Only moments before Alex Avila stepped up to the plate representing the go-ahead run in Detroit, the Kansas City Royals wrapped up a 7-1 win over the Red Sox, temporarily moving into a first place tie with Detroit. That meant a Tigers loss would result in another switch atop the AL Central standings, but Avila wasn't having any of that. With his team down by a run, he turned on a 3-2 pitch from Indians reliever Bryan Shaw and deposited it in the right field bleachers for a two-run homer that would prove to be the difference in Detroit's 5-4 win.
Avila's home run marked the third lead change in the game. Mike Aviles, not to be confused with Avila, put Cleveland ahead in the sixth with a two-run double. Cleveland would threaten to extend the lead in the eighth, but Torii Hunter made a diving catch with two outs to rob Yan Gomes and the Indians of at least two more runs.*
''Just a little bleeder off the end of the bat, just tried to do everything I could right there to get under that ball,'' Hunter said. ''It was sinking pretty fast but I just said, 'Feet don't fail me now.'''
Hunter isn't the fielder he once was, but his clutch play was a difference maker. In fact, it allowed Joba Chamberlain to pick up the win for Detroit, which seemed appropriate given it was Star Wars night. Victor Martinez added his career best 31st home run to solidify his case as a darkhorse MVP candidate.
JULIO TEHERAN LOSES NO-NO AND GAME IN SIXTH: There are difficult losses, and then there's Julio Teheran's loss on Saturday, which could create an entirely new definition of brutal. Atlanta's ace carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning before Luis Sardinas blooped a one-out single into shallow left field. After Teheran recorded the second out and appeared set to close down the inning, the wheels promptly fell off.
It all started when left fielder Justin Upton flat out dropped Leonys Martin's fly ball, allowing the inning to continue. Elvis Andrus followed with an RBI single, drawing Texas to within one. And then Rougned Odor dropped the hammer with a two-run double to left-center field, scoring Martin and Andrus with the tying and go-ahead runs.
''Nobody feels worse about it than Justin,'' Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. ''He makes that play 100 out of 100 times. He was coming in hard and it just bounced off his glove. It compounds it when we're not scoring too many runs.''
All three runs were unearned. They were also the only three Texas would score, or need, as the Braves suffered a crushing 3-2 defeat. Atlanta falls to three games back in the NL wild-card race, and it should be only a matter or days before they're officially eliminated from the division race.*

A'S GET NEEDED WIN IN SEATTLE: Heading into Saturday night's battle against Felix Hernandez and the Mariners, the demise of the Oakland A's was seemingly already scripted. However, in a surprising plot twist, Oakland was able to survive seven innings of King Felix before striking the deciding blow against Fernando Rodney in the tenth.
Actually, striking isn't the appropriate word. Oakland more or less watched as Rodney imploded in his second inning of work. Seattle's closer ended up walking four, including Jed Lowrie with the bases loaded on a somewhat controversial 3-0 pitch. If it didn't catch the outside corner, it missed by an inch. Typically, that's 'autostrike' territory, but home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski wasn't biting. Coco Crisp trotted home and returning closer Sean Doolittle handled a flawless inning, allowing Oakland to escape with the 3-2 win.
Credit to A's starter Sonny Gray as well. He actually outlasted Hernandez, allowing two runs over eight innings. That only earned him a no-decision in the record books, but it's the most important no-decision of Oakland's season. They needed the win, and now they have a huge opportunity to steal a series at Safeco
Melvin: "No question about it - a huge win for this team. Hopefully we can build on it."
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) September 14, 2014
Sunday's pitching matchup will feature Jon Lester against Chris Young.
DODGERS TURN TABLES ON GIANTS: On Friday, the San Francisco Giants batted around in the first inning on their way to a 9-0 victory over the Dodgers. On Saturday, the Dodgers flipped he script completely, sending nine batters to the plate against Tim Hudson in the first, plating four runs. Los Angeles repeated that feat in the second inning, setting the stage for a blowout win of their own, 17-0.
You read that correctly. 17-0. A win so lopsided, Zack Greinke's excellent outing was secondary to the Dodgers offensive output, which included a two-run homer by Greinke himself. He also doubled as Los Angeles pounded out 24 hits. All nine Dodgers starters reached base before the third inning. Eight of them had multiple hits in the game. Hanley Ramirez led the way with four.

It was a total shellacking, but the good news for San Francisco is that it only counts as one game in the standings. When they wake up Sunday, they'll be two games back in the division. The bad news is, when they arrive to the ballpark, they'll be staring across the field at Clayton Kershaw with a chance go three back.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813