Majors: American League roundup
Published 12:00 am Saturday, July 26, 2008
Associated Press
The American League roundup …
BOSTON (AP) ó Robinson Cano homered and drove in three runs, Andy Pettitte gave the Yankees another strong start and New York beat the Boston Red Sox 10-3 Saturday for its season-best eighth straight win.
The Yankees closed within one game of second-place Boston in the AL East and remained unbeaten since the All-Star break. Tampa Bay began the day with a one-game lead over the Red Sox.
Cano went 3-for-4 with his ninth homer and a two-run double, improving to 18-for-35 since the All-Star break.
Pettitte (12-7) allowed one earned run and struck out seven over six innings to continue a brilliant run by Yank starters. They’ve allowed three earned runs or less in 15 of their last 16 games.
Rangers 9, Athletics 4
OAKLAND, Calif. ó Josh Hamilton hit a three-run homer to increase his major league-leading RBI total to 103, and Texas beat All-Star pitcher Justin Duchscherer.
Chris Davis hit a solo homer and doubled in a run, Marlon Byrd added a solo shot and Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a two-run double for the Rangers, who took the lead in the third. But Duchscherer settled down and retired eight straight during one stretch before running into more trouble.
Blue Jays 8, Mariners 3
TORONTO ó Alex Rios homered twice, David Purcey earned his first major league win and the streaking Blue Jays handed the Mariners their seventh consecutive defeat.
Angels 11, Orioles 6
BALTIMORE ó Torii Hunter homered twice, had five RBIs and scored four runs to carry Los Angeles past skidding Baltimore.
Hunter went 3-for-3 with two walks in his third two-homer game this season and the 11th of his career.
Garret Anderson became the first player in Angles history to score 1,000 runs.
White Sox 7, Tigers 6
DETROIT ó Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye hit consecutive homers and drove in two runs apiece to help Chicago hold off Detroit.
The first-place White Sox won their fourth straight and stretched their lead to four games over Minnesota and 71/2 games over third-place Detroit in the AL Central.
Twins 11, Indians 4
CLEVELAND ó Brian Buscher hit a three-run homer and had a career-high five RBIs to help Minnesota end a five-game losing streak with a victory over Cleveland.
Rays 5, Royals 3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ó Carl Crawford’s tiebreaking, two-run triple with two outs in the eighth inning sent the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals . Carlos Pena added a home run in the ninth, helping Tampa Bay extend its AL East lead to two games.