Advertisement

The Grand Slam: Kelly Johnson's walk-off hit lowers Orioles magic number to 3

 
 

 

A reporter asked Kelly Johnson of the Baltimore Orioles what it was like to come through with a game-winning hit Sunday night against the New York Yankees, his former team.

 

 

Six former teams in all, including all five from the AL East since 2012, and three in the span of a month after the Yankees dealt Johnson to the Red Sox on July 31, before they turned over Johnson to the Orioles on Aug. 30. It must be nice to be in demand. Johnson was in demand by O's teammates — for celebratory pie — after knocking in Steve Pearce to cap a two-run rally in the ninth against David Robertson to beat the Yankees 3-2 at Camden Yards.

 

 

Any combination of Orioles victories and Blue Jays losses equaling three gives Baltimore its first AL East title since 1997.

DODGERS GAIN GROUND ON GIANTS: The San Francisco Giants appeared to be on the verge of making the NL West race uncomfortably tight for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After beating L.A. 9-0 in the opener of a three-game series Friday night, the Dodgers lead was cut to one game. The Dodgers created some breathing room with a 17-0 drubbing Saturday, and had Cy Young probable Clayton Kershaw going Sunday. And that meant more breathing room, thanks to a 4-2 victory that gave the Dodgers a three-game lead with 13 to play.

Kershaw allowed two runs and seven hits with a walk over eight innings. He struck out nine, including Buster Posey on three nasty sliders in the eighth.

 

Via the Associated Press:

Kershaw lowered his majors-best ERA to 1.70, and put the Dodgers in command of the division.

"We kind of call him the big train, because he just keeps coming,'' Mattingly said. Matt Kemp hit his 20th homer, and Juan Uribe and A.J. Ellis each drove in a run to back Kershaw's latest gem.

[Check all of the MLB results at Yahoo Sports scoreboard]

OAKLAND STOPS BACKSLIDING TOO:

(AP)
(AP)

Although he wasn't particularly sharp, the Oakland Athletics got behind left-hander Jon Lester, who pitched six scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory against the Seattle Mariners. The A's won a second straight game for the first time in three weeks and increased their wild-card lead on the Royals to 1 1/2 games — and to 2 1/2 games on the Mariners after taking two of three at Safeco Field. Sam Fuld hit a home run in the first inning against Chris Young to get the party started. Lester walked four, but the Mariners went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position against him.

TIGERS WIN AGAIN WITH ANOTHER LATE HOMER: One day after Alex Avila flipped the score and put the Detroit Tigers ahead of the Cleveland Indians with a late two-run homer against Bryan Shaw, Ian Kinsler did the same against Shaw in the seventh inning:


Detroit won 6-4, sweeping the Indians and increasing its lead on the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central. Justin Verlander allowed three runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings for the Tigers.

More MLB coverage at Yahoo Sports: 

 

- - - - - - -

David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rdbrown@yahoo-inc.com and follow him on Twitter!

Follow @AnswerDave