Los Angeles: Jered Weaver kept the Los Angeles Angels firmly in the play-off hunt by shutting down the Chicago White Sox in a 4-1 triumph yesterday that gave the pitching ace his American League-leading 19th win of the season.
Weaver allowed just one run in 6 1/3 innings to keep the Angels 2 1/2 games behind Oakland for the second AL wild card spot with nine games remaining.
“We just have to go out there and keep winning,” Weaver told reporters. “Obviously there’s a little bit of scoreboard watching (but) we can’t worry about what other teams are doing.”
The Angels’ big right-hander won his third consecutive start to break a tie with fellow Cy Young hopeful David Price, of Tampa Bay, for the league’s lead in wins.
The visiting White Sox missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of the AL Central. The White Sox (81-71) have a one-game advantage over Detroit, who were swept in a doubleheader with Minnesota.
The Tigers lost 10-4 in the opener before falling 2-1 in 10 innings behind a game-winning RBI single from Twins infielder Jamey Carroll. Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera had an RBI in each game, giving him a Major League-leading 133. The slugger is still pursuing baseball’s elusive triple crown as he leads the league in batting average (.331) and runs batted in and is tied for the top spot in home runs with 42.
In Seattle, the Texas Rangers avoided being swept by the Mariners with a 3-2 victory. The first-place Rangers (90-62) have a four-game lead in the AL West.
In Boston, Baltimore’s Ryan Flaherty struck out with the bases loaded in the ninth inning to halt the Orioles’ late-inning magic as they lost 2-1 to the Red Sox to remain a game behind New York in the tight American League East race. Baltimore had rallied on Saturday for their 16th straight extra inning victory, but their latest charge fell just short and they missed a chance to catch the first-place Yankees, who lost to Oakland. REUTERS
