New York: Leadership of the American League’s three divisions was in focus in Tuesday’s Major League Baseball action, with Kansas City overtaking Detroit atop the Central division, while Toronto lost and Oakland won against divisional rivals.
Kansas City made it nine-straight wins to beat the Tigers and leapfrog them to the top of the division; Toronto lost at the New York Yankees, with Masahiro Tanaka putting on another master-class at the mound for the hosts; and Oakland’s Derek Norris starred in a win over Texas.
Norris homered and drove in five runs as the Athletics won 10-6, maintaining their 4-1/2 game lead in the West, and moving them eight clear of the Rangers.
Stephen Vogt was 3 for 3 with two RBIs while Tommy Milone (5-3) won his fifth consecutive decision, matching his career-best.
Texas starter Yu Darvish (7-3) lost his eighth straight to the A’s, giving up seven runs and five walks in 5-plus innings.
His fellow Japanese pitcher Tanaka fared much better, steering the Yankees to a 3-1 win over Toronto.
Tanaka (11-1) gave up a home run on the first pitch of the game but no further runs for the remainder of his six innings, striking out 10. He leads the majors in wins and has the best earned-run average in the AL at 1.99.
Brett Gardner hit a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole for New York.
Kansas City’s Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas homered as part of a seven-run second inning, which set up the Royals’ 11-4 win at the Tigers.
Gordon and Moustakas hit two-run shots off Max Scherzer, and Kansas City has won the first two games of this four-game series emphatically.
The Royals, who trailed the Tigers by seven games less than a month ago, now lead Detroit by half a game atop the division.
The Chicago White Sox won 8-2 at home against San Francisco in a result which dropped the Giants into a tie with Oakland for the overall best record in the majors at 43-28.
Gordon Beckham and Dayan Viciedo both hit two-run home runs in a much-needed win for the White Sox, who had lost their previous four, having scored only six runs total across those games.
Chicago’s John Danks (6-5) had a rocky start but gave up only one earned run in 6-1/3 innings. Over his past five starts, Danks has a 3-1 record with a 1.51 ERA.
