NEW YORK (AP) — Rookie
shortstop Elvis Andrus turned Melky Cabrera’s liner into a game-ending
double play, and the Texas Rangers held off the New York Yankees 10-9
on Tuesday night.

Michael Young and Nelson Cruz homered for the
Rangers, who scored seven two-out runs off Joba Chamberlain to overcome
an early four-run deficit.

They took a 10-5 lead into the ninth before New York started storming back against Texas’ bullpen.

Jason
Grilli allowed a leadoff single and a walk before he was relieved by
closer Frank Francisco. Alex Rodriguez walked, Hideki Mastui lined an
RBI single and slow-footed Jorge Posada knocked in a run with a rare
infield single.

Robinson Cano’s two-run single cut it to 10-9 and
left runners at first and second with nobody out. But Nick Swisher
popped up a foul bunt attempt for the first out and Cabrera hit a low
liner to shortstop that Andrus caught on the fly.

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Then, he beat pinch-runner Jerry Hairston Jr. in a close race back to second base to end it.

Rays 7, Blue Jays 3
TORONTO — Carlos Pena hit two two-run homers, giving him 200 for his career, James Shields pitched 6 2-3 innings for the win and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-3 on Tuesday night.

Pena went 2 for 5 with four RBIs in his fourth multihomer game of the season. He has more home runs (37) than singles (35).

Pena has hit six homers in five games and 11 in 17. He’s batting .455 (10 for 22) over his current seven-game hitting streak.

The Rays, who remained three games behind Boston for the AL wild card, have won eight of 10.

Toronto (57-67) has lost 10 of 13 and is a season-low 10 games below .500.

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Royals 6, Indians 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Zack Greinke struck out a team-record 15 in eight overpowering
innings and got some rare offensive support, helping the Kansas City
Royals end a five-game losing streak with a 6-2 win over the Cleveland
Indians on Tuesday night.

Greinke (12-8) passed his career high
with 12 strikeouts in the first six innings, then broke Mark Gubicza’s
21-year-old team record of 14 by getting Andy Marte in the seventh.

Mike
Jacobs drove in two runs and Miguel Olivo hit his career-high 17th
homer off Justin Masterson (4-5), giving Greinke more run support than
he had in the previous two games combined. Mitch Maier added to it in
the seventh inning with his first homer in 302 career at-bats, a
two-run shot that put the Royals up 6-1.

Marlins 2, Mets 1
MIAMI — Sean West pitched six impressive innings Tuesday night, lifting the Florida Marlins to a 2-1 victory over an injury-battered New York Mets team shaken by the loss of ace Johan Santana for the season.

West (5-5) gave up six hits and three walks to outpitch Santana’s replacement Nelson Figueroa (1-3), for the Marlins, began Tuesday 5½ games behind Colorado for the NL wild card after a 2-4 road trip.

Ross Gload hit an RBI single in the fifth, and Leo Nunez recorded his 13th save in 17 chances for Florida.
Cardinals 1, Astros 0
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright worked eight innings of three-hit ball to become the National League’s first 15-game winner and Albert Pujols’ rare hit off Wandy Rodriguez drove in the lone run in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 1-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

Brendan Ryan sped home from first on Pujols’ one-out double down the third-base line in the first inning for the NL Central leaders. The Cardinals (73-54) have gone 14-3 since Aug. 7 and are a season-best 19 games above .500.

Wainwright (15-7) matched the Yankees’ CC Sabathia for the major league victory lead, and regained the team lead over Chris Carpenter (14-3).

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Before Tuesday, Pujols was 3 for 25 with no RBIs against Rodriguez.
Pirates 6, Phillies 4
PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen made up for a defensive gaffe earlier in the ninth inning by hitting a game-ending two-run homer off closer brad Lidge and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-4 on Tuesday night.

In a game in which both closers couldn’t hold leads, the Pirates tied it against Lidge (0-6) on singles by Luis Cruz and pinch-hitter Brandon Moss, and right fielder Jayson Werth’s error for misplaying Moss’ hit. McCutchen then won it by hitting Lidge’s pitch into the seats in center for his eighth homer.

The Phillies lost for only the second time in nine games despite two homers by Jimmy Rollins on the first two pitches he saw from Pirates starter Ross Ohlendorf. Steve Pearce hit a two-run shot and Ryan Doumit added a solo drive for the Pirates against Joe Blanton.

Lidge allowed hits to all three batters he faced to blow his ninth save in 33 attempts, the most such failures in the majors. Matt Capps (3-7) won it for the Pirates despite being roughed up in the ninth for the second time in as many games against the Phillies, giving up two runs.

Padres 2, Braves 1

ATLANTA  — David
Eckstein’s 12th-inning double drove in Nick Hundley and the San Diego
Padres recovered after blowing a ninth-inning lead to beat the Atlanta
Braves 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Hundley led off the 12th with a
double to left field off Kris Medlen (3-4). After Tony Gwynn Jr. struck
out, pinch-hitter Luis Rodriguez walked. Everth Cabrera, who was 0 for
6, struck out for the third time before Eckstein delivered the go-ahead
double to left-center to drive in Hundley from second.

Joe
Thatcher (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings for the win and Edward
Mujica earned his second save by retiring the Braves in order in the
12th.

Nationals 15, Cubs 6

CHICAGO  — Elijah
Dukes hit a grand slam in a six-run fifth inning, Josh Willingham had
two homers and six RBIs and the Washington Nationals rocked Carlos
Zambrano in his return from the disabled list, routing the Chicago Cubs
15-6 on Tuesday night.

Dukes drove in a career-high five runs as
the Nationals sent the Cubs to their 13th loss in 18 games, bringing
out the boos at Wrigley Field. Chicago fell nine games out of first in
the NL Central.

Willingham was 4-for-4 with a solo homer in the
fourth off Zambrano and a three-run shot off Tom Gorzelanny in the
eighth, powering Washington’s highest scoring game of the season.

Zambrano
(7-5), bothered by a bad back, hadn’t pitched since going three innings
Aug. 1. Activated off the disabled list before the game, he lasted only
4 1-3 innings, gave up seven hits and was charged with eight runs.
Dukes’ grand slam came off reliever Aaron Heilman and made it 9-1.


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