Wednesday’s American League Capsules

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.(AP) —Dan Johnson(notes) hit a pair of two-run homers Wednesday night, leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees and back into first place in the AL East.
The teams with the nfl jersey
baseball’s top two records flip-flopped positions in the standings for the third straight night. The first two games of the important series went extra innings, with the Rays winning 1-0 on Monday and the Yankees regaining the division lead by a half-game with an 8-7 win on Tuesday.
The finale was filled with plenty of drama, too, even though the Yankees and Rays are far from finished. They’ll play four more games in New York next week, with Tampa Bay holding an 8-6 edge in the season series.

Both of Johnson’s homers came off Phil Hughes(notes) (16-8), who retired two of Tampa Bay’s most dangerous hitters - Carl Crawford(notes) and Evan Longoria(notes) - before giving up a two-out single to Matt Joyce(notes) and Johnson’s second homer of the night in the seventh.
The Yankees had taken a 3-2 in the top of the seventh on Curtis Granderson’s(notes) two-run homer off Chad Qualls(notes) (1-0).
Red Sox 5, Mariners 1=
SEATTLE (AP) - Clay Buchholz(notes) pitched seven solid innings, Victor Martinez(notes) hit a two-run double and the Red Sox beat the Mariners to complete a three-game series sweep.
Buchholz (16-7) allowed one run - Russell Branyan’s(notes) first-inning homer - and four hits in his first victory since Aug. 22. The All-Star right-hander was 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in his previous three starts.
Buchholz did not allow a hit after Chone Figgins’(notes) two-out single in the third. He lowered his ERA to 2.48, second in the American League.
The Mariners have lost seven straight.
Angels 7, Indians 0=
CLEVELAND (AP) - Jered Weaver(notes), staked to a seven-run lead after two innings, earned his first win in more than a month as the Angels beat the Indians.
Weaver (12-11) retired 21 of the 22 batters he faced over seven innings to snap the longest losing streak of his career at four games. He is 1-4 in seven starts since defeating Detroit 4-2 on Aug. 6.
The right-hander struck out seven to take over the AL lead with 218, four more than Seattle’s Felix Hernandez(notes). He retired the first 11 men he faced until Shin-Soo Choo(notes) hit a sharp single past second baseman Howie Kendrick(notes) with two outs in the fourth. That gave the outfielder a .476 (10 for 21) career average against the Angels ace.
Orioles 3, Blue Jays 1=
BALTIMORE (AP) - Brad Bergesen(notes) pitched a seven-hitter, and the Orioles withstood Jose Bautista’s(notes) major league-leading 47th home run and ruined the debut of right-hander Kyle Drabek(notes) with a victory over the Blue Jays.
Bergesen (7-10) struck out three and walked none in his third Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
career complete game, second this season. The right-hander came in with a 6.99 ERA in five lifetime starts against the Blue Jays, but dominated this one after yielding a solo homer to Bautista in the first inning.
Bergesen was aided by two double plays, and the Orioles threw out a runner at the plate.
Baltimore swept the three-game series and have won nine of 11 games. The Orioles are 26-15 under manager Buck Showalter, including 9-6 against the AL East.
Rangers 11, Tigers 7=
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - David Murphy(notes), Vladimir Guerrero(notes) and Ian Kinsler(notes) hit long home runs for the AL West-leading Rangers in a victory over the Tigers that stretched their winning streak to seven games.
In what might have been their last home game before clinching the division title, the Rangers built an 8-2 lead in the fourth on Murphy’s three-run homer. The 426-foot blast into the second deck of seats in right by Murphy chased Armando Galarraga(notes) (4-6), who had already allowed Guerrero’s 449-foot homer deep into the visitors bullpen in left-center to start the second.
Colby Lewis(notes) (11-12) went six innings to win his second straight start after needing 10 chances to finally get his 10th victory.
Twins 9, White Sox 3=
CHICAGO (AP) - Joe Mauer(notes) had three hits, including a three-run homer, and the Twins took a commanding eight-game lead in the AL Central with a victory over the White Sox.
With 17 games left for both teams, Minnesota has basically secured the division barring an epic collapse. The Twins’ magic number to win the division is 10.
Twins starter Brian Duensing(notes) (9-2) pitched six innings, allowing two runs while scattering nine hits. He struck out four and walked one. The left-hander, who was promoted to the rotation in late July, is 6-1 as a starter.
The Twins have won 10 of 11 and have baseball’s best record since the All-Star break at 41-16. They improved to 6-2 in Chicago.
Royals 6, Athletics 3=
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Wilson Betemit(notes) hit his first career grand slam and Bruce Chen(notes) picked up his 10th victory as the Royals beat the Athletics.
Betemit, who homered and drove in four runs Tuesday, worked a full count from Trevor Cahill(notes) and fouled off the next three pitches before homering just inside the right-field pole.
Mitch Maier(notes) doubled, Jarrod Dyson(notes) had an infield single Dallas Cowboys jersey
and Billy Butler(notes) walked before Betemit’s 12th home run that snapped Cahill’s 15-inning scoreless streak.
Chen (10-7), who was 1-13 from 2007-09, gave up three runs in the first two innings. He went five innings, allowing three runs, six hits and a walk. Chen, who started the year in the minors, leads the Royals in victories.