Pettitte sharp in 6-3 win

By DAVE CAMPBELL

AP Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS — Andy Pettitte shrugged off another ageless performance by claiming he’s still not as sharp as he wants to be.

The New York Yankees are plenty pleased by the way he’s been pitching.

Pettitte threw six scoreless innings and the Yankees hit four home runs Monday to beat the Minnesota Twins 6-3 and extend their AL East lead.

“I’m happy to get through it, happy to give us a good start,” Pettitte said, adding: “It’s just there’s definitely some room for me to improve.

The Yankees took a 1 1/2-game edge over Baltimore, which split a doubleheader with Toronto. This is the first time since Sept. 2 their margin has been more than one game. According to STATS research, the 21-day stretch during which the Yankees and Orioles were separated by one game or less was the second-longest in Major League Baseball history, the most days since 1897.

“Right now I feel like everything is kind of rolling for us. It’s real calm in here. It’s relaxed. Guys are having a ton of fun,” said Nick Swisher, who was the first to take Liam Hendriks (1-8) deep.

After playing three tense, one-run games against Oakland during the weekend, including their startling comeback for a 14-inning win on Saturday, the Yankees enjoyed an easy one for a change. This was New York’s 10th victory in 12 games.

Pettitte (5-3) hasn’t given up a run in 11 innings since rejoining the rotation last week. The 40-year-old threw five scoreless innings against Toronto to mark his comeback from a broken lower left leg that kept him out for almost three months.

His successful unretirement, after supposedly ending his remarkable career in 2010, has been a big help for the banged-up Yankees even though this was only his 11th start of the season.

Swisher’s two-out, two-run homer in the first inning off Liam Hendriks (1-8) sailed into the seats above right-center field to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. Curtis Granderson’s solo shot in the fourth went even higher and farther, landing in the second deck. Granderson became the fourth player in the majors to hit 40 homers this season.

In the bottom of that inning, Granderson made a postseason-worthy throw from center field after fielding a two-out single as Ryan Doumit raced from second base to home. The ball arrived just in time, and catcher Russell Martin made a quick sweep tag that grazed Doumit’s shoulder a spilt-second before his hand touched the plate.

Then in the seventh, Raul Ibanez — who is 7 for 12 with three homers in his last three games — went deep with a drive that reached the standing room space near the gate beyond right field. Eric Chavez added one more home run against Hendriks, an opposite-field liner with one out that barely reached the flower bed in left.

“It’s a good lineup. There’s no breaks in it. There’s no breathers,” said Hendriks, who recorded his first major league win last week at Cleveland after 17 starts without one. He gave up eight hits, six runs and one walk, striking out four over 6 1-3 innings.

Those career statistics for Hendriks are a stark contrast to Pettitte, who stretched his unbeaten streak against the Twins to 12 straight starts. That dates to May 2001 and includes division series victories in 2009 and 2010.

The Yankees have had him on a pitch count in his return to help him regain strength in his legs, but he threw 88 times without any trouble. Pettitte gave up seven hits and one walk. He struck out three.

“I love this guy. There’s nothing that fazes him,” Swisher said, adding: “You can only just look at that and be like, ‘Man, I want to be like that.’”

The Yankees, who’ve been alone in or tied for first place since June 11, started a favorable final stretch of the season, with Minnesota, Toronto and Boston left on the schedule, owners of three of the four worst records in the league. The Orioles also finish with the Blue Jays and Red Sox but must wrap up with a three-game series at Tampa Bay. The Rays still have an outside chance in the wild card chase.

So now the Yankees have what seems like a large 1½-game cushion, considering how close the race has been.

“I wouldn’t say that,” manager Joe Girardi said. “Any time you can make it bigger than it’s been, it’s nice.”

ORIOLES 4, BLUE JAYS 1

BLUE JAYS 9, ORIOLES 5

BALTIMORE — J.P. Arencibia broke open a tight game with a seventh-inning grand slam, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Baltimore to earn a doubleheader split and drop the Orioles 1½ games out of first place in the AL East.

In the opener, Adam Jones went 4 for 4 with a homer to lead Baltimore. But the Orioles lost a half-game in the standings to the New York Yankees, who won 6-3 at Minnesota.

Arencibia, who came into the game mired in a 2-for-36 slump, had three hits and five RBIs. Edwin Encarnacion hit his 41st home run as Toronto ended a seven-game skid.

Ricky Romero (9-14) allowed four runs, eight hits and four walks in five-plus innings, yet stopped a 13-game losing streak over 15 starts since June 22.

Wei-Yin Chen (12-10) took the loss.

In the first game, rookie Steve Johnson (4-0) allowed three hits over five shutout innings to lower his ERA to 1.62. Jim Johnson, the fifth Baltimore pitcher, worked the ninth for his major league-best 48th save in 51 opportunities.

Henderson Alvarez (9-14) took the loss.

RANGERS 5, ATHLETICS 4

ARLINGTON, Texas — Adrian Beltre singled home the winning run in the ninth inning and the Texas Rangers rallied past Oakland, stretching their AL West lead over the Athletics to five games with nine to play.

The Athletics’ lead for the second AL wild-card slot was cut to two games over the idle Los Angeles Angels. Oakland has lost six of eight.

Beltre, whose 35th homer tied the score in the seventh, grounded a sharp single through the middle of the infield off Tyson Ross (2-11) in the ninth, bringing home pinch-runner Craig Gentry.

The Rangers got the inning started with consecutive singles by Mitch Moreland and Ian Kinsler before Elvis Andrus’ sacrifice bunt. Josh Hamilton, who had already hit his major league-best 43rd homer after missing the previous five games with a cornea issue, was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Joe Nathan (3-4) got the win.

WHITE SOX 5, INDIANS 4

CHICAGO — Adam Dunn homered twice, including a clutch three-run shot in the eighth inning, and the Chicago White Sox beat Cleveland to maintain their one-game lead in the AL Central.

Chicago snapped a five-game losing streak and stayed in front of second-place Detroit, which beat Kansas City 6-2. The top two teams in the division each have nine games left.

Dunn drove an 0-2 pitch from Vinnie Pestano (3-3) over the wall in right-center with runners on the corners and two outs, putting Chicago ahead 5-3. Kevin Youkilis kept the inning alive with an infield single before Dunn connected for his 41st homer of the season. Dunn also went deep in the sixth.

Brett Myers (3-3) pitched the eighth for the win. Donnie Veal converted his first save opportunity of the season.

TIGERS 6, ROYALS 2

DETROIT — Justin Verlander breezed through eight innings and Prince Fielder hit a solo homer, helping the Detroit Tigers steady themselves with a win over Kansas City.

The Tigers remained one game behind Chicago in the AL Central.

Verlander (16-8) had little trouble with the Royals, who knocked him around for eight runs and 12 hits last month. He allowed two runs and nine hits this time, striking out eight without a walk.

Luke Hochevar (8-15) yielded six runs and 12 hits in 7 1-3 innings.

NATIONALS 12, BREWERS 2WASHINGTON — Werth wound up with a two-out, two-run double when Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez lost a ball in the sun to spark a six-run fourth inning Monday, and Washington beat Milwaukee 12-2 to cut its magic number for winning the NL East to five.

Jordan Zimmermann (12-8) allowed one run and four hits in 6 2-3 innings, while delivering two hits and driving in a run as a batter. Ryan Zimmerman produced three hits and four RBIs for the Nationals, who are a majors-best 93-60 and increased their division lead over the Atlanta Braves to five games with nine to play.

Marco Estrada (4-7) lasted only four innings for the Brewers, who entered the day 2½ games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the NL’s second wild-card berth. He allowed seven runs — six earned — and eight hits.

METS 6, PIRATES 2

NEW YORK — Ike Davis connected twice and reached a career-high 30 homers, Jenrry Mejia pitched five effective innings for his first major league win and New York won its fourth straight.

Davis had a career-best five RBIs and Mejia (1-1) allowed four singles and two walks Monday. The right-hander struck out four and only his last out was made by an outfielder.

The Pirates lost for the 31st time in 43 games since improving to a season-high 16 games above .500 (63-47) on Aug. 8. They started the day 6½ games back in the wild-card race with several teams ahead of them, and now need to win six of their last nine just to finish at break even.

Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen went 1 for 3 with a triple to keep his batting average at .336 — behind only Melky Cabrera, who is at .346 but has removed himself from consideration.

Davis’ homer to left-center off Kyle McPherson (0-2) in the fourth came after David Wright walked. Davis hit a three-run shot off Jeff Karstens in the fifth to make it 6-0, a batter after Wright had an RBI single.

CARDINALS 6, ASTROS 1

HOUSTON — Lance Lynn pitched seven innings to earn his 17th win, rookie Pete Kozma hit a two-run homer and the St. Louis Cardinals strengthened their grip on a playoff spot.

Yadier Molina added a solo shot as the Cardinals moved 3½ games in front of Milwaukee and Los Angeles for the second NL wild card. The Brewers lost 12-2 at Washington earlier in the day, and the Dodgers were off.

Lynn (17-7) struck out nine and yielded allowed one run and five hits. The right-hander is 4-0 with a sparkling 0.89 ERA in his last four outings, including a relief appearance against Milwaukee on Sept. 9.

Kozma extended St. Louis’ lead to 3-0 with his second major league homer in the second, a day after hitting his first one. Molina hit his 21st homer of the season to make it 4-1 in the fourth.

Houston starter Fernando Abad (0-6) pitched 1 2-3 innings before leaving with a strained right oblique. He walked one and allowed a run. He was replaced by Fernando Rodriguez, who was charged with three runs and seven hits in a career-long 4 1-3 innings.

ROCKIES 4, D-BACKS 2

DENVER — Tyler Chatwood pitched effectively into the sixth inning and Andrew Brown homered.

Jason Kubel homered for the Diamondbacks, who have slim hopes of a late-season playoff push. Arizona fell 5½ games behind St. Louis with nine remaining in the race for the second NL wild card.

Tyler Colvin and Charlie Blackmon had two hits each for Colorado. Rafael Betancourt worked the ninth for his 30th save.

For one night, at least, the Rockies (59-94) avoided tying the franchise record for losses in a season with a solid performance from Chatwood. Colorado’s pitchers had allowed 33 runs on 48 hits through the first three games of this series before holding the Diamondbacks to five hits Monday.