American League roundup

[September 23, 2009]  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The Yankees were in no position to celebrate when the Texas Rangers' loss to Oakland clinched New York's return to the postseason. Brett Gardner and his teammates were too busy blowing a five-run lead over the Angels at the time.

A ninth-inning rally keyed by a player with no postseason resume made certain the Yankees didn't back through a door that was slammed in their faces last fall.

Gardner singled, stole second base on a pitchout and scored the tiebreaking run on Alex Rodriguez's sacrifice fly in the ninth, and the Yankees secured their 14th playoff appearance in 15 seasons Tuesday night with a 6-5 victory over Los Angeles.

Rodriguez homered and drove in three runs before Mariano Rivera earned his 41st save for the Yankees, who were guaranteed a return to the postseason about 55 minutes before the last out in Anaheim when the Athletics finished Texas 9-1.

"You always want to get something like this by shaking hands at the end of it," Rodriguez said. "(No big) celebration, just shaking hands with the guys and giving a few hugs. It feels good to be in, but we've got a lot of work ahead of us."

Derek Jeter and his teammates are back in the postseason after staying home last fall in manager Joe Girardi's debut campaign. The Yankees won 17 playoff series and four World Series titles in a 13-year span after 1994, but New York hasn't won a championship since 2000 or even a playoff series since the 2004 division series, losing four straight.

The Yankees took a five-run lead in the fifth inning after early homers from Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui, but Los Angeles chipped away with several typical small-ball rallies, tying it on an unearned run when Maicer Izturis drove home Howie Kendrick with a single off Phil Hughes (8-3) over the drawn-in infield in the eighth.

Gardner stole second even when the Angels were expecting him to run, thanks to a poor throw by fourth-string Angels catcher Ryan Budde. After Matt Palmer (10-2) walked Jeter, Mark Teixeira got an intentional walk from Darren Oliver to load the bases with one out -- and Rodriguez's drive to center was deep enough to get Gardner home.

"These are big games for us," Gardner said. "Tonight definitely felt like a playoff game, although I haven't been in the playoffs. Tonight is going to be a lot like how the playoffs are."

With one formality aside, the AL-leading Yankees already were thinking about what else is available to them. The win gave New York a six-game lead over Boston in the East and a 5 1/2-game edge on the Angels for homefield advantage at the new Yankee Stadium throughout the postseason.

"The division is very important to us," Teixeira said. "You don't see any champagne tonight, but hopefully in a couple of days you will."

The Yankees won for the first time in five games this season at Angel Stadium, where they've still lost 18 of 24. With a weekend home series looming against the Red Sox, Jeter knows the Yankees will benefit from a difficult win in Anaheim.

"It's still too early to talk about (playoff) matchups, but it's important to win against good teams," said Jeter, who set a major league record for shortstops with his seventh 200-hit season.

Athletics 9, Rangers 1

At Oakland, Calif., Kurt Suzuki and Daric Barton drove in two runs apiece and Trevor Cahill (10-12) won his fourth straight decision.

Suzuki hit a two-run double and scored on Barton's RBI single during a five-run seventh that spurred the A's to their 10th win in 12 games.

Mariners 4, Rays 3

At St. Petersburg, Fla., Jose Lopez hit a tiebreaking home run off Dan Wheeler (4-5) in the eighth inning and Seattle beat Tampa Bay, eliminating the defending AL champions from the postseason.

Ichiro Suzuki had a two-run homer for the Mariners, who ended Tampa Bay's four-game winning streak.

Tigers 3, Indians 1

At Cleveland, Edwin Jackson (13-7) pitched seven shutout innings to remain unbeaten against the Indians this season, and Detroit remained 2 1/2 games in front of Minnesota in the AL Central.

The Indians lost their ninth straight.

In losing nine of 13, the Tigers let a season-high, seven-game lead on Sept. 6 slip to two over the Twins last weekend.

Twins 8, White Sox 6

At Chicago, Michael Cuddyer hit a go-ahead home run in the sixth and Matt Tolbert homered in the same inning for Minnesota.

The Twins won for the eighth time in nine games despite blowing two leads and getting a dismal start from Jeff Manship.

Orlando Cabrera hit a two-run homer and Jason Kubel added a solo shot for the Twins. Cuddyer finished 3 for 4 and a triple short of the cycle, while Joe Mauer had an RBI double.

Royals 5, Red Sox 1

At Kansas City, Mo., Zack Greinke held Boston to two hits in six scoreless innings.

Greinke (15-8) is 3-0 with an 0.26 ERA in his past five starts, allowing 18 hits and one earned run in 35 innings. With the stretch, Greinke has lowered his major league-leading ERA to 2.08. He became the first Royal to win at least 15 games in a season since Paul Byrd won 17 in 2002.

Fittingly, Byrd (1-2) was the losing pitcher.

Blue Jays 6, Orioles 5, 11 innings

At Toronto, Aaron Hill doubled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning and the Blue Jays handed Baltimore its sixth straight loss.

Hill, who also hit a solo home run, reached 100 RBIs for the first time in his career.

Shawn Camp (2-6) pitched one inning for the win.

[Associated Press; By GREG BEACHAM]

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