NEW YORK — Shortstop J.J. Hardy’s bases-loaded error let New York complete a seventh-inning comeback and the Yankees stung the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 Saturday to restore their AL East lead to three games. NEW YORK — Shortstop J.J. Hardy’s bases-loaded
NEW YORK — Shortstop J.J. Hardy’s bases-loaded error let New York complete a seventh-inning comeback and the Yankees stung the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 Saturday to restore their AL East lead to three games.
Shut down all afternoon, the struggling Yankees rallied for three runs in the seventh against a suddenly shaky Baltimore bullpen. The streaking Orioles had won 13 straight one-run decisions before falling apart as the calendar turned to September.
Newly promoted Eduardo Nunez hit an RBI single with two outs that chased Wei-Yin Chen (12-8) and made it 3-2. Pedro Strop, one of baseball’s best relievers, walked Ichiro Suzuki and then threw two quick strikes to Derek Jeter before walking him, forcing home the tying run.
Nick Swisher followed with a hard, one-hop grounder that ate up Hardy, who leads major league shortstops in fielding percentage, and the Yankees took the lead.
ANGELS 5, MARINERS 2
SEATTLE — Mark Trumbo hit a two-run single in the eighth inning that helped hand Felix Hernandez his first loss in nearly three months, and the Angels beat the Mariners.
Hernandez (13-6) lost for the first time since June 12. He entered this outing 9-0 with a 1.40 ERA over his previous 14 starts, including a perfect game.
The Angels have won five in a row.
King Felix gave up five runs — four earned — in 7 1/3 innings. He yielded nine hits, walked two and struck out seven.
Ervin Santana (8-11) went seven innings. He gave up two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out two.
RAYS 5, BLUE JAYS 4
TORONTO — Matt Joyce homered and had three RBIs, Ryan Roberts also connected, and Tampa Bay beat the Blue Jays.
For the second straight day, the game ended with the potential tying run thrown out at home plate. This time, Colby Rasmus singled to center off Fernando Rodney, but catcher Jose Molina hauled in a high throw from B.J. Upton and blocked Omar Vizquel’s path to the plate, tagging him out to end it.
TWINS 3, ROYALS 1
TWINS 8, ROYALS 7
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Joe Mauer hit a grand slam and Chris Parmelee added a three-run shot and Minnesota outlasted Kansas City to complete a sweep of a doubleheader.
Justin Morneau drove in two runs, and Minnesota rookie Cole De Vries beat the Royals 3-1 in the first game.
Mauer’s grand slam in the second inning of the nightcap was the third of his career and the first by the Twins this year. Mauer’s ninth home run came after Pedro Florimon’s double was sandwiched around walks to Drew Butera and Ben Revere.
TIGERS 5, WHITE SOX 1
DETROIT — Max Scherzer allowed four hits in eight scoreless innings, and the Tigers pulled within a game of first place with a victory over the White Sox.
Detroit has taken the first two games of this series from the AL Central-leading White Sox and will send Justin Verlander to the mound Sunday to try for a sweep. Scherzer (15-6) won his fifth straight start, striking out nine with one walk.
Delmon Young homered and tripled for the Tigers.
INDIANS 4, RANGERS 3
CLEVELAND — Jeanmar Gomez and three Cleveland relievers combined to beat the Rangers, and the Indians snapped a six-game losing streak.
Gomez worked 5 2/3 innings. Joe Smith, Esmil Rogers and Vinnie Pestano finished. Pestano allowed two hits over 1 1/3 innings for his first save.
ATHLETICS 7, RED SOX 1
OAKLAND, Calif. — Coco Crisp hit a leadoff home run and finished a triple shy of the cycle to back A.J. Griffin’s gem, and Oakland beat Boston for its season-high eighth straight win.
Brandon Inge’s two-run double highlighted a four-run third inning against lefty Felix Doubront (10-7), and Chris Carter added his 13th homer to lead another overpowering A’s victory.
