Brandon McCarthy ran the A’s
stretch of superb pitching into the eighth before allowing a two-out, three-run
homer to Nick Swisher . The three runs were one more than Oakland had given up
in the previous three games combined.
The Yankees, who trailed 6-0
in the seventh, rallied for two runs in the ninth against closer Andrew Bailey before
Swisher flied out to the wall in right-center with the bases loaded to end it
for his 17th save.
McCarthy (7-6) gave up eight
hits and struck out six in 7 2-3 innings, improving to 6-1 in eight starts
since the All-Star break.
Derek Jeter had three hits,
tying Rod Carew for 22nd place all-time with 3,053. Bartolo Colon (8-8) gave up
five runs for the second straight start.

In Cleveland, Anthony Vasquez won his major league
debut and fellow rookie Dustin Ackley had three RBIs as Seattle earned a split
of a day-night doubleheader, taking the second game over Cleveland.
Vasquez (1-0) was one of five
first-year players in Seattle’s starting lineup which scored five runs in both
the third and fourth innings. Ackley got all three RBIs off Zach McAllister (0-1).
The Indians won the opener
with a walk-off homer by Shin-Soo Choo to snap a four-game losing streak.
Kusoke Fukudome and Choo hit
solo homers and Jack Hannahan had a career-high four hits for Cleveland, which
went 3 for 15 with runners in scoring position.
In
Toronto, Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler homered for Kansas City and Bruce Chen won
four consecutive starts for the first time in his career.
Jeff Francoeur matched his
career high with four hits as the Royals, who had lost six of seven away from
home, opened a 10-game, 10-day road trip.
Chen (9-5) improved to 4-1
with a 3.68 ERA in five August starts. The left-hander allowed three runs and
four hits in 7 2-3 innings. He walked one and tied a career best nine
strikeouts.
In Arlington, Texas, Adrian Gonzalez homered twice
and Jacoby Ellsbury made an immediate impact in his return to the lineup as
Boston finally won a game in Texas.
Ellsbury led off the game
with a single, stole second and scored on the first homer by Gonzalez, putting
the Red Sox ahead to stay. The All-Star center fielder had missed three
straight games after getting hit in the back with a pitch.
  In
Minneapolis, Alfredo Simon allowed one run and three hits in a career-high
eight innings, and Vladimir Guerrero and Mark Reynolds both had three hits for
Baltimore.
Nolan Reimold added a
three-run homer for Baltimore. Simon (4-6) won for the first time in four
starts. He struck out a career-high eight.
Minnesota starter Brian Duensing
(8-13) was out after just four batters in the third inning as his struggles
continued. He gave up seven runs and nine hits while losing his fifth straight
game.
Danny Valencia had a solo
home run for the Twins, who have lost five of six games on the current
homestand.
In St. Petersburg, Florida,  Brad Penny pitched effectively into the
seventh inning and Alex Avila had an RBI single for Detroit.
Penny (9-9) gave up one run
and eight hits over 6 1-3 innings. He had gone 1-3 with a 6.99 ERA in his
previous five starts.
Phil Coke allowed two
doubles, two intentional walks and struck out five over the final two innings
for his first save.
In Anaheim, California, Peter Bourjos drove a single
through a drawn-in infield with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, and Los
Angeles won its fifth straight.
Howie Kendrick homered and
tripled as the Angels matched their longest win streak of the season and
trimmed their AL West deficit to 3 1/2 games behind Texas.
Paul Konerko drove in the
tying run with an eighth-inning single that was his 2,000th hit as the White
Sox lost for the sixth time in 17 games.