beltre, whose 35th homer tied the score in the seventh, grounded a sharp single through the middle of the infield off Tyson Ross (2-11) in the ninth, bringing home pinch-runner Craig Gentry.
Oakland has lost six of seven.
White Sox 5, Indians 4 — Adam Dunn homered twice, including a clutch three-run shot in the eighth inning, and host Chicago beat Cleveland to maintain its one-game lead in the AL Central.
Chicago snapped a five-game losing streak and stayed in front of second-place Detroit. The top two teams in the division each have nine games left.
Dunn drove an 0-2 pitch from Vinnie Pestano (3-3) over the wall in right-center with runners on the corners and two outs, putting Chicago ahead, 5-3. Kevin Youkilis kept the inning alive with an infield single before Dunn connected for his 41st homer of the season. Dunn also went deep in the sixth.
Tigers 6, Royals 2 — Justin Verlander breezed through eight innings and Prince Fielder hit a solo homer, helping host Detroit steady itself with a win over Kansas City.
The Tigers remained one game behind Chicago in the AL Central.
Verlander (16-8) had little trouble with the Royals, who knocked him around for eight runs and 12 hits last month. He allowed two runs and nine hits this time, striking out eight without a walk.
Luke Hochevar (8-15) yielded six runs and 12 hits in 7⅓ innings.
Nationals 12, Brewers 2 — A day after the Nationals misplayed a pair of fly balls in the midday glare, Jason Werth wound up with a two-out, two-run double when Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez lost a ball in the sun to spark a six-run fourth inning, and Washington beat visiting Milwaukee to cut its magic number for winning the NL East to five.
Mets 6, Pirates 2 — Ike Davis connected twice and reached a career-high 30 homers, Jenrry Mejia pitched five effective innings for his first major league win and host New York beat plummeting Pittsburgh for its fourth straight victory.
Cardinals 6, Astros 1 — In Houston, Lance Lynn pitched seven innings to earn his 17th win, rookie Pete Kozma hit a two-run homer and St. Louis strengthened its grip on a playoff spot with a win over the Astros.
Yadier Molina added a solo shot as the Cardinals moved 3½ games in front of the Brewers and Dodgers for the second NL wild card.
Rockies 4, Diamondbacks 2 — Tyler Chatwood pitched effectively into the sixth inning, Andrew Brown homered and host Colorado ended a nine-game losing streak.
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