Associated Press
The American League roundup …
DETROIT ó Max Scherzer pitched seven strong innings and the first-place Detroit Tigers hit three homers in a 4-1 victory over the second-place Cleveland Indians on Friday night.
The Indians could have taken over the AL Central lead with a sweep of the three-game series, but now trail Detroit by 21/2 games.
Scherzer (13-7) allowed one run, five hits and a walk while throwing a career-high 127 pitches.
Josh Tomlin (12-6) took the loss, giving up four runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings.
The Tigers didn’t get a runner into scoring position in the first five innings, but Ryan Raburn hit a one-out single in the sixth and Austin Jackson followed with his sixth career homer.
Alex Avila, catching for the 13th straight game because of Victor Martinez’s sore knee, hit a two-out, 400-foot homer, and Jhonny Peralta hit the next pitch for his 18th homer in the seventh.
Rays 3, Mariners 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. ó Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist each had run-scoring singles with two outs during the eighth inning as Tampa Bay beat Felix Hernandez.
Hernandez (11-11) took a one-hitter in the eighth before the Rays’ put together the late rally. An out after pinch-hitter Sam Fuld lined an one-out, opposite-field single to left, Johnny Damon had an infield single before Longoria and Zobrist had consecutive RBI hits to put Tampa Bay ahead 3-2.
Juan Cruz (5-0) got two outs in the eighth for the win. Kyle Farnsworth pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.
Hernandez allowed three runs and six hits in eight innings. The 2010 AL Cy Young winner had nine strikeouts and two walks in his fourth complete games this season.
Red Sox 7, Royals 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ó Jarrod Saltalamacchia pounded out a three-run homer, left-hander Andrew Miller gave Red Sox manager Terry Francona precisely what he was looking for and Boston rolled over the Royals.
Miller (5-1) allowed one run on three hits and a pair of walks over 5 1-3 innings, rarely finding himself in any trouble against the Royals’ feeble offense. It was his first start since July 31 after a pair of appearances out of the bullpen, and his first victory since July 20 at Baltimore.
Adrian Gonzalez added three hits and a sacrifice fly for Boston. Jed Lowrie had a hat trick of singles, and Darnell McDonald had an RBI triple as the Red Sox piled up 13 hits.
Jeff Francis (4-14) has just one win in his last 11 starts. The lefty was responsible for five runs on 11 hits and two walks in five innings, his second straight miserable start.
Yankees 8, Twins 1
MINNEAPOLIS ó Phil Hughes allowed just two hits in 7 2-3 innings and Russell Martin hit two home runs to lead New York.
Hughes (4-4) gave up one run, walked three and struck out two in his longest outing of the season. Martin hit a solo homer in the third and a two-run shot in the sixth, his fourth career multihomer game.
Mark Teixeira added two hits and three RBIs for the first-place Yankees.
Kevin Slowey (0-1) gave up six runs on nine hits with four strikeouts for the Twins.
Rangers 7, White Sox 4
CHICAGO ó Josh Hamilton hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning, Mitch Moreland connected for a three-run shot in the fourth and a two-run drive in the sixth, and Texas beat the Chicago White Sox.
Moreland tied a career-high with five RBIs for the Rangers, who rallied for their 10th win in 12 games despite another shaky performance from starter Matt Harrison.
Rangers reliever Yoshinori Tateyama (2-0) pitched 2 2-3 scoreless innings for the victory and Neftali Feliz pitched a scoreless ninth for his 25th save in 31 chances.
Jake Peavy (5-6) allowed seven runs and six hits in six innings.