AL Wild Card Roundup: Orioles lose to Red Sox, Angels gain ground, Rays sweep Blue Jays

The Rays kept their winning streak alive today and swept the Blue Jays, while inching up the wild card ladder. As they climb the ladder one step at a time, the Rays need to continue their offensive productivity with a week and a half left of the regular season. Now here’s a look at how the other Wild Card contenders fared:

Cliff Pennington’s bat help lead the A’s to victory over the Yankees. Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Oakland 5, New York 4

New York’s pitcher, Hiroki Kuroda, got off to the wrong foot in the first inning as he walked Jonny Gomes with Brandon Moss and Stephen Drew in scoring position. In the next play, Stephen Drew scored after Kuroda threw a wild pitch. The following inning Cliff Pennington hit a two run homerun for Oakland. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Nick Swisher hit a two run homerun as well. His homerun was also the 225^th homerun for the Yankees this season, and they lead the MLB in most homeruns for this season. Curtis Granderson and Russell Martin also scored for New York during the inning. Oakland’s Cliff Pennington continued to have a great game as he scored off of Yoenis Cespedes’ single in the fifth inning and drove in Josh Donaldson in the sixth inning.

Boston 2, Baltimore 1

Felix Doubront took the mound for Boston and pitched eleven strikeouts and two walks, while Chris Tillman pitched for Baltimore. Boston got the action started as Cody Ross scored in the bottom of the fourth inning off of a throwing error by Baltimore’s second baseman Robert Andino. Baltimore responded the next inning as Lew Ford scored off of Manny Machado’s single to right field. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Cody Ross hit a double, allowing Dustin Pedroia to score.

Angels 4, White Sox 1

Albert Pujols’ two RBIs put the Angels ahead in today’s game. Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

Chicago’s Gavin Floyd threw eight strikeouts in six innings but gave up seven hits in today’s game. His teammates could not back him up offensively either, as they had six hits but left seven players on base. However, the Angel’s Jered Weaver only had four strikeouts and five hits in 6.1 innings, but his teammates’ bats were explosive in the sixth inning to deliver a win. The action started as Mike Trout and Torii Hunter scored off of Albert Pujols’ double to left field. Pujols scored in the following play as Kendrys Morales hit a two run homerun. In the seventh inning, Dayan Viciedo batted in A.J. Pierzynski to score Chicago’s only run.

Minnesota v. Detroit Doubleheader

Game 1: Minnesota 10, Detroit 4

Twins’ pitcher Scott Diamond gave up two runs in the fourth inning to Omar Infante and Miguel Carbrera. Joe Mauer, the Twins’ catcher, had a great day as he drove in four RBIs. The action started in the sixth inning when he hit a single to second base, allowing Ben Revere to score. Mauer scored on the next play as Justin Morneau singled to left field. In the next two innings, Mauer drove in three more RBIs, with Ben Revere scoring two more times. The game finished with Detroit’s Don Kelly and Andy Dirks scoring off of Avisail Garcia’s single in the bottom of the ninth.

Game 2: Minnesota 2, Detroit 1

Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera started off the game with a double to center, allowing Austin Jackson to score in the bottom of the first inning. However, Detroit pitcher Drew Smyly got into a tough situation in the top of the fifth inning when he was charged with two errors, attempting to throw Pedro Florimon out at first base. Al Alburquerque relieved Smyly a play later, only to allow Pedro Florimon to score. In the top of the tenth inning, Denard Span scored after Jamey Carroll singled to center.

Here are the AL Wild Card Standings:

Oakland –

Baltimore –

LA Angels – 2.5 GB

Tampa Bay – 3.5 GB

Detroit – 6 GB