By IAN HARRISON
By IAN HARRISON
Associated Press
TORONTO — Chris Davis made his milestone moment matter to the wild card-chasing Orioles.
Davis hit his major league-leading 50th home run, a tiebreaking solo shot in the eighth inning, and Baltimore erased a 3-0 deficit to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 on Friday night, snapping a three-game losing streak.
“It’s nice to have personal goals and to reach your own goals but when the team is winning and you are successful, it makes it that much sweeter,” Davis said. “It was big to come from behind and get the win.”
Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he was happy to see Davis to reach the mark in such meaningful fashion.
“Everybody pulls so hard for him because he’s such a good teammate, and so humble about the good things that he’s had happen to him this year,” Showalter said. “He’s just an easy guy to pull for.”
Davis became the 27th major leaguer to join the 50-homer club, and the first since Jose Bautista in 2010, when he led off the eighth with a blast to center off All-Star reliever Steve Delabar, connecting on a 2-2 pitch.
“I knew I barreled it up,” Davis said. “I tried to go the other way there with two strikes. I’ve faced Steve a few times. You can’t look for his split, as hard as he throws. I was just trying to put a good swing on it and stay through it.”
The drive matched Brady Anderson’s 1996 Orioles record and made Davis just the third player in major league history with 50 homers and 40 doubles in the same season. The others were Babe Ruth (1921) and Albert Belle (1995).
“It’s a humbling feeling to be in the same company with the guys I’m in,” Davis said.
Davis has hit seven home runs off Blue Jays pitching this season and has 15 against Toronto since the start of the 2012 season, the most by any opponent.
“He’s having a great year,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “He’s so strong he hits them anywhere. It’s got nothing to do with the park here. Some guys will get some cheapies here. He doesn’t get any cheapies.”
Orioles fan Steve Houff of Ellicott City, Md., was in the center field seats with four friends, close to where Davis’ homer landed.
Houff said he paid around $100 to buy the ball from the Toronto fan who caught it, giving it to Davis in exchange for a signed bat, signed balls for his group, several photographs and the promise of free tickets for the remainder of the weekend from a grateful Orioles staffer.
Adam Jones followed Davis’ blast with an infield hit and, two outs later, moved up on Ryan Flaherty’s walk before scoring on Danny Valencia’s RBI single.
Tommy Hunter (5-4) worked 1 2-3 innings for the win and Jim Johnson finished for his 44th save in 53 chances, rebounding after his wild pitch helped the New York Yankees beat Baltimore 6-5 on Thursday.
RED SOX 8, YANKEES 4
BOSTON — Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a tiebreaking grand slam in the seventh inning, Koji Uehara closed with another perfect inning and the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 8-4.
David Ortiz and Stephen Drew each doubled twice as the AL East-leading Red Sox won for the 15th time in 19 games. Saltalamacchia also doubled and scored twice.
Uehara breezed through the ninth. He’s retired 37 straight batters, the longest streak by a reliever since Bobby Jenks of the White Sox set down 41 in a row in 2007.
Robinson Cano went 4 for 4 with three doubles and two RBIs for New York.
TIGERS 6, ROYALS 3
DETROIT — Prince Fielder homered and drove in three runs, and Justin Verlander pitched effectively into the seventh inning to lift Detroit to victory over Kansas City.
Detroit remained six games ahead of second-place Cleveland in the AL Central and dealt the third-place Royals a setback in the postseason race. Kansas City is one of several teams hoping at least to catch Tampa Bay for a wild card.
Verlander (13-11) allowed three runs and nine hits in 6 2-3 innings. Three relievers finished. Joaquin Benoit worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and got the final four outs for his 19th save in 19 chances.
INDIANS 3, WHITE SOX 1
CHICAGO — Danny Salazar struck out nine in 3 2-3 innings, Ryan Raburn hit an RBI double and Cleveland beat Chicago for the 10th time in a row this season.
Salazar’s pitch count was limited to 85, and after allowing Dayan Viciedo’s single with two outs on his 78th pitch, he was replaced by Nick Hagadone with runners on first and third.
Bryan Shaw (4-3) threw two scoreless innings for the win.
PADRES 4, BRAVES 3
ATLANTA — Chase Headley hit a tying homer and Logan Forsythe drove in the go-ahead run in San Diego’s two-run eighth and the Padres beat Atlanta 4-3 on Friday night to spoil Braves rookie David Hale’s debut.
Hale pitched five scoreless innings and struck out nine, the most by a Braves pitcher in his first major league game.
Justin Upton and Brian McCann hit home runs off Ian Kennedy in the third inning to give the Braves a 3-0 lead.
CARDS 2, MARINERS 1
(10 INNINGS)
ST. LOUIS — Pete Kozma scored on catcher Mike Zunino’s passed ball with the bases loaded and two outs in the 10th inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals retook the NL Central lead with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
The Cardinals lead the division by a game after Pittsburgh lost. They’re 6-1 on a nine-game homestand.
Kozma entered in the eighth inning as a pinch-runner, later stole third base and scored the tying run.
In the 10th, Kozma singled with two outs off Chase Ruffin (0-2). Oliver Perez walked Matt Carpenter and Jon Jay to load the bases.
CUBS 5, PIRATES 4
PITTSBURGH — Anthony Rizzo hit a towering go-ahead, two-run homer off Jason Grilli in the seventh inning and the Chicago Cubs rallied past Pittsburgh.
Brian Bogusevic went 3 for 4 with his fifth homer of the season for Chicago. Dioneer Navarro added two hits as the Cubs ended Pittsburgh’s four-game winning streak.
Carlos Villanueva (6-8) picked up the win in relief. Kevin Gregg worked the ninth for his 32nd save.
NATIONALS 6, PHILLIES 1
WASHINGTON — Wilson Ramos homered and drove in three runs, Ross Ohlendorf pitched five innings in place of Stephen Strasburg, and Washington won its seventh straight.
Strasburg was scratched after experiencing forearm tightness during a throwing session Thursday in New York. Ohlendorf (4-0), who recently moved to the bullpen, stepped in and allowed a run on five hits over five innings.
METS 4, MARLINS 3
NEW YORK — Lucas Duda hit a three-run homer and the New York Mets overcame two solo shots by Giancarlo Stanton tp beat Miami.
Andrew Brown also connected for the Mets, outhomered 13-0 by Washington at Citi Field in a four-game sweep that ended Thursday.
Jonathon Niese (7-7) struck out seven and walked none in 6 1-3 innings, improving to 4-1 in seven starts since returning from a shoulder injury last month.
New York won for only the third time in 12 September games and upped its mark to 6-10 this season against the Marlins, who have the worst record in the NL at 54-92.
Making his first major league start of the year, Brad Hand (0-1) gave up the go-ahead homer to Duda in the sixth.