Matt Wieters drove in three runs, Miguel Gonzalez pitched 6 1/3 solid innings and the Orioles remained one game behind the first-place Yankees in the AL East with a 4-2 win over the Red Sox last night in Boston.
Because the Yankees beat the Athletics 2-1 in 10 innings, Baltimore broke a tie with Oakland for the top wild-card spot. All three teams have 12 games left.
Gonzalez (7-4) allowed two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and one walk as the Orioles improved to 6-1 this season at Fenway Park. They lead the AL with 44 road wins.
Rays 12, Blue Jays 1
In St. Petersburg, Fla., James Shields pitched seven shutout innings, Luke Scott drove in four runs , and the Rays beat the Blue Jays to pull within 4 1/2 games of the A’s for the second AL wild card.
Angels 6, White Sox 2
In Anaheim, Calif., Ervin Santana pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, and the Angels beat the White Sox to pull within 3 1/2 games of the A’s for the second AL wild card.
Phillies 6, Braves 2
In Philadelphia, Kevin Frandsen hit one of his team’s four solo homers to back Kyle Kendrick, and the Phillies inched closer in the NL playoff race, pulling within three games of the Cardinals, 5-4 losers in 11 innings to the Cubs, for the NL’s second wild-card spot.
The Phillies also trail the Brewers, who are 1 1/2 games back after a 4-2 win over the Nationals, and the Dodgers, who beat the Reds 3-1 in 10 innings to pull within two games.
Melky DQed
Melky Cabrera ended the debate over whether a suspended drug cheat should be able to win a batting title. The Giants outfielder and former Yankee, serving a 50-game drug suspension, asked MLB officials to disqualify him, and yesterday they agreed.
With less than two weeks left in the regular season and Cabrera, at .346, leading the Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen by eight points for the NL batting championship, MLB and the players’ association reached a deal on a one-season-only change in the rule governing the individual batting, slugging and on-base percentage champions.