Detroit: Detroit’s Anibal Sanchez was denied a no-hitter but still struck out 12 batters in a pitching gem as the Tigers sent the Minnesota Twins crashing to their 10th straight defeat with a 6-0 victory yesterday.
Sanchez was heading towards a second career no-hitter with one out in the ninth inning before Joe Mauer punched a single up the middle to deny the Venezuelan a chance to become the 28th pitcher in Major League history with multiple no-hitters.
The win catapulted the Tigers (27-19) back to the top of the American League Central, in front of the Cleveland Indians (27-20), while Minnesota (18-27) remain rooted to the bottom in the standings.
Detroit’s charge up the standings was aided by Boston’s John Lackey, who also pitched an impressive game to lead the Red Sox to an 8-1 victory over the Indians.
Lackey allowed just two hits and one unearned run over seven innings, striking out eight, while Mike Carp helped the offence with a three-run homer in the second.
Boston improved to 29-20 to keep pace with the Yankees (29-18) in the American League East after the Bronx Bombers proved too strong for Tampa Bay (24-23) in a 9-4 win.
However, it was not all good news for the Yankees on the night, who lost Curtis Granderson and pitcher David Phelps to injuries after both were struck by fast-moving balls.
Granderson suffered a hand fracture and will be sidelined for at least a month while Phelps has some bad bruising but should be on the mound for his next scheduled start. REUTERS
