DETROIT – Torii Hunter hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting Detroit over the Oakland Athletics 7-6 Thursday and saving the Tigers after Max Scherzer was denied his 20th win and Miguel Cabrera limped off with an injury.
The Tigers scored four times in the ninth off Grant Balfour (0-3). A two-out walk set up Victor Martinez’ RBI single, then Hunter homered as Detroit avoided a sweep.
Additional Photos
Scherzer gave up six runs in five innings. The no-decision left him with a 19-1 record.
Cabrera hurt his abdomen making an awkward slide trying to stretch a single into a double. He is listed as day to day.
ANGELS 2, RAYS 0: Jason Vargas (8-5) allowed two hits over seven innings as Los Angeles won at St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Rays have lost four of five, and are neck-and-neck in the AL wild-card standings with Oakland. The Angels have won five of six.
ROYALS 3, TWINS 1: Bruce Chen (6-2) bounced back with a solid start and visiting Kansas City completed a sweep and won a fifth straight game to hand the Twins their fifth loss in a row.
The Royals took all three games at Target Field.
MARINERS 3, ASTROS 2: Franklin Gutierrez hit a two-run homer after Nick Franklin gave visiting Seattle an early lead with a solo shot, as the Mariners held on to end a six-game skid.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
METS 11, PHILLIES 3: Carlos Torres (3-2) did a Matt Harvey imitation, carrying a two-hit shutout into the seventh at New York.
Daniel Murphy had four hits, Eric Young Jr. got three and Anthony Recker added a two-run homer on his 30th birthday as the Mets broke loose for their most runs since beating Washington 11-0 in the first game of a July 26 doubleheader.
Torres started in place of Harvey, who was diagnosed Monday with a partially torn elbow ligament.
BREWERS 4, PIRATES 0: Yovani Gallardo (10-9) pitched seven sharp innings to beat Pittsburgh once again and Aramis Ramirez homered against his former team as Milwaukee won at Pittsburgh.
The Pirates fell one game behind NL Central-leading St. Louis.
NATIONALS 9, MARLINS 0: Jayson Werth and Ian Desmond each hit a three-run homer, leading Gio Gonzalez (8-6) and Washington to a win at home.
Washington earned its eighth victory in nine games to pull within 6½ games of idle Cincinnati for the second NL wild-card slot.
INTERLEAGUE
BRAVES 3, INDIANS 1: Brian McCann hit a three-run homer, Kris Medlen (11-12) pitched seven scoreless innings and Atlanta completed a sweep at home.
Atlanta’s Justin Upton had to leave the game in the sixth after being struck on the left hand by a pitch, but X-rays were negative.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.