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DATELINE — Intro here
DATELINE — BOSTON — AL batting leader Dustin Pedroia homered in the seventh inning to begin Boston’s comeback from a four-run deficit, and the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 Wednesday when pitcher Jim Miller’s threw away a bunt for a game-ending error.
Hitting cleanup for the fourth time in five games, Pedroia went 3-for-4 and raised his average to .333. He is 21-for-34 (.618) in his last eight games.
Boston, 48-19 at Fenway Park but 34-38 on the road, began the day four games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East and led the AL wild-card race by four games.
The Red Sox sold out 96-year old Fenway Park for the 455th consecutive regular-season game, tying the Cleveland Indians’ major league record.
Baltimore, which has lost six straight and 11 of 12, took a 4-0 lead in the fourth against Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Pedroia homered off Jamie Walker into the Green Monster seats, his 17th homer of the season. Pedroia hit just eight last year and had two in 2006, when he first came up to the majors and played in 31 games.
Boston loaded the bases with a hit batter, walk and bunt single, and Rocky Cherry came in and walked Coco Crisp, forcing home a run.
Mark Kotsay hit a two-run triple in the eighth off Miller, a drive just over center fielder Adam Jones, who crashed into the wall. Miller stranded Kotsay by striking out Jason Bay and Jason Varitek.
Alex Cora singled off Miller (0-1) opening the ninth, and took second on Coco Crisp’s bunt single. Jacoby Ellsbury, attempting to sacrifice, bunted the ball toward Miller, who threw it past third baseman Aubrey Huff and down the left-field line. Cora slid home headfirst, then jogged in without a batting helmet and with his arm raised.
Justin Masterson (5-4) pitched two scoreless innings. Matsuzaka gave up four runs — three earned — and four hits in six innings.
With planned starter Jeremy Guthrie sidelined by arm fatigue, the Orioles gave Lance Cormier his first start since last Sept. 15 for Atlanta. Cormier allowed two hits in three innings, throwing 32 pitches. Dennis Sarfate followed with another three shutout innings, giving up just one hit, a single.
Baltimore scored when Brian Roberts doubled on the game’s second pitch and Nick Markakis flied to center, where Crisp dropped the ball for an error. Crisp, who battled the bright sunshine, wasn’t wearing sunglasses.
The Orioles boosted their lead in the fourth on Luke Scott’s RBI double, Lou Montanez’s run-scoring groundout and Guillermo Quiroz’s RBI single.
Orioles right fielder Jacoby Ellsbury robbed Aubrey Huff of a home run with a leaping catch at the wall by the Orioles bullpen in the fifth.
Notes:@ Baltimore hitting coach Terry Crowley was ejected by plate umpire Jeff Nelson in the ninth inning … Boston INF Kevin Youkilis missed his second straight game. He was a late scratch with back spams on Tuesday. “He came in here a little tighter than we hoped,” Boston manager Terry Francona said. … Mike Lowell, sidelined with a strained right oblique since Aug. 13, took BP and grounders and is expected to be activated from the 15-day DL for Friday’s game in Texas. … Baltimore 3B Melvin Mora, selected August’s AL player of the month on Wednesday, was sidelined for his fifth consecutive game with a strained left hamstring. … The Orioles fell a season-worst 13 games under .500. … Boston’s Mark Kotsay started at first base for the first time since Sept. 2, 2006, for Oakland. … Montanez became the first player in over 30 years to win the Eastern League Triple Crown. He batted .335 with 26 homers and tied for the league lead with 97 RBIs for the Double-A Bowie Baysox.
Blue Jays 5, Twins 4 (11)
TORONTO — John McDonald singled home the go-ahead run in the 11th inning and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Minnesota 5-4 on Wednesday night, posting their eighth straight victory over the Twins.
Minnesota lost for the eighth time in 11 games and dropped to 5-8 with one game remaining on its season-long, 14-game road trip.
The Twins fell one game behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central after Chicago beat Cleveland 4-2.
Toronto left-hander Jesse Carlson (6-1) worked one perfect inning to win for the second time in as many days.
White Sox 4, Indians 2
CLEVELAND — Nick Swisher and Alexi Ramirez homered to help the Chicago White Sox avert a sweep with a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.
Javier Vazquez (11-12) allowed two runs in six innings and Bobby Jenks recorded the final five outs for his 28th save in 31 opportunities.
The victory came at an opportune time for the White Sox, who, despite losing five of six, entered the game tied with Minnesota for first place in the American League Central. Chicago lost the first two games of the series with the Indians.
After one-out singles by Ben Francisco and Shin-Soo Choo off Matt Thornton in the eighth put runners on first and third, Jenks came on and got Ryan Garko to hit into a double play. Jamey Carroll led off the ninth with a single, but Jenks got Kelly Shoppach to hit into a double play and struck out Asdrubal Cabrera to end the game.
Due to injuries and scheduled days off, manager Ozzie Guillen was forced to go with a lineup that resemebled a spring training game. Left fielder Carlos Quentin (sore right forearm), center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. and third baseman Joe Crede (both with back tightness) were unavailable. Designated hitter Jim Thome was on the bench until pinch-hitting in the ninth and catcher A.J. Pierzynski was given the day off.
Vazquez and the makeshift lineup came through. The right-hander (11-12) didn’t give up a hit until Shin-Soo Choo singled with one out in the fifth. Shortstop Orlando Cabrera nearly made a diving stop of the hard ground ball up the middle, but it was just beyond his reach and went into center field.
Vazquez retired the first eight hitters and didn’t allow a baserunner until Asdrubal Cabrera drew a one-out walk in the third.
He held the Indians scoreless until Jhonny Peralta’s two-run double in the fifth.
Jeremy Sowers (2-8) retired the first nine bitters before walking Orlando Cabrera on a 3-1 pitch to begin the fourth. Brian Anderson hit a ground ball single past third baseman Andy Marte for Chicago’s first hit.
After managing one hit in the first four innings, the White Sox scored four runs on five hits in the next two innings before Sowers was pulled with one out in the fifth.
Swisher led off the fifth with a homer into the porch in left field on a 2-1 pitch. Josh Fields, starting at DH, singled with one out and scored on Orlando Cabrera’s double off the wall in left-center.
Jermaine Dye singled with one out in the sixth. Ramirez, moved to fifth in the batting order, hit a 3-2 pitch into the left-center bleachers, making it 4-0.
Notes:@ Cliff Lee, who became the Indians’ first 20-game winner in 34 years on Monday night, was picked as the American League pitcher of the month for August. He was 5-0 in the month with a 1.86 earned run average in five starts. … Quentin and Griffey are expected to return to the lineup Friday … The White Sox ended their road trip with a 4-5 record. … OF Grady Sizemore fouled a ball off his right foot in the first inning, but stayed in the game. … The Indians are 18-7 since Aug. 8. … A squirrel made its way on the field in the ninth inning, briefly delaying play when it ran from right field, across the first base line and behind the mound. The squirrel eventually ran to left field where grounds crew members chased it out a door in the wall. … Both teams are off Thursday.
Intro here
DATELINE — Rangers 1, Mariners 0
ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas fill-in starter Dustin Nippert allowed seven hits in seven innings, Milton Bradley hit a sacrifice fly and the Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 1-0 Wednesday.
Making his third start in place of injured Vicente Padilla, Nippert (2-4) struck out four and walked none.
Warner Madrigal pitched the eighth, and Frank Francisco finished to convert his fourth consecutive save chance since taking over as closer last week.
Felix Hernandez (9-9) gave up seven hits in his 7 1-3 innings.
The first home day game for the Rangers since July 13 drew an announced attendance of 12,882, though the stands appeared to be far emptier.
It was only the third 1-0 victory for Texas in 15 seasons at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers have seven shutouts this season, but the only other 1-0 victory was July 20 at Minnesota.
Padilla, on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring, has the only complete-game shutout, a seven-hitter against the Twins on April 27.
Texas got its run in the first when Michael Young singled, advanced on Josh Hamilton’s double and scored on Bradley’s fly.
Hamilton, the majors’ RBI leader with 121, went 3-for-4 to raise his average to .301. Chris Davis had two doubles. Adrian Beltre, Raul Ibanez and Yuniesky Betancourt each had two hits for Seattle.
Nippert had given up 10 runs over 9 1-3 innings in losing his first two turns in Padilla’s spot. It was just the eighth start in 58 career appearances for Nippert, acquired from Arizona just before the season.
Texas starters entered with the majors’ second-highest ERA (5.33).
Francisco took over the closing role when Eddie Guaradado, already filling in for injured C.J. Wilson, was traded to Minnesota on Aug. 25. Francisco has thrown 4 1-3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and no walks since.
After pinch-hitter Tug Hulett took a called third strike to start the ninth, Betancourt hit a deep flyball. Left fielder Marlon Byrd ran into the gap and made a leaping catch against the 14-foot wall to prevent an extra-base hit.
The Associated Press
