J.J. Hardy homered twice, doubled and drove in five runs, and the Orioles defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 9-2, Tuesday night in Baltimore and moved into a tie for the AL East lead.
Hardy went 4 for 5 to help Baltimore pull even atop the division with the New York Yankees, who lost at Boston, 4-3. The Rays are two games behind the co-leaders.
Chris Davis homered and Matt Wieters had three hits and two RBIs for Baltimore.
Hardy hit a two-run homer in the third inning, doubled and scored in the fifth, singled in a run in the sixth, and added his 21st homer with a runner on in the eighth. It was his ninth career two-homer game, the second this season.
Baltimore starter Jason Hammel left in the fourth inning with an injured right knee. The righthander underwent arthroscopic surgery on that knee in mid-July and was making his second start since returning from the disabled list.
Hammel had no problem with the knee on Thursday night against the Yankees, and retired 11 of 13 Tampa Bay batters before exiting.
Steve Johnson (3-0) got the win with 1⅓ innings of hitless relief.
Ryan Roberts and Elliott Johnson hit solo homers for Tampa Bay.
Tigers 5, White Sox 3 — Doug Fister pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, Austin Jackson hit a tying two-run homer and Miguel Cabrera delivered a go-ahead solo shot to lead Detroit, reducing host Chicago’s AL Central lead to two games.
The division’s top two teams have now split the first two of a four-game series, their last head-to-head matchup this season.
Diamondbacks 1, Dodgers 0— Ian Kennedy pitched neatly into the eighth inning and host Arizona used an unearned run to beat Clayton Kershaw and Los Angeles.
The lone run came in the seventh, when Paul Goldschmidt reached on Hanley Ramirez’s throwing error and scored from first on Miguel Montero’s double.
Giants 9, Rockies 8— Madison Bumgarner hit a three-run homer on a night when he struggled on the mound and Brandon Belt drove in four runs, helping visiting San Francisco hold on to beat Colorado.
Mariners 4, Blue Jays 3 — Kyle Seager homered and came within a triple of the cycle, Erasmo Ramirez pitched seven innings for his first major league win and Seattle won in Toronto.
Royals 9, Twins 1 — Will Smith pitched seven shutout innings, Eric Hosmer homered and Kansas City won in Minneapolis.
Athletics 6, Angels 5 — Jerry Blevins got Howie Kendrick to ground into a game-ending double play with two runners on in the ninth inning, and Oakland held off host Los Angeles for its fifth straight win.
Rangers 6, Indians 4 — Adrian Beltre homered, Matt Harrison worked into the sixth inning for his 16th victory and AL West-leading Texas beat visitng Cleveland.
Nationals 5, Mets 3 — Bryce Harper had his first four-hit game and pinch hitter Tyler Moore launched a go-ahead homer off R.A. Dickey in the seventh to send visiting Washington past punchless New York.