Detroit – Ivan Rodriguez just missed his storybook ending. On the night he caught his 2,000th game, the Detroit Tigers all-star almost hit a walkoff grand slam in the 10th inning to beat the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night. But the ball curled foul and Rodriguez grounded out to end the inning on Tom Mastny’s next pitch.
“I hit the ball hard and I missed the homer by 3 feet,” he said. “Then I hit the next one hard, but right back to the pitcher. That’s baseball.”
Casey Blake made sure Rodriguez and the Tigers didn’t get another chance, hitting a two-out homer in the top of the 11th to lead Cleveland to its sixth consecutive win, 5-4.
YANKEES 8, TWINS 0 at New York: Chien-Ming Wang (8-4) won his fifth straight decision and Robinson Cano hit a two-run homer as New York won for the fourth time in 13 games.
Alex Rodriguez played third base for New York, one night after leaving the game with a strained left hamstring. The two-time MVP went 0-for-4 with a strikeout but looked comfortable in the field, starting an important double play with a fine pickup on the backhand side. He was pulled after the sixth with the Yankees up 8-0.
ATHLETICS 3, BLUE JAYS 1 at Oakland, Calif.: Joe Blanton (8-4) threw a four-hitter for his AL-leading third complete game, Mark Kotsay drove in two runs and Jack Cust added an eighth inning home run for Oakland.
RANGERS 8, ANGELS 3 at Arlington, Texas: Brad Wilkerson had three homers and six RBIs, both career highs, and Kevin Millwood (5-7) gave up two runs in eight innings.
RED SOX 4, DEVIL RAYS 1 at Boston: Daisuke Matsuzaka (10-5) struck out nine while allowing four hits and one walk in eight innings, and Julio Lugo went 2-for-3, his first hits since June 14, and drove in two runs as Boston dealt Tampa Bay its ninth consecutive loss.
ROYALS 17, MARINERS 3 at Kansas City, Mo.: Billy Butler homered and doubled and drove in six runs as Kansas City handed John McLaren his second loss in two games as Seattle’s manager.
WHITE SOX 5, ORIOLES 1 at Chicago: Javier Vazquez (5-5) threw his 21st career complete game and Jim Thome hit a three-run homer as Chicago won for the seventh time in nine games, and rebounded from a meltdown by its bullpen the previous night in a 7-6 loss.
