A’s Take Two-Game Lead in West

Greg Myers took several trips to the batting cage Saturday while the Oakland Athletics played Texas.

Those jaunts paid off in a big way.

Myers hit a tiebreaking pinch-hit single in the bottom of the eighth inning, and Oakland’s bullpen pitched 2 2/3 hitless innings to help the first-place A’s defeat the Rangers, 6-3, to open a two-game lead over the Angels in the American League West race.

“Really, anytime you can help out like that it feels good,” said Myers, 36, a reserve catcher. “With this tight race going on, it’s nice.”

With the score tied, 3-3, in the eighth, Myers singled to center field to drive in Terrence Long from second base. Miguel Tejada followed with a run-scoring single and the A’s scored another run on an error.

New York 3, Detroit 2--Andy Pettitte (12-5) pitched seven strong innings at Detroit and became the first pitcher since 1961 to get at least 12 victories in each of his first eight seasons.

Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect eighth inning in his return from the disabled list to help the Yankees clinch their fifth consecutive AL East title.

Chicago 14, Minnesota 4--Magglio Ordonez homered twice--giving him 35--and drove in four runs, and Carlos Lee hit a grand slam to lift host Chicago.

The loss assured the AL Central-champion Twins of opening the postseason on the road Oct. 1, probably against the AL West winner.

Boston 3, Baltimore 0--John Burkett (12-8) gave up two hits in eight innings at Baltimore, and Nomar Garciaparra drove in a run and scored one as Boston avoided elimination in the wild-card race.

Tampa Bay 4, Toronto 3--Carl Crawford hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Kansas City 3, Cleveland 2--Michael Tucker’s two-out single in the bottom of the ninth scored Chuck Knoblauch with the winning run.

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A Cook County judge ordered William Ligue Jr., who Thursday night ran onto the field at Chicago’s Comiskey Park with his 15-year-old son and attacked Kansas City Royal coach Tom Gamboa, held on $200,000 bond.

During a hearing, a prosecutor described how Ligue telephoned his sister before the attack and told her to watch the White Sox game because he was going to be on. When she couldn’t find the game on TV, he told her to watch the news.

Ligue was charged with a felony count of aggravated battery in a public place of amusement. His son has been charged with two juvenile counts of aggravated battery, one for attacking Gamboa and the other for hitting a White Sox security guard, an off-duty police officer.

The teenager is being held in a juvenile detention center and is due in court Monday.

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Toe Nash, 20, a high school dropout signed by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays last season, was released by the team a day after he was released from a New Orleans jail after pleading guilty to having sex with a 15-year-old girl.

Nash was facing life in prison on three counts of aggravated rape, according to Arthur Lemann IV, Nash’s lawyer. Nash will be on probation for five years, Lemann said.

Nash batted .240 in 47 games last season with the Princeton Devil Rays of the Appalachian League.