Tigers fall two ways
Jake Peavy pitched six innings without allowing an earned run — even remaining in the game after a rain delay of 2 hours, 42 minutes — and the San Francisco Giants routed the Detroit Tigers 8-2 on Friday night.
Pablo Sandoval homered for San Francisco, which is trying to chase down the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the N.L. West. The Tigers fell two games behind first-place Kansas City in the A.L. Central — and now trail Seattle by a half-game for the second wild card.
The Giants scored six runs in three innings against Rick Porcello and led 6-0 when a severe storm came through downtown Detroit, delaying the game. When play resumed, Peavy went back to the mound. He allowed two unearned runs in the fifth, but that was it.
Porcello allowed five earned runs and 10 hits in three innings, and also dealt with an injury scare when a comebacker by Brandon Crawford hit his right foot in the third.
Porcello stayed in the game and got the third out of the inning. After the Tigers batted in the bottom half, the heavy rain moved in, with debris sailing around in the wind as the grounds crew overcame difficult circumstances to put the tarp on the field.
Sandoval’s solo homer in the sixth — his 16th of the year — made it 8-2.
Astros 4, Athletics 3
Chris Carter hit his 36th homer and drove in three runs against his former team to help visiting Houston beat slumping Oakland.
Carter added an RBI single, Jon Singleton also homered and Jose Altuve had two hits for Houston.
The loss dropped Oakland six games behind the first-place Los Angeles Angels in the A.L. West. Owners of the best record in the majors on Aug. 9, the A’s have gone 7-17 since.
Oakland’s anemic offense managed seven hits but stranded eight runners and failed to score after loading the bases with none out in the fourth.
Indians 2, White Sox 1
Pinch-hitter David Murphy, activated from the disabled list before the game, drove in the winning run with a bases-loaded single in the 10th inning and Cleveland defeated visiting Chicago.
Murphy, who pulled a right oblique muscle on Aug. 9, lined a 1-2 pitch to center off Ronald Belisario to score pinch-runner Chris Dickerson and give the Indians their 11th walkoff win of the season.
Yan Gomes started the inning with a triple to left off Maikel Cleto. C.C. Lee worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the 10th.
Royals 1, Yankees 0
James Shields pitched two-hit ball into the ninth inning and Nori Aoki lined a run-scoring single in the third following Chase Headley’s two-base error, leading Kansas City over host New York.
Shields retired his first 11 batters before Brett Gardner’s double in the fourth
Shields retired another 11 straight before Derek Jeter singled softly with one out in the ninth.
Wade Davis relieved Shields and got his first big league save. Davis has fanned 92 batters in 62 1/3 innings this season.