The Playoff Race: Yordano Ventura Ruins Jeter’s Day
By John Viril
Sep 7, 2014; New York, NY, USA; A member of the New York Yankees carries a base with a logo honoring
Derek Jeterduring the game against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports
On Sunday, the Yankees held a pre-game ceremony to honor retiring Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter before their game against the Kansas City Royals. There were Yankee greats. There was money for Jeter’s charity. There were tears of farewell from fans.
The one thing Derek Jeter Day lacked was any runs from the Yankee offense, and any wins from the home team.
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Kansas City starter Yordano Ventura made sure of that by shutting down the Yankees for 0 runs over 6 innings to earn his 12th win (12-9) of the season.
Kansas City won 2-0.
Ventura got plenty of help from the Royals bullpen, which chipped in with 3 scoreless innings of relief that included a rare save for Wade Davis, and the Yankee defense, which gave up 2 unearned runs.
The victory allowed the Royals to take the series 2 games to 3, and to win the season series against the Yankees for the first time since 1999.
How’s that for a sendoff?
A.L. CENTRAL
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.
The Tigers kept pace with Kansas City by handling the San Francisco Giants 6-1 at Comerica Park on Sunday night. Miguel Cabrera hit a home run for the 2nd straight night, going 2 for 4 with 3 RBI’s to lead Detroit to victory over Tim Hudson.
The Tigers could really use a hot streak from Cabrera down the stretch, after a season in which the former Triple Crown winner has struggled to dominate as he has in recent years.
Detroit remains 2 games behind Kansas City headed into a 3-game showdown with the Royals at Comerica Park that begins Monday.
Cleveland also won 2-0 against Chicago behind 8.2 shutout innings from Carlos Carrasco (7-4). The Indians remain 5 games behind the Royals.
A.L. WILD CARD
| Rk | Tm | W | L | W-L% | GB | Strk | ExInn | 1Run | ≥.500 | <.500 | last10 | last20 | last30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | OAK | 80 | 62 | .563 | — | L 1 | 11-7 | 20-22 | 41-40 | 39-22 | 2-8 | 7-13 | 11-19 |
| 4 | KCR | 79 | 62 | .560 | — | W 1 | 5-7 | 21-22 | 40-40 | 39-23 | 5-5 | 12-8 | 20-10 |
| 5 | SEA | 78 | 64 | .549 | — | L 1 | 3-6 | 16-24 | 42-28 | 36-36 | 6-4 | 12-8 | 20-10 |
| 6 | DET | 78 | 65 | .545 | 0.5 | W 1 | 6-6 | 20-19 | 42-37 | 36-28 | 5-5 | 11-9 | 15-15 |
| 7 | CLE | 74 | 67 | .525 | 3.5 | W 3 | 12-7 | 22-18 | 35-41 | 40-26 | 7-3 | 13-7 | 18-12 |
| 8 | NYY | 73 | 68 | .518 | 4.5 | L 1 | 7-6 | 22-19 | 35-39 | 38-29 | 4-6 | 11-9 | 15-15 |
| 9 | TOR | 73 | 69 | .514 | 5.0 | W 1 | 5-7 | 14-16 | 35-39 | 38-30 | 7-3 | 10-10 | 13-17 |
| 10 | TBR | 69 | 75 | .479 | 10.0 | L 1 | 7-10 | 21-19 | 41-53 | 28-22 | 4-6 | 8-12 | 14-16 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.night
The Oakland A’s continue to hold on to the top A.L. wild card position despite winning only 2 of their last 10 games. Sunday night, the A’s lost yet again, falling 4-3 to Houston. This time, the A’s lost after Houston staged a 2-run rally in the top of the 9th to wipe out a 3-2 Oakland lead.
Ouch.
The A’s are now a mere 1/2 game ahead of Kansas City in the wild card standings.
Seattle also lost, but still holds on to the 2nd wild card with a slender 1/2 game lead over the Tigers. The Mariners lost a 1-0 heartbreaker against the Rangers in Arlington. Derek Holland pitched his 2nd strong game after returning from knee surgery against Kansas City in which he got a no-decision after surrendering 1 run over 7 innings in a 2-1 loss.
This time, Holland didn’t give up a run and earned his 1st victory since 2013.
The Mariners remain 2 games behind Kansas City in the wild card standings.