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Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter says slugger Nelson Cruz has "spoiled" his team this season.*Cruz came into Sunday already leading the majors in home runs, and he finished the day with 39, adding two more blasts and driving in seven runs in Baltimore's 7-5 victory in 11 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.
With the O's down 3-0, Cruz hit a two-run homer in the sixth. They were down 4-2 in the ninth until Cruz put them ahead with a three-run triple. The Rays tied the score in the bottom of the ninth, but Cruz put them away with a two-run blast in the 11th. Cruz finished 4 for 5, and just missed tying his career high of eight RBIs.
GERRIT COLE HITS NO-DOUBTER: A pitcher by trade, Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole came in owning hitting results that were better than many pitchers, but still nothing special: A .212 batting average with no extra-base hits, three walks and five RBIs in 74 plate appearances. And then this happened in the seventh inning at Wrigley Field:
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Cole's two-run shot against Blake Parker nearly cleared the bleachers in left, and helped the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 10-4 to sweep their three-game set and jump into the second wild-card spot. The Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves both lost and are a half-game behind.
A day earlier, the A's won in walk-off fashion, but momentum in baseball is just one big tease.*The Astros ensured they would not lose 100 games for a fourth straight season. The A's only ensured themselves of a bigger headache and a taller hill to climb, as they fell seven games behind the Los Angeles Angeles in the AL West race. The Angels smashed the Twins 14-4.
LOBSTEIN HELPS TIGERS PREVENT GIANTS SWEEP: Left-hander Kyle Lobstein continues to keep the Detroit Tigers hopeful in the AL pennant race. Lobstein limited the San Francisco Giants to one run over 5 2/3 innings in a 6-1 victory. Lobstein has a 2.11 ERA in three starts since moving into Anibal Sanchez's spot in Detroit's rotation.
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Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter says slugger Nelson Cruz has "spoiled" his team this season.*Cruz came into Sunday already leading the majors in home runs, and he finished the day with 39, adding two more blasts and driving in seven runs in Baltimore's 7-5 victory in 11 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.
With the O's down 3-0, Cruz hit a two-run homer in the sixth. They were down 4-2 in the ninth until Cruz put them ahead with a three-run triple. The Rays tied the score in the bottom of the ninth, but Cruz put them away with a two-run blast in the 11th. Cruz finished 4 for 5, and just missed tying his career high of eight RBIs.
''It wasn't a pretty victory but we got it done and that's the important thing,'' Cruz said. ''You don't want to think about the standings too much but we are in pretty good shape and we just have to remain focused.''
The O's improved to 83-59 and opened a 9 1/2 game lead on the New York Yankees, who fell 2-0 against Kansas City, in the American League East. Baltimore's magic number to clinch is 12. Any combination of Orioles wins and Yankees losses, plus one, gives the O's their first division title since 1997.
GERRIT COLE HITS NO-DOUBTER: A pitcher by trade, Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole came in owning hitting results that were better than many pitchers, but still nothing special: A .212 batting average with no extra-base hits, three walks and five RBIs in 74 plate appearances. And then this happened in the seventh inning at Wrigley Field:
Your browser does not support iframes.
Cole's two-run shot against Blake Parker nearly cleared the bleachers in left, and helped the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 10-4 to sweep their three-game set and jump into the second wild-card spot. The Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves both lost and are a half-game behind.
''Yeah, it's pretty sweet,'' Cole said. ''Everybody wants to hit a home run in the show, and it happened at Wrigley, which is really cool.''
ASTROS TAKE SERIES FROM ATHLETICS: The Oakland Athletics hoped a dramatic win in their last bat the day before would carry over, but the Houston Astros wouldn't allow it.*The Astros walked their way to a 4-3 victory, scoring twice in the top of the ninth when A's closer Ryan Cook walked three of the four batters he faced.
A day earlier, the A's won in walk-off fashion, but momentum in baseball is just one big tease.*The Astros ensured they would not lose 100 games for a fourth straight season. The A's only ensured themselves of a bigger headache and a taller hill to climb, as they fell seven games behind the Los Angeles Angeles in the AL West race. The Angels smashed the Twins 14-4.
''That's too far out for us to look at right now,'' Melvin said. ''You never know what kind of a run you can go on.''
The A's are 8-18 since holding a four-game lead over the Angels on Aug. 10
Oakland still leads the wild-card race by two games. Seattle is next, but the Mariners fell 1-0 to the Rangers.
LOBSTEIN HELPS TIGERS PREVENT GIANTS SWEEP: Left-hander Kyle Lobstein continues to keep the Detroit Tigers hopeful in the AL pennant race. Lobstein limited the San Francisco Giants to one run over 5 2/3 innings in a 6-1 victory. Lobstein has a 2.11 ERA in three starts since moving into Anibal Sanchez's spot in Detroit's rotation.
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''I'm pretty excited,'' Lobstein said after receiving a beer shower from teammates. ''It's my first major league win, and we avoided the sweep, which makes it even better. We definitely needed a game like this.''
Miguel Cabrera hit a home run for the third time in two games, and the Tigers stayed within two games of the Royals in the AL Central. They also closed within a half-game of the wild card spot.
More MLB coverage at Yahoo Sports:*
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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter!
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