Yanks beat Sox in 12, keep lead over O’s
Raul Ibanez tied it with a pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning, then had an RBI single in the 12th, helping the New York Yankees remain a game up on Baltimore in the AL East with one game to go by beating the Boston Red Sox 4-3 on Tuesday night.
With a second comeback spurred by Ibanez in the last 10 days, the Yankees need a win or Orioles loss on the final day of the season to secure their 13th division title since 1996.
If the teams end up even after Wednesday’s games, they’ll play a tiebreaker Thursday in Baltimore.
The Yankees kept missing chances on a misty night. They were 0-58 when trailing after eight innings this season before rallying in the ninth.
The Red Sox dropped to 69-92, and the loss ensured they will finish in last place in the East for the first time since 1992.
ORIOLES 1, RAYS 0: Another one-run victory by the Baltimore Orioles pushed the AL East race to the final day of the season.
Chris Davis homered for the sixth straight game and the Orioles overcame a club-record 15 strikeouts by Tampa Bay pitcher James Shields.
“We’re not supposed to be here. So just go out and have fun and see what happens,” closer Jim Johnson said after the Orioles improved to 29-9 in one-run games.
Orioles rookie Miguel Gonzalez (9-4) limited the Rays to two singles over 61⁄3 innings. The right-hander walked two and struck out seven before manager Buck Showalter turned the game over to the bullpen.
Davis joined Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson as the only Baltimore players to homer in six consecutive games, connecting off Shields (1510) in the fourth. The Orioles managed only one other hit — Nate McLouth’s sixth-inning single — in Shields’ 19th career complete game and third this season.
ROYALS 4, TIGERS 2: Triple Crown candidate Miguel Cabrera had two hits and drove in two runs before leaving in the fifth inning of the AL Central champion Tigers’ loss to Kansas City.
With one game remaining in the regular season, Cabrera leads the AL in average (.331), home runs (44) and RBIs (139), putting him on the brink of becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.
REDS 3, CARDS 1: Mat Latos won his fourth straight decision to finish the regular season and Scott Rolen homered off Chris Carpenter, helping Cincinnati keep the St. Louis Cardinals’ post-season plans on hold.
The Cardinals’ magic number for clinching the second NL wild card remained at one with a game remaining.