ST. PETERSBURG, Florida: Kansas City came out on top after a pitchers’ duel between Luke Hochevar and Tampa Bay ace David Price on Tuesday, the Royals edging the Rays 1-0 in 10 innings. Starter Hochevar went pitch-for-pitch with Price, both players tossing eight scoreless innings before the visiting Royals (55-67) prevailed in the 10th.
Jeff Francoeur reached second base on an infield single and error with two outs, setting up Eric Hosmer’s game-winning RBI on a soft single into the outfield.
“I was just hoping it would fall,” Hosmer told reporters. “I didn’t hit it too hard, didn’t hit it too soft. It was a perfect spot so I’ll take it.” Hochevar had to settle for the no-decision despite striking out 10 batters and allowing just one hit. The Rays (68-55) managed just two hits in the game.
“We knew the way Price has been pitching for the last seven weeks, we had to have (Hochevar) pitch a game like he did,” Francoeur said. “It was fun to watch him do that.” Tampa Bay starter Price struck out eight and gave up just three hits and no walks. He leads the American League in wins (16) and ERA (2.28) and has not lost since June 13.
The Rays, however, saw their five-game win streak come to an end as they remained four behind the first-place New York Yankees in the American League East.
White Sox 7 Yankees 3: In Chicago, hard to tell where the Chicago White Sox might be without Kevin Youkilis. He’s been what they expected and needed when the veteran third baseman was acquired from Boston.
And much more.
Youkilis, who was part of the fierce Yankees-Red Sox rivalry for years, hit a grand slam Tuesday night and the White Sox came back from an early deficit for the second straight game to beat New York 7-3. “I think there is a rivalry in the past that I played on and that was blown out of proportion,” Youkilis said. “I think here, it’s not really that crazy. The fans aren’t as crazy into it. They just treat it like every other game.” But with both the Yankees and White Sox leading their divisions with about five weeks left, it’s not just another series. And Youkilis’ opposite field grand slam off Ivan Nova was the difference Tuesday night. “It just depends on the situation. I was trying to drive the ball to the outfield, get a runner in,” Youkilis said. “That’s what I was trying to do and I was very fortunate it got over the fence.”
Paul Konerko also homered for the White Sox and Dewayne Wise had four hits against the Yankees, the team that designated him for assignment last month.
With the game tied 2-2, the White Sox loaded the bases in the fifth inning on Alexei Ramirez’s double, a walk and single by Wise. Youkilis’ high fly to right carried over the fence in right for his second grand slam at US Cellular Field this season. He also cleared the bases in April for the Red Sox against the White Sox and Phil Humber.
Since joining the White Sox in June, Youkilis has hit 11 of his 15 homers. He’s given Chicago steady fielding at third, power at the plate and a No. 2 hitter who has good at-bats. Angels 5 Red Sox 3: In Boston, the Los Angeles Angels needed a strong outing by their starter after a disastrous series that wrapped up a disappointing homestand.
They got it from Ervin Santana. The right-hander pitched 6 1-3 solid innings and the Angels beat the Boston Red Sox 5-3 on Tuesday night after getting swept in a four-game series against Tampa Bay.
Mark Trumbo did that against Boston after getting just 14 hits in his previous 76 at-bats. His career-best 30th homer, a two-run shot, gave the Angels a 5-0 lead in the fifth.
The Angels are four games behind Baltimore for the second wild-card berth in the AL. After three games in Boston, they have three in Detroit, which is one spot and 2 1/2 games ahead of them. Los Angeles’ playoff hopes took a beating when it went 3-7 on the homestand that ended Sunday.
But Santana’s performance was a rare strong outing for the Angels’ starters, who entered the game with a 6.76 ERA in in August and had allowed 27 runs in 17 1-3 innings in the series against the Rays. Santana is 3-0 in his last five starts after going 0-3 in his previous five.
Santana (7-10) allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks, leaving after throwing 100 pitches. He gave up three runs or less for the fourth time in five starts.
