Royals overtake Tigers in mixed day for AL leaders

NEW YORK: Leadership of the American League’s three divisions were in focus in Tuesday’s Major League Baseball action, with Kansas City overtaking Detroit atop the Central, while Toronto lost and Oakland won against divisional rivals.
Kansas City made it nine-straight wins to beat the Tigers and leapfrog them to the top of the division, Toronto lost at the New York Yankees, with Masahiro Tanaka putting on another master-class at the mound for the hosts, and Oakland’s Derek Norris starred in a win over Texas.
Norris homered and drove in five runs as the Athletics won 10-6, maintaining their 4-1/2 game lead in the West, and moving them eight clear of the Rangers.
Stephen Vogt was 3 for 3 with two RBIs while Tommy Milone (5-3) won his fifth consecutive decision, matching his career-best.
Texas starter Yu Darvish (7-3) lost his eighth straight to the A’s, giving up seven runs and five walks in 5-plus innings.
His fellow Japanese pitcher Tanaka fared much better, steering the Yankees to a 3-1 win over Toronto.
Tanaka (11-1) gave up a home run on the first pitch of the game but no further runs for the remainder of his six innings, striking out 10. He leads the majors in wins and has the best earned-run average in the AL at 1.99.
Brett Gardner hit a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole for New York.
Kansas City’s Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas homered as part of a seven-run second inning which set up the Royals’ 11-4 win at the Tigers.
Gordon and Moustakas hit two-run shots off Max Scherzer, and Kansas City has won the first two games of this four-game series emphatically.
The Royals, who trailed the Tigers by seven games less than a month ago, now lead Detroit by half a game atop the division.
The Chicago White Sox won 8-2 at home against San Francisco in a result which dropped the Giants into a tie with Oakland for the overall best record in the majors at 43-28.
Gordon Beckham and Dayan Viciedo both hit two-run home runs in a much-needed win for the White Sox, who had lost their previous four, having scored only six runs total across those games.
Chicago’s John Danks (6-5) had a rocky start but gave up only one earned run in 6-1/3 innings. Over his past five starts, Danks has a 3-1 record with a 1.51 ERA.
The Los Angeles Angels won 9-3 at Cleveland, with Mike Trout hitting two homers.
Trout’s three-run homer in the fifth broke a 3-3 tie and capped a four-run inning. He added a leadoff homer in the seventh. The two-time All-Star was 3 for 5, extending his hitting streak to 12 games, and has reached base safely in 35 of his past 36 games.
Angels rookie Matt Shoemaker (4-1) allowed two runs and had a career-best 10 strikeouts in eight innings; also a career high. He is unbeaten all seven times he has started, going 4-0.
Milwaukee’s Jonathan Lucroy homered twice, including a grand slam in an eventful seventh inning, to power the Brewers past Arizona 7-5.
Lucroy’s slam came off Brad Ziegler’s first pitch after Arizona’s Evan Marshall was ejected for hitting Ryan Braun with a pitch.
Lucroy also had a solo homer in the sixth, and Aramis Ramirez also hit a solo shot for the Brewers.
Los Angeles’ Hanley Ramirez homered before leaving the game with a hand injury, and helped the Dodgers beat Colorado 4-2.
Matt Kemp also went deep and Carlos Triunfel hit his first major league home run after replacing Ramirez.
Dodgers’ starter Zack Greinke (9-3) gave up one run with five strikeouts in six innings, and moved into a tie for the most wins in the National League.
St. Louis made it eight wins in nine games by beating the struggling New York Mets 5-2.
Cardinals’ starter Michael Wacha (5-5) gave up one run in six innings, escaping a pair of jams with strikeouts.
Yadier Molina hit his first homer in nearly four weeks for St. Louis.
Washington opened a run of six-straight home games by edging Houston 6-5, with Anthony Rendon hitting two doubles and driving in three runs.
Cincinnati’s bullpen blew a three-run lead but the Reds still managed to win 6-5 at Pittsburgh thanks to a homer from Todd Frazier leading off the ninth inning.
Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard homered in a 5-2 win for the Phillies over sliding Atlanta.
Seattle’s Robinson Cano hit a two-run homer and Jesus Montero got his first big league homer in more than a year as the Mariners beat San Diego 6-1.
Boston’s Brock Holt scored both runs for the Red Sox in a 2-1 win over Minnesota.
Miami’s Garrett Jones hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to help rally the Marlins to a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Baltimore’s Chris Davis hit a grand slam — upheld after a video review — to lead the Orioles over Tampa Bay 7-5.