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Indians Win, Take Wild-Card Lead

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From Associated Press

As if waving some magic wand, pitcher Kevin Millwood makes the most tense situations disappear.

One instant, the bases are loaded. The next, it’s inning over for the Cleveland Indians. Another head-scratching escape.

“It was like, ‘Did I just see that?’ ” Detroit Manager Alan Trammell said. “We’ve got the bases loaded and we’re all excited. Seconds later ... Wow!”

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Millwood kept it close for five nerve-racking innings before Aaron Boone hit a two-run homer and Casey Blake and Coco Crisp hit solo shots as the Indians moved into the AL wild-card lead with a 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday at Cleveland.

Boone’s homer off Nate Robertson (6-13) tied it 2-2 in the fifth inning before Blake and Crisp connected in the sixth. Cleveland’s last 15 runs have all come via homers.

Millwood wiggled out of jams in the first and third innings when the Tigers had a chance to blow it open.

Millwood’s knack for dodging trouble is nothing new, with opponents 0-for-16 against him with the bases loaded. He gave up one earned run and seven hits, throwing 110 pitches in five innings.

“It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen,” Indian Manager Eric Wedge said of Millwood’s ability to get out of jams. “He throws 60 pitches in the first couple innings and did nothing but get much stronger. He’s tough. It wasn’t like it was just today, either. He’s been doing that all year.”

Kansas City 4, Chicago 2 -- J.P. Howell combined with three relievers on a two-hitter and Angel Berroa had a go-ahead homer at Chicago, ending a seven-game winning streak by the White Sox.

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Howell (2-5), who has shuttled between triple-A and the majors this season, outpitched Freddy Garcia (12-8) to get his first win since his big league debut on June 11.

Tampa Bay 7, New York 4 -- Carl Crawford hit a two-run double and scored three times, Mark Hendrickson won his fifth straight decision and the Devil Rays improved to 11-5 against New York this season with the win at New York.

The Yankees dropped two of three in this series and are heading into a three-game series in the Bronx against Boston this weekend.

Rookie right-hander Chien-Ming Wang (6-4) returned from a two-month stint on the disabled list and lasted five innings.

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