Yankees top Orioles
* AMERICAN LEAGUE
Shortstop J.J. Hardy's bases-loaded error let New York complete a seventh-inning comeback and the Yankees stung the visiting Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Saturday to restore their AL East lead to three games.
Shut down all afternoon, the struggling Yankees rallied for three runs in the seventh against a suddenly shaky Baltimore bullpen. The streaking Orioles had won 13 straight one-run decisions before falling apart as the calendar turned to September.
Newly promoted Eduardo Nunez hit an RBI single with two outs that chased Wei-Yin Chen and made it 3-2. Pedro Strop, one of baseball's best relievers, walked Ichiro Suzuki and then threw two quick strikes to Derek Jeter before walking him, forcing home the tying run.
Nick Swisher followed with a hard, one-hop grounder that ate up Hardy, who leads major league shortstops in fielding percentage, and the Yankees took the lead.
The Yankees won for only the fourth time in 11 games, but lost another power bat when Curtis Granderson left after two innings because of tightness in his right hamstring. He was taken to the hospital for a precautionary MRI.
Manager Joe Girardi doesn't think Granderson will be sidelined along with injured sluggers Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. He will check with his center fielder today before making out his lineup.
Rays 5, Blue Jays 4: Matt Joyce homered and had three RBIs, Ryan Roberts also connected and Tampa Bay won at Toronto.
Indians 4, Rangers 3: Jeanmar Gomez and three Cleveland relievers combined to beat visiting Texas and the Indians snapped a six-game losing streak.
Tigers 5, White Sox 1: Max Scherzer allowed four hits in eight scoreless innings, and host Detroit pulled within a game of first place with a victory over Chicago.
Twins 3-8, Royals 1-7: Joe Mauer hit a grand slam, Chris Parmelee added a three-run shot and visiting Minnesota outlasted Kansas City to complete a sweep of a doubleheader.
Justin Morneau drove in two runs and Minnesota rookie Cole De Vries beat the Royals in the first game.
Athletics 7, Red Sox 1: Coco Crisp hit a leadoff home run and finished a triple shy of the cycle to back A.J. Griffin's gem, and Oakland beat visiting Boston for its eighth-straight win.
Dustin Pedroia's two-out RBI single in the sixth was all Boston managed in its fifth straight loss.
* NATIONAL LEAGUE
Giants 5, Cubs 2: Tim Lincecum pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning and Xavier Nady had a three-run double to lead San Francisco at Chicago.
Brewers 3, Pirates 2: Corey Hart homered to lead off the ninth inning and host Milwaukee beat Pittsburgh.
Mets 5, Marlins 3: Kelly Shoppach hit a go-ahead two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning that cleared the bases when center fielder Justin Ruggiano misplayed the ball, lifting New York at Miami.
Astros 2, Reds 1: Cincinnati second baseman Wilson Valdez's error on a routine grounder by Jose Altuve with two outs in the ninth inning lifted Houston past the visiting Reds.
Cardinals 10, Nationals 9: David Freese homered, drove in three runs and had a go-ahead single in the ninth inning as St. Louis ended a four-game skid with a win at Washington.
Phillies 5, Braves 1: Cliff Lee took advantage of some rare run support, throwing seven scoreless innings to lead Philadelphia at Atlanta.
Rockies 9, Padres 1: At Denver, Jhoulys Chacin pitched seven strong innings, Dexter Fowler hit his first career grand slam, and Colorado routed San Diego.
Dodgers 2, Diamondbacks 1: Josh Beckett pitched 6 2/3 strong innings for his first victory since being traded to the Dodgers and Andre Ethier hit a tie-breaking home run in the sixth inning to help Los Angeles beat visiting Arizona.