NEW YORK, 2 October 2004 — Adrian Gonzalez drove in three runs with a pair of hits as the Texas Rangers beat Anaheim 6-3 in Arlington on Thursday, dropping the Angels into a first place tie with Oakland in the AL West.
The divisional title will now be decided in a season-ending three-game weekend series between the Angels and the A’s starting in Oakland on Friday.
One day after taking the division lead, the Angels relinquished it along with a winning streak spanning five games. Oakland and Anaheim are now 90-69 and have been eliminated from wild card contention, with the winner of the weekend series going to the playoffs and the loser eliminated.
Laynce Nix scored twice and had two hits for the Rangers, who were eliminated from the post-season with Wednesday’s loss to the Angels. Hank Blalcok also had two hits.
Chris Young (3-2) allowed three runs on four hits over six innings for the win and R.A. Dickey got three outs for his first save as the Rangers salvaged the final game of the four-game series.
Vladimir Guerrero hit a pair of home runs and had four hits for the Angels. He also drove in three runs, giving him 124 RBI on the season, and Chone Figgins added two hits.
In Oakland, Bobby Crosby homered in the ninth inning, giving the Athletics a 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. Octavio Dotel (6-6), the fifth Oakland pitcher, hurled a scoreless ninth for the victory.
Crosby and Mark Kotsay both had two hits and an RBI. Miguel Olivo had two hits and scored twice for Seattle.
Ichiro Suzuki went one-for-five to move within one hit of the 84-year-old Major League record of 257 in a single season set by George Sisler for the St. Louis Browns.
In St. Petersburg, Jeremy Bonderman pitched a complete-game four-hitter as the Detroit Tigers blanked the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 8-0 in the first game of a doubleheader.
Bonderman (11-13) struck out nine and walked one in pitching his second complete game of the year. Ivan Rodriguez homered for the Tigers, the 250th of his career.
In the nightcap, Toby Hall’s two-run double in the eighth inning gave the Devil Rays the split with a 6-4 win.
Travis Harper (6-2) allowed two runs on two hits in one inning to get the win. Danys Baez pitched the ninth for his 30th save and Jorge Cantu went four-for-four with three RBI. Carlos Pena homered for Detroit.
Bernie Williams hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give New York a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins, clinching the Yankees seventh straight AL East title.
John Olerud and Hideki Matsui also homered for the Yankees, who won their 100th game of the season to eliminate the Boston Red Sox from the division crown.
In Baltimore, Miguel Tejada homered and drove in three runs to lead the Orioles to a 9-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Larry Bigbie, Jay Gibbons and David Newhan also homered for the Orioles, who have won seven of eight, and Tejada now has 146 RBI on the season. Matt Riley (3-4) allowed three runs on three hits over five innings.
Carlos Delgado and Frank Menechino homered for Toronto. Josh Towers (9-8) went just two-plus innings, allowing four runs on six hits. Mark Buehrle pitched a four-hitter for his 16th win as the Chicago White Sox mauled the Kansas City Royals 9-2. Buehrle (16-10) allowed two runs - one earned - with eight strikeouts and no walks. Juan Uribe, Joe Borchard and Aaron Rowland all homered for Chicago. Shawn Camp (2-2) allowed one run on two hits in 2 1/3 innings and took the loss.
Williams Keeps Giants in NL West Hunt
Jerome Williams pitched seven solid innings in his first start in two months to help the San Francisco Giants beat the Padres 4-1 in San Diego on Thursday. It was a crucial win for the Giants, who stayed alive in the NL West race while moving into a tie for the wild card lead with the Houston Astros, a game ahead of the Chicago Cubs.
The Padres are all but eliminated from the post-season, as they trail the Giants and Astros by three games. Williams (10-7) allowed one run on just four hits with three strikeouts and one walk.
Ray Durham homered to key a four-run fourth inning for the Giants, while Dustin Hermanson came on in the ninth to record his 16th save.
In Los Angeles, David Ross hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Dodgers a 4-2 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Shawn Green had two hits and scored a run for the Dodgers, while Yhency Brazoban (5-2) got the win with a scoreless inning of relief.
In St. Louis, Keith Ginter hit a three-run home run as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6. Scott Podsednik added a two-run homer for the Brewers. Doug Davis (12-12) allowed two runs on seven hits over six innings for the win and Dan Kolb pitched the ninth for 39th save.
Javier Valentin drove in the winning run with a 12th inning double to lead the Cincinnati Reds past the Chicago Cubs 2-1. Juan Padilla (1-0) allowed three hits over two shutout innings for the win and Austin Kearns added two hits and an RBI for the Reds, who handed the reeling Cubs their fifth loss in six games.
Sammy Sosa hit his 34th homer of the season and 573rd of his career, but Mike Remlinger (1-2) allowed the winning run and took the loss after Mark Prior struck out 16 hitters in nine innings.
In Philadelphia, Pat Burrell had four hits to lead the Phillies to a 7-4 win over the Florida Marlins.
Burrell and Jimmy Rollins both drove in two runs for the Phillies. Todd Jones (11-5) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win and Billy Wagner closed the game for his 21st save.
