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Pitcher Justin Verlander acknowledges a key double play in the seventh inning. (David Richard/Associated Press) |
Roundup
Jeff Baker hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning and the Chicago Cubs staved off elimination in the NL Central for a day by handing the Giants a blow to their postseason hopes with a 3-2 victory last night at San Francisco.
Had the Cubs lost, the Cardinals would have clinched the Central. The Cardinals begin a three-game series against the NL wild card-leading Rockies, who lead the Braves by 3 1/2 games with San Francisco and Florida four behind. The Cubs trail Colorado by 6 1/2 games.
Brian Wilson (5-6) walked Derrek Lee to open the inning but got Micah Hoffpauir and Mike Fontenot on infield popups before Baker hit on his fourth home run.
Rockies 5, Padres 4 - Nick Hundley homered and drove in the tiebreaking run with an eighth-inning single off Rafael Betancourt for visiting San Diego.
Red 4, Pirates 1 - Bronson Arroyo limited Pittsburgh to one run over seven innings and the visiting Cincinnati completed their second sweep of plummeting Pittsburgh in less than a month, pushing the Pirates closer to a 100-loss season.
Athletics 12, Rangers 3 - Jack Cust homered to help rookie Brett Anderson win his fourth straight start and Cliff Pennington hit a two-run triple as host Oakland salvaged a split of the four-game series against Texas.
Eric Patterson drove in three runs, Adam Kennedy doubled twice among his three hits, and Rajai Davis had an RBI triple in a balanced offensive attack for Oakland, which sent the Rangers to just their second loss in seven road games.
Anderson (11-10), who has struggled for run support much of the year, allowed three runs, one earned, and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
The Rangers who have 10 games left, are eight games behind the Red Sox in the AL wild-card race.
Phillies 9, Brewers 4 - Jimmy Rollins capped a six-run fifth inning with a three-run homer and Ryan Howard drove in two runs to help Phillies rookie J.A. Happ win his 11th game.
Pedro Feliz had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run for visiting Philadelphia, which amassed 14 hits and reduced their magic number to clinch the NL East to four.
Mariners 5, Blue Jays 4 - Felix Hernandez had a season-high 11 strikeouts and Josh Wilson hit a tiebreaking two-run triple in the eighth as Seattle won on the road.
Hernandez (17-5) allowed four runs, three earned, and seven hits in eight innings to improve to 5-0 with a 1.57 ERA in his last six starts. The righthander, a candidate for the AL Cy Young Award, also moved to 10-2 with a 1.99 ERA in 18 road starts.
Tigers 6, Indians 5 - Justin Verlander (17-9) pitched visiting Detroit closer to a division title and dropped Cleveland to its 11th straight loss.
Verlander struck out 11 in seven innings and Carlos Guillen had three hits and an RBI as the Tigers moved three games ahead of idle Minnesota in the AL Central.
The Indians set a club record with 12 consecutive losses in 1931.
Dodgers 7, Nationals 6 - Rafael Furcal hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning as Los Angeles beat host Washington to hand the Nationals their 100th loss.
Furcal’s drive off Ron Villone (4-6) was his fourth hit of the game. Ramon Troncoso (5-4) got the win, and Jonathan Broxton finished for his 36th save.
The win reduced the Dodgers’ magic number to one for clinching a playoff berth.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
