American League Roundup: Rays take top spot in East
Rays 2, Yankees 1, 11 inn.
St. Petersburg, Fla. – Gabe Gross singled with no outs in the 11th inning to drive in the first run Mariano Rivera has allowed all season, giving Tampa Bay a victory over the New York Yankees and sending the Rays into first place in the AL East.
Cliff Floyd began the 11th with a single, and pinch-runner Jonny Gomes stole second before Gross delivered the winner up the middle on a 1-1 pitch. Rivera (0-1) had not allowed a run in 14 previous appearances.
J.P. Howell (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory.
Rangers 5, Mariners 2
Arlington, Texas – Ramon Vazquez drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly, and Texas beat Seattle.
Indians 4, Athletics 0
Cleveland – Paul Byrd and two Cleveland relievers combined for the Indians’ fourth shutout in seven games. Byrd (2-3) allowed five hits over 71â3 innings, striking out seven without a walk.
The right-hander extended the Indians’ scoreless streak to 34 innings by their starting staff.
Orioles 5, Red Sox 4
Baltimore – Luke Scott homered and had three of Baltimore’s 11 hits off Josh Beckett, and the Orioles received a fine pitching performance from Jeremy Guthrie.
Scott was mired in a 7-for-55 skid before going 3-for-3 against Beckett, who came in 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA in four career starts at Camden Yards. Scott’s three-run homer in the third inning put Baltimore ahead, 5-3, and the advantage stood up.
Blue Jays 5, Twins 3
Minneapolis – Matt Stairs homered and scored twice for the struggling Blue Jays’ offense in Toronto’s victory over Minnesota
Lyle Overbay and former Twin Shannon Stewart each had two hits, including RBI-doubles, for the Jays, who scored at least five runs in a game for just the second time in the last 10 games. Carlos Gomez and Jason Kubel hit solo homers for Minnesota.
Angels 2, White Sox 0
Anaheim, Calif. – Jered Weaver allowed one hit over seven innings, and batterymate Mike Napoli hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth. A.J. Pierzynski’s leadoff single in the fifth was the only hit off Weaver.