MLB: New York Yankees keep their playoff hopes alive
Ichiro Suzuki (centre) celebrates after the New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers
The New York Yankees beat wild card rivals the Detroit Tigers 8-4 to boost their hopes of a place in the playoffs.
All of the Yankees' runs came in a remarkable third inning, which brought nine successive hits and did for Detroit's starting pitcher David Price.
New York are now 2.5 games outside the wild card places in the American League, with Detroit half a game outside.
The two places are occupied by AL West pair the Oakland Athletics, who beat the Houston Astros 5-4 thanks to Sam Fuld's two-run homer, and the Seattle Mariners, who remained narrowly ahead of the Tigers despite a 12-4 defeat at the hands of the Texas Rangers.
Tomas Telis' three-run double, Rougned Odor's grand slam and Leonys Martin's two-run shot helped the rampant Rangers to victory.
AL West leaders the Los Angeles Angels, whose 79-53 record is the best in MLB but only a game better than Oakland, beat the Miami Marlins 6-1 with home runs from Gordon Beckham and Mike Trout.
AL Central leaders the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins by the same scoreline to remain 2.5 games ahead of Detroit. The Chicago White Sox overcame the Cleveland Indians 3-2.
Homer
The Baltimore Orioles lead the Yankees by six games in the AL East despite a 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, Drew Smyly giving up only two hits and a walk in seven innings.
Danny Valencia's three-run pinch-hit homer in the ninth earned the Toronto Blue Jays a 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox to avoid a series sweep.
In the National League wild card race, the San Francisco Giants responded to wins for the chasing pack with a vital 4-2 success against the Colorado Rockies. Buster Posey was the hero with a two-run walk-off homer.
The Pittsburgh Pirates beat top wild card seeds the St Louis Cardinals 3-1, Ike Davis with a huge two-run blast to support Jeff Locke's strong pitching effort.
The Atlanta Braves boosted their own challenge with a 3-2 win over the New York Mets, with the highlight a jumping throw by Andrelton Simmons to ground out Travis d'Arnaud, ending the eighth inning and preventing a tying run.
The Milwaukee Brewers lead the NL Central from St Louis and Pittsburgh despite losing 3-2 in 10 innings to the San Diego Padres, while the Chicago Cubs were beaten 7-5 by the Cincinnati Reds despite Jorge Soler's home run on his first Major League at-bat.
NL West leaders the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 but Eastern Division counterparts the Washington Nationals went down 8-4 to the Philadelphia Phillies after homers from Grady Sizemore, Jimmy Rollins and Marlon Byrd.
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