ORIOLES 8, BLUE JAYS 2
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles won their first AL East crown since 1997, using home runs by Steve Pearce and Jimmy Paredes to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 Tuesday night before a boisterous crowd of 35,297 at Camden Yards.
With their ninth victory in 10 games, the Orioles clinched their second playoff appearance in three years following a run of 14 consecutive losing seasons.
Afterward, the Orioles converged behind second base, fireworks soared in the outfield and streamers sprayed throughout the crowd. The party continued in the clubhouse, where players happily sprayed champagne and beer on each other.
“The guys are having a great time, and they earned it,” said Dan Duquette, Baltimore’s executive vice president of baseball operations.
It was Baltimore’s ninth AL East title but only its second since 1983, when the Orioles last won the World Series.
The franchise has enjoyed a rebirth under the guidance of manager Buck Showalter, whose 1,254th victory thrust him past mentor Billy Martin into sole possession of 36th place on the career list.
“There’s probably not a better strategy guy in the game,” reliever Darren O’Day said. “He sees things days in advance. He put guys in opportunities to succeed. It was pretty special.”
The clinching victory featured an unlikely list of contributors, not at all unusual for a team that often delved deep into its 25-man roster. Ubaldo Jimenez was making his first start in a month; Pearce has morphed from a bit-player to a key starter; and Paredes didn’t join the team until Aug. 28.
Pearce provided the Orioles with the lead for good with a three-run drive off Drew Hutchison (10-12) in the first inning. Pearce has 18 home runs this year, one more than he had in 290 games as a part-timer from 2007-13.
Paredes hit a solo shot in the second to make it 4-2. It was his second home run in 10 games with Baltimore.
Jimenez (5-9) survived a rocky start to limit the Blue Jays to 2 runs and 2 hits over 5 innings in his third start since July 5. Pressed into service because the Orioles played a doubleheader Friday, Jimenez issued four walks in the first two innings. But he bounced back to retire his last 10 batters.
WHITE SOX 7, ROYALS 5 Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis both gave up runs for the first time in nearly three months as Kansas City’s dominant bullpen was touched up in a loss to visiting Chicago. The rare bullpen failure prevented Kansas City from gaining ground on AL Central leader Detroit, which lost at Minnesota. The Royals remained 1 1/2 games behind the Tigers, but still lead Seattle for the second wild-card spot.
RAYS 6, YANKEES 1 Derek Jeter was hit on the arm by a Steve Geltz pitch in the eighth inning of a loss to host Tampa Bay, the fifth time a New York batter has been hit by a Rays pitcher in the past week.
TWINS 4, TIGERS 3 Aaron Hicks hit a two-out RBI single in the ninth inning and host Minnesota rallied for a victory over AL Central-leading Detroit.
INDIANS 4, ASTROS 2 Corey Kluber struck out a career-high 14 in seven innings and visiting Cleveland halted its four-game losing streak with a victory over Houston.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NATIONALS 3, BRAVES 0 Tanner Roark pitched five-hit ball over seven innings, Ian Desmond’s two-run home run broke a scoreless tie, and Washington celebrated another trip to the playoffs with a victory over host Atlanta.
BREWERS 3, CARDINALS 2 (12) Carlos Gomez walked, stole second and third, and scored the go-ahead run on a bloop hit by rookie Hector Gomez in the 12th inning as visiting Milwaukee ended the three-game winning streak of NL Central-leading St. Louis. The Cardinals have a 2 1/2-game lead on Pittsburgh with 11 to go.
CUBS 7, REDS 0 Jake Arrieta took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning before giving up Brandon Phillips’ one-out double, the only blemish for the Chicago pitcher in a shutout of visiting Cincinnati.
METS 9, MARLINS 1 Wilmer Flores homered twice and drove in six runs for the second time this year, Ruben Tejada capped a four-run fourth inning with a two-run double, and New York routed visiting Miami to end a three-game skid.
ROCKIES 10, DODGERS 4 Corey Dickerson homered, tripled and drove in four runs, Tyler Matzek pitched into the sixth inning by getting out of several tight spots, and host Colorado snapped a seven-game skid with a victory over NL West-leading Los Angeles.
GIANTS 2, DIAMONDBACKS 1 Jake Peavy had another strong outing, Buster Posey homered and visiting San Francisco gained a game in the NL West race with a victory over Arizona.
INTERLEAGUE
PIRATES 4, RED SOX 0 Charlie Morton came off the disabled list to gain his first victory since July 2, and Pittsburgh defeated visiting Boston for its ninth victory in 11 games. Morton (6-12) allowed four hits in five innings, struck out six and walked two.
Sports on 09/17/2014