(Reuters) – The Detroit Tigers clawed their way back to the top of the American League Central for the first time in more than two months with a 5-4 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
With their third win in a row, the Tigers (83-72) moved one game in front of the Chicago White Sox, the team they have been chasing since July.
The White Sox (82-72) had held at least a share of first since July 24 but they relinquished their control by losing 6-4 to Cleveland.
Detroit trailed the Royals 4-1 in the fourth inning but got back on level terms on home runs from Alex Avila and Austin Jackson before moving into the lead in the eighth.
“This is fun,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland told reporters. “This is playoff-type baseball. We’re fighting our fannies off, just like the other team. This is baseball at its best.”
In Minnesota, CC Sabathia had 10 strikeouts to lead New York to an 8-2 victory over the Twins and keep the AL East-leading Yankees (90-65) 1 1/2 games in front of Baltimore, who trounced visiting Toronto 12-2.
The Orioles (89-67) tied a team-record with seven home runs to stay atop the wild card standings.
Oakland (88-67) held down the second wild card spot after a 9-3 road victory over first-place Texas (91-64), who now only have a three-game advantage over the Athletics in the AL West.
Oakland also set an AL record by striking out more than any other team. They have now struck out 1,333 times this season, nine more than Tampa Bay in 2007.
The Los Angeles Angels (86-69) remained two games behind Oakland thanks to a walk-off 4-3 triumph against the visiting Seattle Mariners.
“I’m just hungry,” said Torii Hunter, who delivered the game-winning RBI single in the ninth inning. “I want to get to the World Series just like everyone else in (our) locker room.”
In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals were shut out 2-0 by the Houston Astros to give hope to remaining teams pursuing the last playoff spot in the NL.
The Cardinals (84-72) lead the race for the final wild card spot by 3 1/2 games over Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who both won on Wednesday.
Matt Kemp powered the Dodgers (80-75) with four hits and four RBIs in an 8-2 victory over San Diego, while the Brewers (80-75) topped Cincinnati 8-1 with reigning NL MVP Ryan Braun hitting his NL-leading 41st homer of the season.
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Nick Mulvenney)