Positive gains: Baltimore's Chen Wei-yin pitches during the Orioles' 3-2 win over the Rays on Thursday. APManny Machado blooped an RBI single that eluded left fielder Matt Joyce's desperate dive with two outs in the 14th inning, and Baltimore beat Tampa Bay 3-2 Thursday to complete a three-game sweep and remain atop the AL East.With their 81st victory — and 13th in a row in extra innings — the Orioles are assured no worse than a .500 record for the first time since 1997."There's a bigger goal in mind," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "That wasn't the goal from Day One this spring. Really, Day One of the offseason. It's watching other teams for years and saying, 'We want to do what they're doing. We'd like to get a chair at the dance, you know?' "It's been an incredible season for the Orioles, who finished in the cellar in each of the previous four years. Baltimore (81-62) remained in a first-place tie with the New York Yankees, who beat Boston 2-0 on Thursday night.After briefly celebrating a victory that capped a 5-2 homestand against the Yankees and Rays, Baltimore packed in the clubhouse for a trip to Oakland."It makes that West Coast trip a little easier when you win," said closer Jim Johnson, part of a bullpen that kept Tampa Bay scoreless on four hits over the final 6? innings. "You can enjoy it for a little bit, the five hours you're on the flight, but that's about it."The Rays fell four games back in the division by virtue of yet another one-run defeat punctuated by a lack of offensive punch. Tampa Bay has lost 13 of its last 16 one-run games, including a 3-2 decision Wednesday night."It's just the same old story: We can't score enough runs," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "We pitched extremely well, we played well in the field overall, loved the effort."Sixteen pitchers took part in the game, which lasted 5 hours, 14 minutes. Tampa Bay used a club-record 26 players.The Orioles' success in extras this season matches the longest in the majors since Cleveland won 13 straight extra-inning games in 1995.Randy Wolf (2-0) earned the win by striking out Joyce with two on in the top of the 14th. Baltimore has won 14 of 19 overall and is 26-11 since Aug. 3.Although the Orioles blew a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning, they improved to 64-0 when leading after the seventh.Yankees 2, Red Sox 0In Boston, Derek Jeter shook off an injury to tie Willie Mays for 10th place on the career hits list (3,283), backing Phil Hughes and helping New York maintain a share of the AL East lead. The Yankees won consecutive games for the first time in a month.New York's Ichiro Suzuki was a late-inning defensive replacement in right field.Angels 6, Athletics 0In Anaheim, ace Jered Weaver (17-4) allowed two hits in seven innings and struck out nine in his first start since skipping a turn in the rotation because of biceps tendinitis.Indians 5, Rangers 4In Arlington, Texas, Jason Kipnis hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Joe Nathan and Cleveland snapped a five-game losing streak.Rangers reliever Koji Uehara worked a scoreless ninth inning.Blue Jays 8, Mariners 3In Toronto, Edwin Encarnacion hit his 40th home run, Adam Lind also connected and the Blue Jays sent Felix Hernandez to his third straight loss.Second baseman Munenori Kawasaki was 0-for-1 after entering the game as a defensive replacement for Seattle.Twins 4, Royals 3 (10)In Minneapolis, Denard Span had a game-ending RBI double in the 10th and the Twins rallied for a victory over Kansas City.Tigers at White Sox — ppd.NATIONAL LEAGUECardinals 2, Dodgers 1In Los Angeles, Allen Craig drove in Shane Robinson with the go-ahead run in the seventh, and St. Louis extended its NL wild-card lead over Los Angeles to two games with a victory over the struggling Dodgers.Lance Lynn (15-7) pitched six innings of five-hit ball to earn his first win since July 27 for the Cardinals, striking out seven in the All-Star's return to the rotation after a bullpen demotion.Astros 6, Phillies 4In Houston, pinch hitter Jed Lowrie delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning and the Astros stung Philadelphia.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Baltimore snaps streak of 14 straight losing seasons
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles have too much else going on to be overly excited about ending their miserable run of 14 consecutive losing seasons.Positive gains: Baltimore's Chen Wei-yin pitches during the Orioles' 3-2 win over the Rays on Thursday. APManny Machado blooped an RBI single that eluded left fielder Matt Joyce's desperate dive with two outs in the 14th inning, and Baltimore beat Tampa Bay 3-2 Thursday to complete a three-game sweep and remain atop the AL East.With their 81st victory — and 13th in a row in extra innings — the Orioles are assured no worse than a .500 record for the first time since 1997."There's a bigger goal in mind," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "That wasn't the goal from Day One this spring. Really, Day One of the offseason. It's watching other teams for years and saying, 'We want to do what they're doing. We'd like to get a chair at the dance, you know?' "It's been an incredible season for the Orioles, who finished in the cellar in each of the previous four years. Baltimore (81-62) remained in a first-place tie with the New York Yankees, who beat Boston 2-0 on Thursday night.After briefly celebrating a victory that capped a 5-2 homestand against the Yankees and Rays, Baltimore packed in the clubhouse for a trip to Oakland."It makes that West Coast trip a little easier when you win," said closer Jim Johnson, part of a bullpen that kept Tampa Bay scoreless on four hits over the final 6? innings. "You can enjoy it for a little bit, the five hours you're on the flight, but that's about it."The Rays fell four games back in the division by virtue of yet another one-run defeat punctuated by a lack of offensive punch. Tampa Bay has lost 13 of its last 16 one-run games, including a 3-2 decision Wednesday night."It's just the same old story: We can't score enough runs," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "We pitched extremely well, we played well in the field overall, loved the effort."Sixteen pitchers took part in the game, which lasted 5 hours, 14 minutes. Tampa Bay used a club-record 26 players.The Orioles' success in extras this season matches the longest in the majors since Cleveland won 13 straight extra-inning games in 1995.Randy Wolf (2-0) earned the win by striking out Joyce with two on in the top of the 14th. Baltimore has won 14 of 19 overall and is 26-11 since Aug. 3.Although the Orioles blew a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning, they improved to 64-0 when leading after the seventh.Yankees 2, Red Sox 0In Boston, Derek Jeter shook off an injury to tie Willie Mays for 10th place on the career hits list (3,283), backing Phil Hughes and helping New York maintain a share of the AL East lead. The Yankees won consecutive games for the first time in a month.New York's Ichiro Suzuki was a late-inning defensive replacement in right field.Angels 6, Athletics 0In Anaheim, ace Jered Weaver (17-4) allowed two hits in seven innings and struck out nine in his first start since skipping a turn in the rotation because of biceps tendinitis.Indians 5, Rangers 4In Arlington, Texas, Jason Kipnis hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Joe Nathan and Cleveland snapped a five-game losing streak.Rangers reliever Koji Uehara worked a scoreless ninth inning.Blue Jays 8, Mariners 3In Toronto, Edwin Encarnacion hit his 40th home run, Adam Lind also connected and the Blue Jays sent Felix Hernandez to his third straight loss.Second baseman Munenori Kawasaki was 0-for-1 after entering the game as a defensive replacement for Seattle.Twins 4, Royals 3 (10)In Minneapolis, Denard Span had a game-ending RBI double in the 10th and the Twins rallied for a victory over Kansas City.Tigers at White Sox — ppd.NATIONAL LEAGUECardinals 2, Dodgers 1In Los Angeles, Allen Craig drove in Shane Robinson with the go-ahead run in the seventh, and St. Louis extended its NL wild-card lead over Los Angeles to two games with a victory over the struggling Dodgers.Lance Lynn (15-7) pitched six innings of five-hit ball to earn his first win since July 27 for the Cardinals, striking out seven in the All-Star's return to the rotation after a bullpen demotion.Astros 6, Phillies 4In Houston, pinch hitter Jed Lowrie delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning and the Astros stung Philadelphia.
Positive gains: Baltimore's Chen Wei-yin pitches during the Orioles' 3-2 win over the Rays on Thursday. APManny Machado blooped an RBI single that eluded left fielder Matt Joyce's desperate dive with two outs in the 14th inning, and Baltimore beat Tampa Bay 3-2 Thursday to complete a three-game sweep and remain atop the AL East.With their 81st victory — and 13th in a row in extra innings — the Orioles are assured no worse than a .500 record for the first time since 1997."There's a bigger goal in mind," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "That wasn't the goal from Day One this spring. Really, Day One of the offseason. It's watching other teams for years and saying, 'We want to do what they're doing. We'd like to get a chair at the dance, you know?' "It's been an incredible season for the Orioles, who finished in the cellar in each of the previous four years. Baltimore (81-62) remained in a first-place tie with the New York Yankees, who beat Boston 2-0 on Thursday night.After briefly celebrating a victory that capped a 5-2 homestand against the Yankees and Rays, Baltimore packed in the clubhouse for a trip to Oakland."It makes that West Coast trip a little easier when you win," said closer Jim Johnson, part of a bullpen that kept Tampa Bay scoreless on four hits over the final 6? innings. "You can enjoy it for a little bit, the five hours you're on the flight, but that's about it."The Rays fell four games back in the division by virtue of yet another one-run defeat punctuated by a lack of offensive punch. Tampa Bay has lost 13 of its last 16 one-run games, including a 3-2 decision Wednesday night."It's just the same old story: We can't score enough runs," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "We pitched extremely well, we played well in the field overall, loved the effort."Sixteen pitchers took part in the game, which lasted 5 hours, 14 minutes. Tampa Bay used a club-record 26 players.The Orioles' success in extras this season matches the longest in the majors since Cleveland won 13 straight extra-inning games in 1995.Randy Wolf (2-0) earned the win by striking out Joyce with two on in the top of the 14th. Baltimore has won 14 of 19 overall and is 26-11 since Aug. 3.Although the Orioles blew a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning, they improved to 64-0 when leading after the seventh.Yankees 2, Red Sox 0In Boston, Derek Jeter shook off an injury to tie Willie Mays for 10th place on the career hits list (3,283), backing Phil Hughes and helping New York maintain a share of the AL East lead. The Yankees won consecutive games for the first time in a month.New York's Ichiro Suzuki was a late-inning defensive replacement in right field.Angels 6, Athletics 0In Anaheim, ace Jered Weaver (17-4) allowed two hits in seven innings and struck out nine in his first start since skipping a turn in the rotation because of biceps tendinitis.Indians 5, Rangers 4In Arlington, Texas, Jason Kipnis hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Joe Nathan and Cleveland snapped a five-game losing streak.Rangers reliever Koji Uehara worked a scoreless ninth inning.Blue Jays 8, Mariners 3In Toronto, Edwin Encarnacion hit his 40th home run, Adam Lind also connected and the Blue Jays sent Felix Hernandez to his third straight loss.Second baseman Munenori Kawasaki was 0-for-1 after entering the game as a defensive replacement for Seattle.Twins 4, Royals 3 (10)In Minneapolis, Denard Span had a game-ending RBI double in the 10th and the Twins rallied for a victory over Kansas City.Tigers at White Sox — ppd.NATIONAL LEAGUECardinals 2, Dodgers 1In Los Angeles, Allen Craig drove in Shane Robinson with the go-ahead run in the seventh, and St. Louis extended its NL wild-card lead over Los Angeles to two games with a victory over the struggling Dodgers.Lance Lynn (15-7) pitched six innings of five-hit ball to earn his first win since July 27 for the Cardinals, striking out seven in the All-Star's return to the rotation after a bullpen demotion.Astros 6, Phillies 4In Houston, pinch hitter Jed Lowrie delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning and the Astros stung Philadelphia.
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