If the New York Yankees do win the AL East title, they might want to find a couple of starts at home for Scott Kamieniecki in the playoffs.
Kamieniecki extended his home winning streak to 12 straight decisions Saturday as the Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 to move into a first-place tie with Toronto in the East."I'm comfortable on the road," Kamieniecki said. "Things have just worked better here. But how can you not feel confident with this team behind you?"
Mike Gallego had three hits for the Yankees off starter Mike Magnante (0-1), including a tie-breaking RBI single in the sixth inning. Gallego also made two sensational defensive plays in the hole at shortstop.
"With this team the opposing pitchers have to be careful with the bottom of the order," said Gallego, who batted eighth. "The bottom of this order can hurt you."
Kamieniecki (9-4) gave up two runs and five hits in eight innings to improve to 8-0 at Yankee Stadium this season. The right-hander has a lifetime record of 16-6 at home and 3-16 on the road.
"Scott is just starting to come into his own," manager Buck Showalter said. "He's pitched well on the road at times. It's just one of those trends."
Paul Assenmacher got one out in the ninth and Steve Farr finished for his 24th save. The Yankees won for the eighth time in their last 10 games.
Mariners 5, Blue Jays 2
At Toronto, Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 34th home run, leading Dave Fleming and the Seattle Mariners over Toronto and leaving the Blue Jays tied for first place in the AL East.
The Blue Jays lost to Seattle for the second straight day. Seattle won for the seventh time in nine games. Fleming (9-2) gave up two runs on eight hits in seven innings. He left with the bases loaded, none out and a 4-1 lead in the eighth, and relievers Jeff Nelson and Erik Plantenberg held Toronto to one run.
Indians 10, Red Sox 5
At Boston, Sandy Alomar scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error by reliever Greg Harris in the ninth inning, and the Cleveland Indians roughed up Roger Clemens and beat Boston.
For the second straight day, the Indians scored the winning run on a Boston error in the ninth inning. The Red Sox have lost nine of 12, including eight of 11 on a homestand that ends Sunday.
Clemens struggled again, giving up five runs and seven hits in six-plus innings. He has not won since July 21, and is 0-4 with an 8.00 ERA in his last five starts.
Tigers 4, Athletics 3
At Detroit, Alan Trammell singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning after an intentional walk to Cecil Fielder, and the Detroit Tigers beat Oakland.
Kelly Downs (3-8) retired the first two batters in the seventh before Travis Fryman doubled. Fielder, leading the majors with 103 RBIs, was walked and Trammell spoiled the strategy with a single up the middle.
Bill Gullickson (10-6) gave up three runs on six hits in seven innings.
Orioles 6, Rangers 5
At Baltimore, Nolan Ryan injured his rib cage, and Tom Henke blew a save opportunity and subsequently lost the game as Baltimore won in 12 innings.
Jack Voigt opened the 12th with a walk off Henke (5-4). Craig Lefferts relieved and gave up a sacrifice bunt to Brady Anderson before Mark McLemore lined an RBI single to left, giving the Orioles their ninth straight win at Camden Yards.
White Sox 9, Twins 4
At Minneapolis, Tim Belcher allowed five hits in 71/3 innings and Dan Pasqua homered and drove in three runs for first-place Chicago.
Tim Raines led off the game with a home run as the White Sox kept their lead at four games over Kansas City in the AL W st.
Angels 7, Brewers 6
At Anaheim, Calif., Chili Davis hit his 18th homer of the season with one out in the ninth inning to give the California Angels a victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
With the score tied 6-6, Davis hit a full-count pitch from Matt Maysey (0-1) over the center-field fence.
Ken Patterson (1-1) pitched two hitless innings and struck out four for the victory.