Reed Toughens Up as Twins Hold Out Hope

Minnesota right-hander Rick Reed thought about Torii Hunter’s three-run, second-inning home run and whether it took pressure off him as he pitched against Cleveland’s powerful lineup.

“It didn’t,” Reed said. “Maybe if he would’ve hit a 12-run homer.”

Reed remained tough, though, winning consecutive starts for the first time since joining the Twins and keeping alive Minnesota’s slim playoff hopes with a 6-2 victory over the Indians on Friday night at Minneapolis.

Reed (4-3) gave up two runs and six hits in 71/3 innings as the Twins cut Cleveland’s lead in the American League Central to five games. With 14 games left in the regular season, the two teams play five more times.

“Up and down the lineup, there’s no breaks,” Reed said. “You can’t give in to a team like Cleveland.”

Reed, who struggled after the New York Mets traded him to the Twins on July 30, took a shutout into the sixth. He retired eight consecutive over one stretch and helped the Twins improve to 4-10 against the Indians this year.

Oakland 5, Seattle 1--Cory Lidle pitched seven scoreless innings of five-hit ball, and Terrence Long had three hits as the Athletics defeated the Mariners at Oakland for their 17th win in 19 games.

Jason Giambi hit his 34th homer and drove in two runs as the A’s magic number for a second consecutive playoff berth dropped to four. Oakland improved to 63-30 since June 5. In the same period, Seattle is 62-30.

Chicago 8, Kansas City 7--Tony Graffanino hit an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning off Doug Henry (2-2) to lead the White Sox at Chicago.

Sean Lowe (9-4) pitched one inning for the victory. Jeff Liefer hit his 18th homer for the White Sox and Magglio Ordonez added three hits.

Baltimore 7, New York 6--Jerry Hairston singled in two runs in the bottom of the ninth as the Orioles stalled the Yankees’ drive to another division crown with a victory at Baltimore.

After the Yankees took the lead by scoring three runs off Willis Roberts (8-9) in the top of the ninth, Baltimore responded against Mariano Rivera (4-6), who was vying for his franchise-record 47th save.

Boston 5, Detroit 2--Manny Ramirez and Doug Mirabelli each hit two-run homers at Boston and Casey Fossum earned his first victory as a starter, leading the Red Sox over the Tigers.

Fossum (2-1) gave up two runs on three hits in five innings to give Boston its first back-to-back victories since Aug. 23-24.

Tampa Bay 7, Toronto 4--Bryan Rekar won for the first time in more than three months, and Toby Hall hit a three-run homer to lead the Devil Rays at Toronto.