SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners stayed in the AL playoff race Saturday night, forcing the chase down to the final day when Austin Jackson barely beat a double-play relay in the 11th inning to edge the Los Angeles Angels 2-1.
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners stayed in the AL playoff race Saturday night, forcing the chase down to the final day when Austin Jackson barely beat a double-play relay in the 11th inning to edge the Los Angeles Angels 2-1.
The Mariners moved within one game of Oakland for the second AL wild-card spot. The A’s lost 5-4 at Texas.
Seattle ace Felix Hernandez will start against the AL West champion Angels on Sunday, the last scheduled day of the regular season.
Brad Miller hit a one-out double in the Seattle 11th off Mike Morin (4-4) and Chris Taylor’s short fly to center fell in for a single, sending Miller to third.
Jackson, who had twice previously been the third out in innings when Seattle stranded runners on third, hit a grounder to second.
The Angels got the forceout at second, but the relay throw was a shade late as the speedy Jackson crossed the bag. Miller raised his arms as he scored the winning run.
Dominic Leone (8-2) pitched the 11th to earn the win.
Seattle entered the game needing to win its final two games and Oakland to lose its final two in order to tie for the second AL wild-card spot and force a one-game playoff Monday.
RANGERS 5, ATHLETICS 4
ARLINGTON, Texas — Oakland stalled in its bid to clinch an AL wild-card spot, losing to last-place Texas on home runs by Jake Smolinski and Robinson Chirinos.
Oakland couldn’t take advantage of the first chance to clinch a playoff spot by itself, even though trade deadline pickup Jeff Samardzija (5-6) faced spot starter Scott Baker after Derek Holland was a late scratch with a migraine headache.
The Rangers used eight pitchers to beat the A’s for the fifth time in six games since last week. Spencer Patton (1-0), the fourth reliever, earned his first major league win, and Neftali Feliz notched his 13th save.
DODGERS 6, ROCKIES 5, 12 INNINGS
LOS ANGELES — Scott Van Slyke scored the winning run on Franklin Morales’ wild pitch in the 12th inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Colorado Rockies.
The Dodgers (93-68) have won four straight, including an NL West-clinching victory over San Francisco on Wednesday. They are locked into the league’s No. 2 playoff seed.
REDS 10, PIRATES 6
CINCINNATI — The Pittsburgh Pirates’ NL Central chances were hurt when Todd Frazier had a tying two-run homer in the seventh inning and Ramon Santiago hit a grand slam in the 10th, powering the Cincinnati Reds to a victory.
Pittsburgh started the day a game behind first-place St. Louis, which lost to Arizona later. The Pirates have already clinched at least a wild card and would host that game on Wednesday.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, CARDINALS 2
PHOENIX — Mark Trumbo homered twice and Arizona prevented St. Louis from clinching the NL Central title.
The Cardinals secured at least a tie for the division crown when Pittsburgh lost to Cincinnati earlier Saturday, but they need to win or have the Pirates lose on Sunday to finish alone in first place.
Trumbo’s three-run shot off Seth Maness (6-4) broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning. Trumbo hit a solo drive in the first in his second multi-homer game in six days. David Peralta also had a solo shot in the first.
TWINS 12, TIGERS 3
DETROIT — Eduardo Escobar had a homer, four hits and a career-high six RBIs, and Minnesota ensured that the AL Central race will come down to the very end with a rout of Detroit.
The Tigers entered with a one-game lead over second-place Kansas City, but the Tigers fell short of clinching. Minnesota scored six runs in the fifth. Escobar and Eric Fryer both hit two-run singles during that big rally, and Escobar added a three-run homer in the eighth.
Rookie Kyle Lobstein (1-2) allowed six runs in 4 2/3 innings for the Tigers.
WHITE SOX 5, ROYALS 4
CHICAGO — Jose Abreu hit a two-run homer, and the Chicago White Sox kept Kansas City out of first place in the AL Central.
Kansas City clinched at least a wild-card spot on Friday.
Danny Duffy (9-12) lasted only two innings for the Royals. He allowed four runs, five hits and one walk. The White Sox jumped on him, scoring three runs in the first inning. Abreu capped the rally with his 36th home run.
Abreu broke a 31-year-old franchise record for the most homers in a season by a rookie, previously held by Ron Kittle. They are the most by a rookie since St. Louis’ Albert Pujols hit 37 in 2001.
RED SOX 10, YANKEES 4
BOSTON — Derek Jeter went 1 for 2 with an infield single and left for a pinch hitter in the fifth inning. Even he wasn’t going to pull the Yankees out of this hole in the next-to-last game of his 20-year big league career.
Boston chased Masahiro Tanaka during an eight-run second inning that backed Joe Kelly, and the Red Sox beat New York.
After sitting out Friday night’s series opener following his emotional Yankee Stadium finale the previous night, Jeter returned to his usual second spot in the lineup but as the designated hitter, not the shortstop. He received standing ovations before each at bat as fans chanted “De-rek Je-ter! De-rek Je-ter!”
Tanaka (13-5) allowed seven runs — five earned — in 1 2/3 innings, the shortest of his 20 starts with the Yankees.
BLUE JAYS 4, ORIOLES 2
TORONTO — Jose Reyes had two hits and two RBIs, J.A. Happ won consecutive starts for the first time since late May and the Blue Jays beat the AL East champion Orioles.
Happ (11-11) allowed two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings for his first winning streak since posting three straight victories from May 15 to May 25.
Casey Janssen got three outs for his 25th save in 30 chances.
NATIONALS 5, MARLINS 1
WASHINGTON — Stephen Strasburg took over the league lead in strikeouts and gave up only two hits through six scoreless innings in his final tuneup ahead of his first postseason, helping the NL East champion Nationals beat Miami.
Strasburg (14-11) spotted his fastball at 97 mph and mixed in breaking balls that confounded a Marlins lineup missing the injured Giancarlo Stanton. Strasburg finished with seven strikeouts — giving him 242, three more than Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers — and one walk.
GIANTS 3, PADRES 1
SAN FRANCISCO — Brandon Crawford hit a two-run single with two outs in the eighth inning, leading the Giants over the Padres.
Crawford, one of just two Giants regulars in the starting lineup, was hitless in three at-bats until his broken-bat single to left off Dale Thayer (4-5) broke a 1-all tie.