CLEVELAND – Alex Gordon homered on the game’s first pitch, James Shields dominated after a shaky first inning, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians 6-2 on Wednesday in a matchup of teams fighting for an American League playoff spot.
Kansas City took 2 of 3 in the series between clubs that are in contention for the second wild-card spot in the AL. The Royals, who trail Tampa Bay by two games, moved a game closer to the Indians. Cleveland is 11/2 games behind the Rays.
Additional Photos
Shields (11-9) gave up two runs, two hits and hit a batter in the bottom half before taking control.
YANKEES 5, ORIOLES 4: Robinson Cano hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the ninth, and New York also got solo shots from Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson in a victory at Baltimore.
TIGERS 1, WHITE SOX 0: Anibal Sanchez (14-7) struck out 10 in a terrific performance at Chicago, allowing five hits in 71/3 innings while lowering his AL-best ERA to 2.50.
ANGELS 5, BLUE JAYS 4: Kole Calhoun hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, C.J. Wilson won his eighth straight decision and Los Angeles won at Toronto.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
REDS 6, CUBS 0: Devin Mesoraco hit his first home run in more than a month and Jack Hannahan added his first career pinch-hit homer as host Cincinnati avoided being swept by last-place Chicago.
Mesoraco had three hits to lead the Reds to their seventh win on a 10-game homestand.
GIANTS 4, ROCKIES 3: Marco Scutaro and Brandon Belt hit consecutive RBI singles in the eighth inning to help host San Francisco edge Colorado.
PHILLIES 4, PADRES 2: Cliff Lee pitched eight sharp innings and Freddy Galvis had three hits to lead host Philadelphia over San Diego.
MARLINS 5, BRAVES 2: In his season finale, Miami Marlins rookie sensation Jose Fernandez pitched seven innings at home, hit his first major-league homer and engaged in a standoff with annoyed Atlanta.
NATIONALS 3, METS 0: Dan Haren pitched one-hit ball for six innings, Ryan Zimmerman homered and the Washington Nationals won their fifth straight game, winning at New York in a night full of 9/11 tributes.
CARDINALS 5, BREWERS 1: Matt Adams had a two-run homer and host St. Louis won its fifth straight game to maintain a one-game lead over Pittsburgh and a three-game advantage on Cincinnati in the NL Central.
INTERLEAGUE
PIRATES 7, RANGERS 5: Clint Barmes homered and drew a bases-loaded walk for Pittsburgh, which completed a three-game sweep in an interleague matchup of wild-card leaders.
Texas (81-63) has dropped 9 of 12.
NOTES
YANKEES: Shortstop Derek Jeter, who last played Saturday in a loss to Boston, will miss the remainder of the season with an ankle injury.
“This entire season has been a nightmare for me physically,” Jeter said. “It’s a fitting end.”
RED SOX: Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski will be honored with a statue outside Fenway Park.
A dedication ceremony will precede the Sept. 22 game against Toronto, and Yastrzemski is scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
The statue will capture a moment that took place on Oct. 2, 1983, when the Red Sox star tipped his helmet to fans before his final at-bat.
Send 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.