BALTIMORE -- It's time for the Baltimore Orioles to put the champagne on ice.
The Orioles moved to the brink of claiming their first American League East title in 17 years, using a resilient pitching performance by Wei-Yin Chen to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 on Monday night.
Baltimore can clinch the division crown with a victory over Toronto today. That would assure the Orioles their second playoff berth in three years following a run of 14 consecutive losing seasons.
"It's pretty special to come in here and have a chance to do that," Manager Buck Showalter said. "I've had a lot of sleepless nights for a lot of reasons, but tonight I look forward to losing that sleep. It's been a long hard grind to have that opportunity, and I'm looking forward to the chance to see our guys get a chance."
Baltimore (90-60) leads the AL East by 12 1/2 games, its biggest advantage since 1979. One more victory and the Orioles will be in celebration mode.
Chen (16-4) allowed t2wo runs on 9 hits over 5 2/3 innings to become the first Orioles lefthander to win 16 games since Jimmy Key in 1997 -- the year Baltimore last won the AL East. Although he yielded at least one hit in every inning but the second, Chen improved to 13-2 in 23 starts since May 9.
Zach Britton worked the ninth for his 35th save in 39 opportunities.
Ryan Flaherty homered and Adam Jones had three hits and an RBI as the Orioles secured their eighth victory in nine games.
RAYS 1, YANKEES 0 Ben Zobrist's two-out, base-loaded RBI single in the bottom of the ninth off Shawn Kelley led host Tampa Bay to a victory over New York. It was the third walk-off loss for the Yankees in their past five games and officially eliminated them, coupled with Baltimore's victory over Toronto, from AL East contention.
ROYALS 4, WHITE SOX 3 Pinch-runners Jarrod Dyson and Terrance Gore scored in the ninth inning as host Kansas City defeated Chicago. Mike Moustakas doubled with one out in the ninth. Dyson ran for him and stole third and came around to score on a wild pitch by Jake Petricka (1-5). After Nori Aoki, who had four hits, doubled with two outs, Gore ran for him and scored from second on Lorenzo Cain's infield single.
TIGERS 8, TWINS 6 Torii Hunter (Pine Bluff) and Miguel Cabrera hit consecutive home runs in the ninth inning to help visiting Detroit tighten its grip on the AL Central by winning its fourth consecutive game over Minnesota.
ASTROS 3, INDIANS 1 Jose Altuve had three hits to give him 209 this season and drove in two runs, leading host Houston to a victory over Cleveland. The major league hits leader is just one hit shy of tying the franchise record, set by Craig Biggio in 2008. Cleveland's wild-card hopes continue to fade with a fourth consecutive loss. They entered the night five games back for the second AL wild card.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NATIONALS 4, BRAVES 2 Stephen Strasburg threw seven scoreless innings and visiting Washington beat Atlanta. The Nationals can clinch the NL East title by beating the defending champion Braves tonight.
MARLINS 6, METS 5 Jacob deGrom struck out his first eight batters to match a major league record before visiting Miami rallied late for a victory over New York. Adeiny Hechavarria hit a two-run single and Jeff Mathis put Miami in front with an RBI single that capped a three-run eighth inning. DeGrom finished with 13 strikeouts in seven innings. His eight strikeouts to begin the game tied a mark set by Jim Deshaies of the Houston Astros against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 23, 1986. Deshaies and deGrom are the only pitchers to accomplish the feat since 1900.
CUBS 1, REDS 0 Anthony Rizzo capped his return to the lineup with a walk-off home run in the ninth inning that gave host Chicago a victory over Cincinnati. Rizzo had missed the previous 18 games due to a back problem but drove a pitch from Pedro Villarreal (0-1) over the wall in center field. Rizzo's home run was his 31st of the season and gave Hector Rondon (4-4) the victory after he pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Travis Wood (Bryant) didn't get any run support and couldn't earn his ninth victory of the season despite producing one of his best outings of the year. Wood threw six scoreless innings, allowed only three hits and lowered his ERA to 4.86.
DODGERS 11, ROCKIES 3 Pinch hitter Justin Turner ignited an eight-run sixth inning with a tiebreaking two-run double, and visiting Los Angeles beat Colorado. It was the most runs the Dodgers have scored in an inning since Aug. 30, 2011, against San Diego.
Sports on 09/16/2014