SCOREBOARD
Sunday, Sept. 21
Baltimore at New York Yankees (7:05 p.m. CDT). Andy Pettitte will pitch for New York in the final regular-season game at 85-year-old Yankee Stadium. Fans will be allowed to walk on the field hours before a pregame ceremony highlighting the ballpark's rich history.
STARS
Friday
Cameron Maybin, Marlins, had four hits for the second consecutive game and tied a franchise record by reaching base in 10 consecutive plate appearances to help Florida beat Philadelphia 14-8 for its ninth straight win, which tied a team mark.
Adam Kennedy, Cardinals, hit a grand slam and matched his career high with four hits while driving in five runs during a 12-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Carlos Pena, Rays, homered and drove in four runs with help from baseball's first replay reversal to lead Tampa Bay past Minnesota 11-1.
READY TO CELEBRATE
Tampa Bay routed Minnesota 11-1 to close in on the club's first playoff berth. The AL East leaders moved within one win of clinching at least the wild card and remained 112 games ahead of second-place Boston. The only big league franchise without a playoff appearance, the Rays (91-61) had never won more than 70 games in a season since their inception in 1998. Even if they lose Saturday, the Rays could earn a postseason spot with losses by the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees.
ZEE-NIED
After pitching the Cubs' first no-hitter in 36 years Sunday against Houston in Milwaukee, Carlos Zambrano (14-6) allowed eight runs and six hits in 123 innings of a 12-6 loss to St. Louis. It was his shortest outing in two years and the shortest start by a pitcher coming off a no-hitter since St. Louis' Bob Forsch lasted one inning at Pittsburgh in April 1978, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
SWINGING AWAY
Gary Sheffield and Fausto Carmona exchanged punches on the infield during a bench-clearing brawl between Detroit and Cleveland. In the seventh inning, Carmona hit Sheffield in the left arm with a pitch. The Tigers' designated hitter walked slowly to first base, carrying his bat with him, glaring at Carmona and exchanging words with the right-hander. When Carmona threw over to first on a pickoff attempt, Sheffield motioned and yelled at him to throw the ball to the plate. Carmona took a step toward first base, yelled, and Sheffield charged the mound. Both players threw punches before Carmona got Sheffield in a headlock and began landing punches. Players and coaches from both dugouts and bullpens ran onto the field, but no other punches appeared to be thrown before order was restored. Sheffield and Carmona were ejected, along with Indians catcher Victor Martinez and Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco. Carmona also hit Sheffield with a pitch on April 17 in a game that included five hit batters.
SWING AND A MISS
Oakland designated hitter Jack Cust struck out for the 186th and 187th time this season, breaking the AL record, in a 2-0 victory over Seattle. Rob Deer of Milwaukee previously held the AL mark with 186 whiffs in 1987. Philadelphia's Ryan Howard set the major league record last season with 199 strikeouts.
FALLING FLAT
Joey Votto and Jay Bruce each hit two home runs and Cincinnati cracked seven homers in all for an 11-2 victory over the free-falling Brewers. Milwaukee's 14th loss in 18 September games left the Cubs one victory or a Brewers loss from clinching the NL Central title. Jeff Suppan (10-10), who was 5-0 in August but is 0-3 while allowing 19 earned runs in 16 1-3 innings in September, lasted only two innings.
SLUGFEST
The Los Angeles Angels set seasons highs for runs and hits (22) in a 15-13 victory at Texas. The AL West champions led 7-0 until the Rangers scored nine runs on nine hits in the third. That was the most hits and runs in an inning against the Angels since May 19, 2006, when the Dodgers had 10 runs in one inning and 10 hits in another in a 16-3 victory. Garret Anderson had four hits for the Angels in this one, while Josh Hamilton had four of the Rangers' 19 hits. The 41 combined hits were the most in an AL game this season. It also was the second-highest scoring game in the AL this year behind Texas' 19-17 loss at Boston on Aug. 12.
SPEAKING
"They all end eventually. It's not cricket." San Diego manager Bud Black after his team needed 5 hours to beat Washington 11-6 in 14 innings, its third-longest game this season. The Padres lost a 22-inning marathon to Colorado on April 17 and beat Cincinnati in 18 innings on May 25.
SEASONS
Sept. 21
1934 Daffy Dean of the St. Louis Cardinals pitched a no-hitter against the Brooklyn Dodgers for 3-0 victory in the second game of an Ebbets Field doubleheader. Daffy's brother Dizzy held Brooklyn hitless until the eighth inning in the opener and won 13-0.
1964 Manager Gene Mauch's first-place Phillies lost 1-0 to the Cincinnati Reds on Chico Ruiz's steal of home in the sixth inning. It was Philadelphia's first of 10 straight losses, a streak that cost them the NL pennant.
1970 Oakland's Vida Blue pitched a no-hitter in his eighth major league start, beating Minnesota 6-0.
1981 Steve Carlton struck out Andre Dawson in the third inning for his 3,118th career strikeout, the most in the NL. But the Phillies lost to Montreal 1-0 in 17 innings.
1986 No. 1 draft pick Jimmy Jones pitched a one-hitter in his major league debut, leading the San Diego Padres to a 5-0 victory against the Houston Astros. Jones allowed a triple in the third inning to opposing pitcher Bob Knepper.
2001 Albert Pujols hit a grand slam and doubled in a run in St. Louis' 9-5 win over Pittsburgh. The slam gave him the major league record for extra base hits by a rookie (83), one more than Johnny Frederick's total for Brooklyn in 1929.
2006 David Ortiz hit his 51st and 52nd homers, breaking the Red Sox record for most homers in a season of 50 set in 1938 by Jimmie Foxx. The homers also set the major league record by a designated hitter at 45, two more than he hit when he set the record last season.
Today's birthdays: Joaquin Arias 24; Brian Tallet 31; Doug Davis 33.
Saturday's results
American League
N.Y. Yankees 1, Baltimore 0
Toronto 6, Boston 3
Tampa Bay 7, Minnesota 2
Oakland 8, Seattle 7
Cleveland 6, Detroit 3
Kansas City 5, Chicago White Sox 2
L.A. Angels 7, Texas 3
National League
Chicago Cubs 5, St. Louis 4
Cincinnati 4, Milwaukee 3
Pittsburgh 6, Houston 4
Atlanta 4, N.Y. Mets 2
San Diego 6, Washington 1
Philadelphia 3, Florida 2
Arizona 5, Colorado 3
San Francisco at L.A. Dodgers, (n)
