Tigers Edge Closer to Tying Loss Mark

Michael Cuddyer hit the first pitch of the 11th inning into the left-field seats and the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4, Friday night at Detroit, putting the Tigers one defeat from tying the modern-day record for losses.

If the Tigers (41-119) lose today against the Twins, they will tie the post-1900 record of 120 losses set by the 1962 New York Mets.

Lew Ford’s double gave Minnesota a 4-3 lead in the 10th, but the Tigers, who had won three straight, tied it in on Shane Halter’s RBI single.

Eddie Guardado (3-5) blew a save in the 10th, but earned the win after Cuddyer’s fourth homer off Franklyn German (2-4).

New York 11-2, Baltimore 2-3 -- In the second game, Yankee rookie Jorge De Paula, a 24-year-old Dominican right-hander, took a no-hit bid and a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning of his first major league start, but a one-out single by Baltimore’s Larry Bigbie ended the bid and a one-out single by Robert Machado in the 10th gave the Orioles the go-ahead run in their victory.

The Yankees still clinched home-field advantage throughout the postseason when Oakland lost to Seattle. Manager Joe Torre, who pulled De Paula in the seventh, said he wouldn’t have let the rookie go the route regardless. “You don’t want to push an arm like that to a dangerous length,” Torre said.

In the first game, Jorge Posada hit his 30th homer to tie Yogi Berra’s club record for catchers as the Yankees won.

Seattle 9, Oakland 3 -- At Seattle, Joel Pineiro (16-11) beat the West Division champion Athletics for the fourth time this season. Pineiro improved his record against the A’s to 6-1. He pitched six innings and yielded three runs -- one earned -- and six hits.

Boston 7, Tampa Bay 2 -- At St. Petersburg, Fla., Pedro Martinez threw three scoreless innings for the Red Sox in his final playoff tuneup. With their 17th win in 24 games, the Red Sox improved to 95-65 -- the first time they’ve won that many since advancing to the 1986 World Series.

Chicago 11, Kansas City 2 -- Jose Valentin hit a grand slam, and Frank Thomas and Carlos Lee also homered for the White Sox at Kansas City.

Jon Garland (12-13) pitched three-hit ball for eight innings, yielding only Carlos Beltran’s leadoff homer in the fourth. Beltran became the sixth player since 1900 to have 100 runs, 100 RBIs and 30 stolen bases in three seasons.

Cleveland 2, Toronto 1 -- At Toronto, Jason Stanford pitched six scoreless innings for his first major league victory.

Carlos Delgado went 0 for 4, striking out in his first at-bat, one night after he tied a major league record by hitting four home runs against Tampa Bay.