Angels closer to clinching
Torii Hunter homered to back Ervin Santana, and the Angels beat the Tigers 7-1 Thursday to cut their magic number to six for clinching their fourth AL West title in five seasons.
Santana (15-5) struck out eight in 7 1-3 innings, allowing one run and six hits.
"He's as consistent as any pitcher I've seen," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's approaching 30 starts, and he's throwing as well as he did in start five or six."
Santana, who won his first six decisions this year, is 4-0 in seven starts since July 27.
"It's about working hard," he said. "You just have to keep it up and keep throwing."
Detroit (67-73), which hasn't been at .500 since Aug. 2, advanced just two runners past first base before Curtis Granderson's homer in the eighth.
Mark Teixeira and Juan Rivera each drove in a pair of runs for the Angels, who broke open the game with a four-run third inning off Kenny Rogers (9-13). Gary Matthews Jr. hit safely in his first four at-bats, his first four-hit game since June 9.
Rogers (9-13) was removed after he gave up four straight singles starting the third inning, his shortest start since he gave up seven runs and got just two outs at Cleveland on July 25, 2006. The 43-year-old left-hander, who allowed six runs and eight hits in two innings, has lost three straight starts and seven of eight.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland thought Rogers is fighting some nagging pain, but didn't think the pitcher would admit it.
"He won't make excuses. He's a professional," Leyland said.
Run-scoring singles by Teixeira in the first and Rivera in the second built the Angels' early lead. Robb Quinlan and Teixeira hit run-scoring singles in the third, chasing Rogers, and Vladimir Guerrero and Rivera singled in runs off Aquilino Lopez.
Hunter homered in the eighth off Nate Robertson, reaching 20 homers for the third consecutive season and seventh time in eight years. The drive landed an estimated 435 feet away in the upper hedgerow at Comerica Park.
"That's the longest ball I've ever hit here," said Hunter, who made frequent stops in Detroit during his first seven full seasons in the majors with Minnesota.
RAYS 7, YANKEES 5: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Scott Kazmir allowed one hit in six scoreless innings, and Tampa Bay's bullpen weathered ninth-inning home runs by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez to hang on for victory over the New York Yankees. Willy Aybar homered and drove in three runs for the AL East-leading Rays, who avoided a three-game sweep and extended their lead in the division over second-place Boston to 3 1-2 games.
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