Major League Baseball
Yankees gain ground on Red Sox in AL East ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Jason Giambi hit his 30th homer and drove in five runs, helping the New York Yankees rout Tampa Bay 17-3 Tuesday night and nudge closer to first-place Boston in the AL East.
Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 3
TORONTO – Gabe Gross hit his first home run in nearly a year during a five-run second inning for Toronto, which beat Boston for their ninth time in 13 games this season.
Indians 5, Athletics 2
CLEVELAND – Ben Broussard’s second homer of the game, a tiebreaking three-run shot in the eighth inning, sent Cleveland to the victory that kept the Indians in control of the AL wild-card race.
The Indians are one game in front of the Yankees for the wild card and 21/2 games ahead of the Athletics.
Twins 9, Tigers 3
DETROIT – Matthew LeCroy, Luis Rivas and Jason Bartlett homered for Minnesota, which has won two straight, both against Detroit, after losing five of six. The Tigers have lost 11 of 13.
Marlins 4, Astros 2
HOUSTON – Juan Pierre walked in the seventh inning when umpires said Wandy Rodriguez touched his mouth with his hand while on the mound, and Paul Lo Duca followed with a tiebreaking, two-run homer that gave Florida a victory over Houston.
Florida leads Philadelphia by one game in the NL wild-card standings.
Phillies 5, Braves 4
PHILADELPHIA – Mike Lieberthal drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out single in the sixth inning to lead Philadelphia, which is one game behind Florida in the NL wild-card race. The Phillies have won two straight over East-leading Atlanta and four of five overall since being swept by Houston last week.
Nationals 4, Mets 2
NEW YORK – Hector Carrasco filled a hole in Washington’s rotation with a solid spot start, and the Nationals used a three-run third inning to beat New York.
Brad Wilkerson, Marlon Byrd and Preston Wilson each had an RBI single to help Washington win the opener of a three-game series between teams barely on the fringe of the NL wild-card race.