Francisco Rodriguez gave the Los Angeles Angels another reason to celebrate, and it probably won’t be long before he puts away Bobby Thigpen’s saves record for good.
Rodriguez finished the Angels’ 7-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night, tying Thigpen’s 18-year-old major league record with his 57th save.
Rodriguez replaced Scot Shields with runners on first and second and no outs in the ninth inning. He got Ichiro Suzuki to ground into a double play, gave up an RBI single to Jeremy Reed and a base hit to Adrian Beltre before finally ending it on Raul Ibanez’s broken-bat grounder to first.
Rodriguez’s tying save came one day after the Angels clinched their fourth AL West title in five years.
“I knew if the guys kept playing the way they’ve been playing, I was capable of doing it,” Rodriguez said. “That’s what I get paid for. But I’ve got to give the credit to my teammates and the guys who make the plays behind me. I’d be real selfish if I said I’ve done this by myself.”
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The Angels led 7-0 after seven innings but Seattle scored three runs in the eighth and Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia had to turn to Rodriguez to close it out.
“When you’re sitting on a seven-run lead, really the furthest thing from your mind is, when do you get your closer up?” Scioscia said.
Rodriguez has 16 games left to try to top the mark set by Thigpen with the 1990 Chicago White Sox.
Jered Weaver (11-10) allowed three hits in six innings and Garret Anderson drove in three runs before Rodriguez came on to a standing ovation.
Brandon Morrow (2-3) gave up two runs and five hits over five innings for Seattle.
Blue Jays 6, White Sox 4
Shaun Marcum pitched effectively for 7 1-3 innings and Toronto broke a scoreless tie with six runs in the eighth.
The Blue Jays won three of four at U.S. Cellular Field and went 7-1 against the White Sox this season. They won for the 11th time in 12 games overall, moving within 6 1/2 games of idle Boston in the AL wild-card race.
Chicago, which has lost four of five, remained one game ahead of Minnesota in the AL Central.
Marcum (9-6) allowed five hits and two runs. B.J. Ryan got three outs to earn his 29th save.
Gavin Floyd (15-7) gave up four runs and seven hits in 7 1-3 innings for the White Sox. Jim Thome hit career homer No. 538.
Royals 3, Twins 2, 10 innings
e winning single in the 10th inning for Kansas City.
Minnesota wasted eight impressive innings by Francisco Liriano, his longest start since July 28, 2006. It matched the second-longest outing of his career.
Matt Guerrier (6-8) got one out in the 10th before surrendering two straight singles and leaving runners at the corners for Dennys Reyes.
DeJesus hit his first pitch into left field for the lead, giving Ramon Ramirez (3-2) the victory after a perfect ninth. Joakim Soria worked the 10th for his 36th save.
Rangers 6, Athletics 1
Hank Blalock homered, and Chris Davis and Joaquin Arias both drove in two runs for visiting Texas. Dustin Nippert (3-4) matched his career high with seven strikeouts in five innings, allowing four hits and one run in his fourth start of 2008.
Davis hit a two-run double in the third after Arias put the Rangers ahead with a two-run single in the second against Dallas Braden (5-4).
Josh Hamilton, who left after the seventh with a bruised right foot, had three hits for the Rangers and is 16-for-31 over his last nine games.
Cliff Pennington had a sacrifice fly in the sixth for the A’s.
Orioles 6, Indians 3
Nick Markakis had two hits and Melvin Mora, sidelined since Aug. 29 with a strained left hamstring, returned for Baltimore with a two-run double that gave him 99 RBIs.
ch began with Baltimore mired in an eight-game losing streak.
Baltimore went ahead 5-3 with a two-run fifth. Markakis, who earlier snapped an 0-for-13 skid, singled and took third on a double by Aubrey Huff. Ramon Hernandez drove in a run with a groundout and Asdrubal Cabrera misplayed a two-out grounder, allowing Huff to score.
Lance Cormier (3-3) pitched three innings of one-hit relief and rookie Jim Miller worked the ninth for his first major league save.
Cleveland’s Zach Jackson (0-3) gave up five runs, four earned, in six innings.
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