AMERICAN LEAGUE

Tigers get reprieve, down Yankees in bottom of 9th

Detroit Tigers pitcher Kyle Lobstein throws against the New York Yankees in the first inning of a baseball game in Detroit Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Kyle Lobstein throws against the New York Yankees in the first inning of a baseball game in Detroit Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014.

TIGERS 3, YANKEES 2

DETROIT -- Brad Ausmus saw the ball come off Brian McCann's bat and sail toward the foul pole in right field, a potentially devastating drive with the game tied in the ninth inning.

"From where I was standing you could tell it was kind of hooking," said Ausmus, Detroit's first-year manager. "Pretty quickly off the bat, I was pretty confident it was going foul."

It ended up foul by a few feet, and Phil Coke went on to strike McCann out. The Tigers took advantage of the reprieve, scoring in the bottom of the ninth to beat the New York Yankees 3-2 on Thursday.

Alex Avila's two-out single off the wall in right gave Detroit the victory. The Tigers, still chasing Kansas City for the AL Central lead, pulled even with Seattle in the race for the American League's second wild card. The Yankees are three games back.

A day after David Price gave up nine consecutive hits, the Tigers sent Kyle Lobstein to the mound for his first major-league start. The rookie performed well, allowing one earned run in six innings.

Detroit's bullpen held off New York until the Tigers scored in the ninth off Shawn Kelley (2-5). Victor Martinez led off with a double through a shifted infield and Kelley walked J.D. Martinez before striking out Nick Castellanos and pinch-hitter Torii Hunter (Pine Bluff).

Avila followed with a drive to right that Ichiro Suzuki couldn't quite get. Kelley flung his glove to the ground as soon as Avila connected.

"That's about as bad as I've felt walking off a mound in my career," Kelley said. "I got myself in a hole, but then I got the two outs I needed, and I had a chance to keep the team alive. But I hung a slider, and Alex Avila can hit that pitch. Most guys can hit that pitch."

Coke (2-2) got one very eventful out for the victory.

Hiroki Kuroda allowed 2 runs and 4 hits in 7 innings for New York, but he's still without a victory over the Tigers in his career. He's beaten baseball's other 29 teams.

Avila opened the scoring in the second with a sacrifice fly before Jacoby Ellsbury tied it in the third with an RBI single.

McCann's RBI groundout in the fourth put New York ahead, and Rajai Davis tied it with a run-scoring single in the fifth.

TWINS 11, ROYALS 5 (10) Jordan Schafer tied a career high with four RBI, including a tworun single in the 10th inning, as visiting Minnesota defeated Kansas City. Bruce Chen (2-4), the sixth pitcher for the AL Central-leading Royals, gave up five hits and walked two in the 10th. Schafer had three hits and extended his hitting streak to eight games.

ORIOLES 5, RAYS 4 J.J. Hardy singled in the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning, and host Baltimore beat Tampa Bay to lengthen their lead in the AL East. Steve Pearce homered for the Orioles, who took three of four from the sinking Rays. The victory, combined with the Yankees’ loss to Detroit, put Baltimore seven games ahead of New York with 30 games remaining.

INDIANS 3, WHITE SOX 2 Carlos Carrasco pitched into the seventh inning and Michael Bourn had two triples among his three hits, leading visiting Cleveland to a victory over Chicago. Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley each singled in a run for the Indians, who have won four of five and 11 of 16 overall to remain in the hunt for an AL wild card.

ASTROS 4, RANGERS 2 Jason Castro hit a grand slam, Collin McHugh threw seven solid innings and host Houston beat Texas. McHugh (7-9) earned his third consecutive victory, allowing 2 runs and 8 hits while striking out 6. In his 6 August starts, McHugh gave up 8 runs over 37 2/3 innings.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

REDS 7, CUBS 2 Billy Hamilton stole his 51st base and Cincinnati had six in all, beating visiting Chicago. Zack Cozart and Todd Frazier each had two stolen bases and Kristopher Negron added another The Reds stole six times in the first 4 innings, using 6 hits and 4 walks to build a 6-0 lead against Jake Arrieta (7-5). Cincinnati stole three in a three-run second inning and two in a three-run fourth. Dylan Axelrod (1-0) pitched five scoreless innings of two-hit ball and struck out eight. Cubs rookie Jorge Soler doubled and singled in his second major-league game and drove in a run. Hamilton set the tone right away. He drew a leadoff walk in the first and stole second on the next pitch. Hamilton went 2 for 2 with a double and walked twice. Dee Gordon of the Dodgers began the day leading the majors with 58 steals. Reds relievers Pedro Villareal and Logan Ondrusek combined for three perfect innings. The Cubs scored two runs off Jumbo Diaz in the ninth.

GIANTS 4, ROCKIES 1 Yusmeiro Petit set a major-league record when he retired his 46th batter in a row, and host San Francisco beat Colorado for its third consecutive victory. Petit (4-3) got the first eight Colorado hitters, establishing the mark by striking out Charlie Culberson. That broke Mark Buehrle's record of 45 consecutive with the Chicago White Sox in 2009. Petit's streak covered eight games, six of them in relief. He also surpassed Jim Barr's NL record of 41 in a row with the Giants in 1972. The announced sellout crowd of 41,017 at AT&T Park gave Petit a standing ovation after he fanned Culberson. The string ended two pitches later when the next batter, Rockies starter Jordan Lyles, doubled to left field. Charlie Blackmon followed with a single to drive in Colorado's only run. Gregor Blanco hit a two-run home run, Angel Pagan had three singles and two others drove in a run to supply all the support Petit needed. Jean Machi and Sergio Romo each threw a scoreless inning of relief, and Santiago Casilla pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save in 16 chances. Lyles (6-2) allowed 3 runs and 4 hits in 6 innings.

BRAVES 6, METS 1 Mike Minor took a two-hit shutout into the eighth inning after hitting a double and single himself, leading visiting Atlanta over New York. Minor (6-8) had an RBI single in the second for the game’s first run, then doubled and scored in the eighth.

Sports on 08/29/2014

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