Tigers rally, hand Indians 10th straight loss
Miguel Cabrera hit a 2-run homer in the ninth inning, and the host Detroit Tigers rallied from an early 6-run deficit to beat Cleveland 8-6 on Wednesday night, the Indians' 10th straight loss.
"I have never in my career been through this before," said Indians manager Eric Wedge. "Not as a player or a manager. I'm meeting with the team tomorrow to discuss the situation."
The Tigers, who trailed 6-0 in the sixth, won when Cabrera connected with one out for his third homer in two games.
Todd Jones (4-0) pitched out of a jam in the top of the ninth, escaping when Casey Blake was thrown out at the plate. Marcus Thames led off the bottom half with a pinch single. After an out, Cabrera hit a drive off Jensen Lewis (0-3) for his 16th homer of the season. The Tigers, who won their third straight, scored a run in the sixth and tied it with 5 in the seventh.
Jhonny Peralta hit an RBI double, Blake had a sacrifice fly, and Shin-Soo Choo singled home a run in the first for the Indians.
Red Sox 18, Twins 5: Dustin Pedroia hit a 3-run double as host Boston followed an overturned triple-play call with 7 runs in the seventh inning to beat Minnesota and complete a three-game sweep. The Red Sox set season highs for hits (23) and runs.
Yankees 2, Rays 1 (10): Bobby Abreu hit a game-winning double off Grant Balfour in the 10th inning, sending host New York past Tampa Bay. Derek Jeter scored twice, and Jason Giambi singled in a run for the Yankees, who gave out 20,000 replica mustaches to fans to support the slugger's all-star candidacy.
Blue Jays 9, Orioles 8: Alex Rios and David Eckstein both drove in 2 runs, and A.J. Burnett (9-8) won for the third time in 4 starts for host Toronto, which had a 7-run fourth inning in a victory over Baltimore.
Rangers 5, Angels 4: Josh Hamilton hit a 2-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting host Texas over Los Angeles. It was Hamilton's 20th homer of the season and his first since June 17. He connected off major-league saves leader Francisco Rodriguez, who gave up 3 runs in only his third blown chance this year.
National League
Marlins 5, Padres 2: Scott Olsen (5-4) allowed 4 hits over 8 innings, and Mike Jacobs and Hanley Ramirez homered to lead Florida over host San Diego. Olsen allowed 1 run and broke his career-worst winless streak of 11 games.
Phillies 4, Cardinals 2: Ryan Howard and Pedro Feliz hit solo homers in the eighth inning, and host Philadelphia ended a four-game losing streak with a victory over St. Louis. Howard drove an 0-2 pitch from Kyle McClellan (1-4) for his 25th homer, rallying the Phillies after they blew a 2-0 lead. Feliz added his shot off Chris Perez.
Mets 5, Giants 0: Johan Santana (8-7) tossed 5 effective innings before his night was cut short by a rain delay, but host New York won its fifth straight, beating San Francisco. Ramon Castro had a 3-run homer, and Carlos Delgado had 3 hits and is batting .429 (15-for-35) in nine games this month.
Rockies 8, Brewers 3: Garrett Atkins hit 2 homers for Colorado, and Glendon Rusch won as a starter for the first time in exactly two years in the Rockies' victory over host Milwaukee. Rusch (2-3) had not won as a starter since beating the Brewers on July 9, 2006, in his last start for the Cubs. He missed all of last season while recovering from a blood clot in his lung and took a loss in his only other start for Colorado this year.
Nationals 5, D'backs 0: Jesus Flores' 3-run, pinch-hit homer in the sixth inning helped host Washington snap a six-game losing streak with a victory over Arizona. Nationals starter John Lannan (5-9) allowed 2 hits and walked three in 6 shutout innings for his first victory since May 18.
Astros 6, Pirates 4: Geoff Blum hit a 3-run homer in the first inning, and Houston defeated host Pittsburgh to avoid a three-game sweep. Kazuo Matsui, Ty Wigginton and Michael Bourn all had 2 hits for the Astros, who blew a 4-run lead before scoring twice in the seventh.