Royals pull within 1 game of Tigers

CLEVELAND (AP) ― Danny Duffy pushed the Royals a little closer to the top in the AL Central and nearer their first playoff appearance in 29 years.

Duffy pitched six shutout innings for his first win in more than a month as Kansas City moved within one game of first-place Detroit and kept some distance over Cleveland in the wild-card race, beating the Indians 2-0 on Monday night.

Duffy (9-11), who had thrown just one pitch in September before the start, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first and held the Indians to six hits. The left-hander had been sidelined since Sept. 6 with a sore shoulder.

“I wasn’t feeling any pressure,” Duffy said. “I tried to simplify things and not think about the race we’re in.”

Greg Holland worked the ninth for his 44th save as the Royals, seeking their first postseason appearance since 1985, earned an unusual split and moved within one game of the Tigers, who lost 2-0 at home to the White Sox.

Earlier, the Royals lost 4-3 in 10 innings in a game suspended Aug. 31 in Kansas City.

“It was a good day for us,” manager Ned Yost said. “We wanted to get that suspended game behind us. We knew that was looming over our heads. It’s like we’ve been saying, nobody knows what’s going to happen.”

Carlos Carrasco (8-6) couldn’t keep the momentum going for the Indians, who remain 3 1/2 games out in the wild card and are quickly running out of time.

“It’s not very often you don’t score and come away with a split,” manager Terry Francona said. “There’s not a lot of season left. Every time you lose a game, you’re disappointed, and now we’ll show up tomorrow, and it’s kind of simple. Just show up and try to win.”

Duffy survived a shaky first inning in which he threw 24 pitches. He gave up three hits in the first two innings but just three more over the next four. His previous start against Cleveland was the game that wound up being suspended.

Duffy’s performance ― he was removed after throwing one pitch at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 6 ― took a little pressure off the Royals, who entered the day holding one of the two wild-card spots. Kansas City picked up one-half game on Seattle and stayed comfortably ahead of Cleveland.


Jays rout Mariners 14-4

TORONTO (AP) ― Jose Bautista used his bat and his glove to keep the Blue Jays in the wild-card race for at least one more day.

Bautista homered and reached base four times, J.A. Happ won for the first time in four starts and the Toronto Blue Jays dealt a blow to Seattle’s playoff hopes, routing the Mariners 14-4 Monday night.

“He’s definitely one of the best hitters in baseball and he’s one of the best defenders in baseball,” manager John Gibbons said of Bautista.

Bautista went 3 for 3 with a walk and drove in two runs before getting the rest of the night off. His solo homer off the facing of the second deck in the fifth, against Mariners reliever Tom Wilhelmsen, was his 35th.

Bautista also made a diving catch to retire Austin Jackson and strand a runner at second base in the second, then threw out Logan Morrison trying to stretch a single into a double in the fourth. The assist was Bautista’s 12th.

Toronto staved off mathematical elimination, but will be eliminated from postseason contention with its next defeat or Kansas City’s next win. Kevin Pillar hit a two-run homer and Anthony Gose added a solo shot as the Blue Jays handed Seattle its third straight loss. The 14 runs were the most by a Mariners opponent this season.

“These type of losses, they’re bummers, because you’re out of it right from the start,” Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said.

Seattle gained ground on Kansas City in the wild-card race before taking the field when the Royals lost to Cleveland in a game that had been suspended from Aug. 31. 

Samardzija pitches A’s past Angels

OAKLAND, California (AP) ― Jeff Samardzija pitched seven strong innings and received some rare run support to snap a four-start winless stretch, and the Oakland Athletics kept hold of the top AL wild-card spot by beating the AL West champion Los Angeles Angels 8-4 Monday night.

The A’s moved one game ahead of Kansas City for the first wild card.

Geovany Soto hit a two-run single to highlight a six-run first inning as the A’s chased C.J. Wilson after just two outs for the second-shortest start of his career. Stephen Vogt added a two-run single in the seventh.

Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer in the eighth, giving him 1,602 RBIs for 33rd on the career list.

Samardzija (5-5) beat the Angels for the first time in three career starts and won for the first time in five starts since a victory at Houston on Aug. 25.

Samardzija struck out three and didn’t walk a batter while working at least seven innings for the sixth straight start.

San Francisco 5, LA Dodgers 2

Cleveland 4, Kansas City 3

NY Yankees 5, Baltimore 0

Chicago White Sox 2, Detroit 0

Pittsburgh 1, Atlanta 0

Texas 4, Houston 3

St. Louis 8, Chicago Cubs 0

Arizona 6, Minnesota 2

San Diego 1, Colorado 0