The Athletics are closing in on the AL West title and received good news when closer Huston Street came off the disabled list Friday and picked up his 30th save. Street had been out since Aug. 19 with a strained right groin. Justin Duchscherer had five saves in his absence.
With the Padres breathing down their necks in the NL West, the Dodgers turned to Hong-Chih Kuo. The rookie left-hander from Taiwan threw six shutout innings, scattering three singles and striking out seven to earn his first major-league victory as the Dodgers beat the Mets 5-0.
Thanks to 21-year-old Matt Cain, the Giants pulled within 2 1/2 games of the NL wild-card-leading Padres. Cain took a no-hitter into the sixth and pitched seven innings of one-hit ball in a 4-0 victory over the Padres. He threw 119 pitches with Brian Giles getting the lone hit.
THREE DOWN
The Red Sox won’t have two guys named Javier Lopez anymore. The team released the veteran catcher, better known as Javy Lopez, the former Braves All-Star. Lopez had not played since Jason Varitek was taken off the DL on Sunday. Lefty reliever Javier Lopez remains.
In his third major-league game, Tigers rookie lefty Andrew Miller was thrust into a pennant race. After retiring the first two Twins in the sixth, the 21-year-old threw 12 of his next 13 pitches for balls, walking the bases loaded. All three runners scored in a four-run rally.
Brewers catcher Damian Miller got a painful RBI in the seventh inning when Astros ace Roy Oswalt hit him in the head with a pitch. Miller fell to the ground, and trainers quickly attended to him. He walked off the field under his own power.
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Compiled by Mike Pankow
