Yankees get lucky in 13th

Gardner rallies NY past Kansas City

Francisco Rodriguez is relieved after earning save No. 47 yesterday, tying his Angels team record. (Mark Duncan/Associated Press)

Brett Gardner didn't feel any pressure stepping to the plate in the 13th inning, the game tied and fans restlessly booing each failure by Alex Rodriguez and the rest of the Yankees' high-powered hitters.

Why should he? The way the bullpen was going, it seemed as if host New York was going to win eventually.

"I got behind, 0 and 2, in a period of 15 seconds and I was like, 'Oh, no, not this again,' " Gardner said. "I was fortunate to get a pitch to hit."

Gardner singled through the left side of the infield with two outs, driving in Robinson Cano and giving New York a much-needed 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals yesterday.

The Yankees won for just the second time in eight games. They are 9 1/2 games behind the Rays in the American League East and six back of the Red Sox for the wild card, with time running out to avoid missing the postseason for the first time since 1993.

"I don't care who ended it, we needed to win this game," shortstop Derek Jeter said. "It would have been a rough one for us to lose. We had so many opportunities.

"At this point, it doesn't make a difference how it looks. We need to get wins."

New York relievers allowed just one hit after Sidney Ponson left in the seventh inning, and David Robertson (3-0) got out of a jam in the 13th to pick up the win.

"We asked a lot of innings out of them," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "The bullpen just came in and shut the door. Everybody threw the ball great."

Rangers 3, Rays 0 - Rookie Matt Harrison pitched eight sharp innings and Ian Kinsler homered on the first pitch, sending Texas past Tampa Bay in Arlington, Texas.

Harrison (5-2) dominated the AL East-leading Rays in his eighth career start. The lefty gave up just three singles, struck out eight without a walk, and retired the final 18 batters.

Angels 4, Indians 3 - John Lackey earned his fourth straight win, Francisco Rodriguez tied his team record of 47 saves, and visiting Los Angeles took advantage of four Cleveland errors.

Lackey (10-2) pitched six innings to remain unbeaten in his last six starts. The Angels added to baseball's best record and avoided their first three-game losing streak since June.

White Sox 2, Athletics 1 - John Danks pitched six effective innings to win his fifth straight decision on the road.

Juan Uribe had two hits and an RBI for the White Sox, who remained tied with Minnesota for the AL Central lead. Toby Hall also drove in a run.

Twins 7, Mariners 6 - Joe Mauer homered and scored three times, sliding home in the ninth inning on Brian Buscher's sacrifice fly, to lead Minnesota to victory at the Metrodome.

Ichiro Suzuki's two-run single capped a six-run rally in the sixth that put the Mariners ahead, 6-5. Jason Kubel's pinch-hit single off Cesar Jimenez (0-2) tied it in the eighth.

Tigers 5, Orioles 3 - Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Guillen hit home runs in the fourth inning and Justin Verlander got his first victory in almost a month to lift host Detroit over Baltimore.

Rockies 13, Nationals 6 - Troy Tulowitzki drove in three runs and Colorado scored six times in the fifth inning to extend host Washington's losing streak to nine games.

Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, and Ian Stewart had two RBIs apiece for the Rockies, who broke open a 5-2 game in the fifth inning.

Mets 7, Pirates 4 - Pedro Martínez pitched seven innings for the first time this season, and Jose Reyes and Ramon Castro homered to lead surging New York past host Pittsburgh.

Reyes and Castro each finished with two hits and two RBIs for the Mets, who have won five straight and 9 of 12. New York is a season-best 11 games over .500.

Marlins 2, Cubs 1 - Hanley Ramirez homered and Cody Ross singled in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning to help Florida snap Chicago's nine-game road winning streak with a victory.

Cardinals 9, Reds 3 - Albert Pujols hit a pair of solo home runs and host St. Louis matched its season high with four homers in all during a victory over Cincinnati that extended its winning streak to four games.

Diamondbacks 11, Astros 5 - Miguel Montero and Chris Young hit grand slams - the first time Arizona has hit two in the same game - and the Diamondbacks won in Houston.

Braves 11, Giants 5 - Mike Hampton gave up two runs in six innings and Atlanta beat visiting San Francisco to end a five-game losing streak, including four straight at Turner Field.

Padres 8, Phillies 3 - Chad Reineke pitched five innings and got his first hit and RBI to win his major league debut in host San Diego's victory over Philadelphia.

Brewers 4, Dodgers 3 - J.J. Hardy had a run-scoring single with two outs in the 10th inning to make up for a costly error in the ninth and give Milwaukee the victory in Los Angeles.