Granderson steps up in bench role

BALTIMORE (AP) ― The New York Yankees escaped from Camden Yards with their lead in the AL East intact, and as a bonus, slugger Curtis Granderson worked his way out of an annoying slump.

Granderson came off the bench to hit his 35th homer and drive in five runs, and New York beat the Baltimore Orioles 13-3 on Sunday to regain sole possession of first place in the division and earn an important split of the season series.

Derek Jeter also homered for the Yankees, who lead the Orioles by one game with 22 left.

Each team won twice in a four-game set that drew 173,572 fans, including 40,346 in the finale.

“The bottom line is we’re in first place,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Jeter said, “We lost a couple games, but we did battle back. Today was a big one for us. We have a much-needed day off (Monday), then we go to play Boston. I like the way we played.”

Houston 5, Cincinnati 1

Minnesota 8, Cleveland 7

Atlanta 3, NY Mets 2

Toronto 4, Boston 3

Miami 8, Washington 0

Chicago Cubs 4, Pittsburgh 2

Tampa Bay 6, Texas 0

Kansas City 2, Chicago White Sox 1

St. Louis 5, Milwaukee 4

LA Angels 3, Detroit 2

San Diego 8, Arizona 2

Oakland 4, Seattle 2

Philadelphia 3, Colorado 2 Gm. 1

Philadelphia 7, Colorado 4 Gm. 2

San Francisco 4, LA Dodgers 0