Associated Press Associated Press ADVERTISING ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — J.P. Arencibia hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning off Fernando Rodney and the Toronto Blue Jays completed their comeback from a seven-run deficit, beating the Tampa Bay Rays
Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — J.P. Arencibia hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning off Fernando Rodney and the Toronto Blue Jays completed their comeback from a seven-run deficit, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 8-7 on Monday night.
The last time Toronto rallied from at least seven runs down to win was June 5, 2007, when it overcame an 8-1 margin to beat Tampa Bay 12-11, according to STATS LLC.
Tampa Bay last lost a lead of at least seven runs was May 25, 2009, when Cleveland came back from a 10-0 deficit to win 11-10.
This time, Evan Longoria hit his third career grand slam as Tampa Bay built a 7-0 lead that Jeremy Hellickson and four relievers failed to protect before a season-low crowd of 9,952 at Tropicana Field.
Toronto trailed 7-6 when Adam Lind drew a leadoff walk against Rodney (1-1). Pinch-runner Emilio Bonifacio stole second and continued to third on catcher Jose Molina’s throwing error with no outs.
Rodney retired the next two batters before Arencibia lined a 2-2 pitch into the left-field seats.
Darren Oliver (1-1) got the win and Casey Janssen worked a perfect ninth for his eighth save.
RED SOX 6
TWINS 5 (11)
BOSTON — Stephen Drew doubled in the winning run with two outs in the 11th inning, and the Red Sox snapped a season-high, three-game losing streak.
Drew, who entered the game batting .182, homered and had four hits. Dustin Pedroia hit a solo shot in the eighth for a 5-4 lead, but Joel Hanrahan gave up Brian Dozier’s homer in the ninth and left one out later with right forearm tightness.
Clayton Mortensen (1-2) earned the win with 2 1-3 innings of scoreless relief. Pedroia and Shane Victorino had three hits apiece, and David Ortiz doubled in the eighth to extend his hitting streak to 26 games.
Jared Burton (0-1) retired his first two batters in the 11th, then gave up a swinging bunt single to Jarrod Saltalamacchia when the pitcher’s throw pulled first baseman Justin Morneau off the bag. Will Middlebrooks singled, and Drew hit a line drive to the base of the Green Monster in left-center.
INDIANS 7
ATHLETICS 3
CLEVELAND — Asdrubal Cabrera homered twice and Mark Reynolds hit one to the deepest reaches of Progressive Field, leading the Indians to the victory.
Jason Kipnis and Cabrera hit consecutive homers in the first inning off Jarrod Parker (1-5). In the fifth, Cabrera homered again and Reynolds launched a 460-foot shot — his 10th this season — that nearly cleared the left-field bleachers.
The four homers backed Ubaldo Jimenez (2-2), who had his second straight solid outing. Jimenez struck out a season-high eight in 5 2-3 innings as Cleveland won for the seventh time in eight games.
Jason Giambi hit a clutch, two-run single and Ryan Raburn doubled home a run in the seventh for the Indians, who had their six-game winning streak stopped Sunday.
Yoenis Cespedes homered and hit a sacrifice fly for Oakland, which had won eight in a row over the Indians.
WHITE SOX 2
ROYALS 1 (11)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jordan Danks atoned for a baserunning blunder in the ninth inning by hitting a solo home run in the 11th that lifted the White Sox to the win.
Danks connected with two outs off Kelvin Herrera (2-3) for his first homer of the season. The White Sox avoided a three-game sweep and won for only the fifth time in 18 tries in Kauffman Stadium.
The White Sox trailed 1-0 before loading the bases with no outs in the ninth. After Paul Konerko grounded into a home-to-first double play, Danks entered as a pinch runner at second base for Adam Dunn.
Conor Gillaspie was intentionally walked to load the bases. Alexei Ramirez followed with an infield single up the middle that made it 1-all, but Danks was caught in a rundown between third and home and tagged out, ending the rally.
Jesse Crain (1-1) got the win and Addison Reed worked the 11th for his 11th save in 12 opportunities.
PADRES 5
MARLINS 0
SAN DIEGO — Andrew Cashner pitched 7 1-3 innings of four-hit ball and the San Diego Padres beat the Miami Marlins 5-0 on Monday night.
Cashner (2-2) struck out four and walked three in the longest outing of his career. Dale Thayer finished the five-hitter in front of a season-low crowd of 14,596 at Petco Park.
Miami was shut out for the fifth time this season, tying Atlanta and Philadelphia for most in the majors. The Marlins are last in the league with a .226 team batting average and 98 runs this season.
Jedd Gyorko homered for the third time in six days and Chase Headley had an RBI double for San Diego, which has won four of five and nine of 12. It was the Padres’ first shutout the season.
Wade LeBlanc (0-5) allowed four runs, three earned, and four hits over five innings in his first career start against his former team. The left-hander is 0-7 with a 6.35 ERA in his last 12 appearances dating to last season.
Miami handed a run to San Diego when catcher Rob Brantly dropped Carlos Quentin’s two-out popup in the first, allowing Everth Cabrera to score from second.
Gyorko connected in the second, driving a 1-0 pitch over the wall in center for his third homer of the season. Gyorko is batting .333 with six RBIs in his last 14 games.
CUBS 9
RANGERS 2
HICAGO — Scott Feldman threw seven scoreless innings before leaving with a cramp in his pitching hand, and the Chicago Cubs came within three outs of their first shutout since August in a 9-2 win over the Texas Rangers.
Feldman (3-3) has won three straight starts after losing his first three with the Cubs. He signed a $6 million, one-year contract with Chicago during the offseason after going 39-44 with a 4.81 ERA in parts of eight seasons with Texas.
He allowed two hits, struck out three and walked one, and also hit an RBI single in the fourth for a 2-0 lead. In Feldman’s previous start, he pitched a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts in a 6-2 win over San Diego last Wednesday.
“He was really, really good again,” Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. “And against a really good offense, too.”
After he threw a 2-0 pitch in the eighth to David Murphy, Feldman was shaking his right hand and was checked on the mound by Cubs manager Dale Sveum and assistant trainer Ed Halbur, then replaced by James Russell.
Feldman began to feel the cramp during his warmup tosses and tried to get through the inning. Two pitches in, he knew his night was over.
Texas scored a pair of unearned runs in the ninth after a throwing error by third baseman Luis Valbuena. The Cubs have gone 68 games without a shutout since beating Colorado 5-0 on Aug. 26, their longest streak since going 75 games in a row without shutouts from May 15 until Aug. 6, 1999, according to STATS.
Anthony Rizzo had three hits, four RBIs and his ninth home run, and Starlin Castro scored three runs for the Cubs, who scored five times with two outs in the fourth to take a 6-0 lead. Chicago, last in the NL Central at 12-20, set season highs for runs and victory margin.
“I think we’re a lot better team than what our record shows, and I think a lot of people would agree with us,” Rizzo said. “We’ve lost a lot of heartbreakers so far, but today definitely feels good and everyone should feel happy about it.”
The Rangers’ Nick Tepesch (2-3) lost his second straight start, allowing six runs — five earned — six hits and four walks in four innings.
