Aaron Hill

Toronto 8, at Detroit 6: Aaron Hill hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the ninth inning, capping the Blue Jays' come-from-behind victory over the slumping Tigers. Seattle 8, at Texas 3 (8 1/2 innings): Ichiro Suzuki had two hits to move to within two of a record ninth straight 200-hit season, and the Mariners beat the Rangers in a game called by rain with three outs remaining. Oakland 4, at Minnesota 2: Brett Anderson threw seven sharp innings and Cliff Pennington had three hits with an RBI as the Athletics won for the fifth time in six games.

Marc Rzepczynski was nearly unhittable over seven innings and the Toronto Blue Jays blanked the Angels, 3-0, in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night at Angel Stadium. Summoned from triple-A Las Vegas to make Friday's start, Rzepczynski (1-1) scattered two hits to record his first win since beating these same Angels last Aug. 21. The left-hander collected six strikeouts and did not issue a walk, but did hit consecutive batters in the third inning. He lowered his earned-run average from 7.15 to 4.42.

Toronto 6, at Detroit 4: Aaron Hill had four hits and the Blue Jays handed the Tigers their fourth loss in a row. Oakland 12, at Minnesota 5: Jack Cust hit one of the Athletics' five home runs and Clayton Mortensen earned his first major league victory. Kansas City 2, at Cleveland 1 (12): Miguel Olivo homered with one out in the 12th inning for the Royals, who won their fifth in a row. Tampa Bay at Boston, ppd., rain: The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday.

Peter Bourjos, the new whiz kid in center field, showed why he can be a game-changer Friday night, turning Angel Stadium into a backdrop for his own highlight reel, and Scott Kazmir took another step forward in his recovery from a shoulder injury. If this were April, May or even June, these would be significant developments for the Angels, reasons to be optimistic about the future. But in mid-August, with the Angels scrambling to get back into contention in the American League West, they were mere footnotes in a 3-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays that further muddled the Angels' outlook.

Lyle Overbay and Aaron Hill hit home runs and Toronto ended New York's winning streak at seven games with a 5-4 victory Monday night. Overbay drove in two runs, and Edwin Encarnacion and Joe Inglett also drove in runs for the Blue Jays, who played an inspired game about 30 minutes after learning that teammate Alex Rios had been claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox. Shawn Camp (1-5) picked up the victory in relief of starter Marc Rzepczynski, who gave up three home runs and didn't make it out of the fourth inning.

at Chicago 4, Kansas City 2: Jim Thome of the White Sox hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning in a season opener delayed a day because of bad weather. Thome's 542nd career homer erased a solid outing by the Royals' Gil Meche, who pitched seven strong innings. at Toronto 5, Detroit 4: Rod Barajas hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning to cap a Blue Jays rally. Scott Rolen hit a solo homer and Aaron Hill had a three-run drive for Toronto, which trailed, 3-0, after seven innings.

The Toronto Blue Jays took advantage of Josh Beckett's being scratched from his scheduled start by scoring seven runs off substitute Michael Bowden to beat Boston, 11-5, Monday night in a game called in the seventh inning because of rain. It was the fourth straight loss for the Red Sox, who could have clinched the AL wild card with a victory. Their magic number was reduced to one over Texas, which lost to the Angels. Jose Bautista, Aaron Hill and Rod Barajas homered for the Blue Jays, who had lost six straight to the Red Sox and eight in a row at Fenway Park.

Marc Rzepczynski was nearly unhittable over seven innings and the Toronto Blue Jays blanked the Angels, 3-0, in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night at Angel Stadium. Summoned from triple-A Las Vegas to make Friday's start, Rzepczynski (1-1) scattered two hits to record his first win since beating these same Angels last Aug. 21. The left-hander collected six strikeouts and did not issue a walk, but did hit consecutive batters in the third inning. He lowered his earned-run average from 7.15 to 4.42.

Sean O'Sullivan predicts that the "rough patch" he's been in for four starts now "will be a good character-builder for me," but if there is any construction of the 21-year-old right-hander's psyche, it will most assuredly take place at triple-A Salt Lake. O'Sullivan was rocked for four runs and four hits in the first inning and pulled after one batter in the second Friday night, and the Toronto Blue Jays held on for a 5-4 victory in the Rogers Centre, handing the Angels their second straight loss.

Peter Bourjos, the new whiz kid in center field, showed why he can be a game-changer Friday night, turning Angel Stadium into a backdrop for his own highlight reel, and Scott Kazmir took another step forward in his recovery from a shoulder injury. If this were April, May or even June, these would be significant developments for the Angels, reasons to be optimistic about the future. But in mid-August, with the Angels scrambling to get back into contention in the American League West, they were mere footnotes in a 3-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays that further muddled the Angels' outlook.

St. Louis pitcher Chris Carpenter was voted National League comeback player of the year Monday and Toronto second baseman Aaron Hill won the American League award. Carpenter, limited to four starts over the previous two seasons because of elbow and shoulder injuries, was 17-4 with a league-leading 2.24 earned-run average this season. Hill, limited to 55 games last year because of a concussion, had career highs with 36 homers and 108 runs batted in. Hoffman to return All-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman agreed to a one-year, $8-million contract to return to the Milwaukee Brewers next season, with a mutual option for 2011 that could be worth up to an additional $8.5 million.

The Toronto Blue Jays took advantage of Josh Beckett's being scratched from his scheduled start by scoring seven runs off substitute Michael Bowden to beat Boston, 11-5, Monday night in a game called in the seventh inning because of rain. It was the fourth straight loss for the Red Sox, who could have clinched the AL wild card with a victory. Their magic number was reduced to one over Texas, which lost to the Angels. Jose Bautista, Aaron Hill and Rod Barajas homered for the Blue Jays, who had lost six straight to the Red Sox and eight in a row at Fenway Park.

Toronto 8, at Detroit 6: Aaron Hill hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the ninth inning, capping the Blue Jays' come-from-behind victory over the slumping Tigers. Seattle 8, at Texas 3 (8 1/2 innings): Ichiro Suzuki had two hits to move to within two of a record ninth straight 200-hit season, and the Mariners beat the Rangers in a game called by rain with three outs remaining. Oakland 4, at Minnesota 2: Brett Anderson threw seven sharp innings and Cliff Pennington had three hits with an RBI as the Athletics won for the fifth time in six games.

Toronto 6, at Detroit 4: Aaron Hill had four hits and the Blue Jays handed the Tigers their fourth loss in a row. Oakland 12, at Minnesota 5: Jack Cust hit one of the Athletics' five home runs and Clayton Mortensen earned his first major league victory. Kansas City 2, at Cleveland 1 (12): Miguel Olivo homered with one out in the 12th inning for the Royals, who won their fifth in a row. Tampa Bay at Boston, ppd., rain: The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday.

Sean O'Sullivan predicts that the "rough patch" he's been in for four starts now "will be a good character-builder for me," but if there is any construction of the 21-year-old right-hander's psyche, it will most assuredly take place at triple-A Salt Lake. O'Sullivan was rocked for four runs and four hits in the first inning and pulled after one batter in the second Friday night, and the Toronto Blue Jays held on for a 5-4 victory in the Rogers Centre, handing the Angels their second straight loss.

Lyle Overbay and Aaron Hill hit home runs and Toronto ended New York's winning streak at seven games with a 5-4 victory Monday night. Overbay drove in two runs, and Edwin Encarnacion and Joe Inglett also drove in runs for the Blue Jays, who played an inspired game about 30 minutes after learning that teammate Alex Rios had been claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox. Shawn Camp (1-5) picked up the victory in relief of starter Marc Rzepczynski, who gave up three home runs and didn't make it out of the fourth inning.

Every so often Angels pitcher Jered Weaver will do or say something to remind you that, at 26, he's still just a big kid playing a little kid's game. Take Thursday, for example, when Weaver appeared so flummoxed over the proper way to tailor his uniform pants, he eventually gave up and took a pair from bullpen catcher Steve Soliz's locker.

Two men charged with murdering a popular Grossmont High School student were ordered to stand trial Tuesday after an emotional hearing that included testimony from an alleged accomplice. Municipal Judge Frank A. Brown ordered the trial for Aaron Sylvester Hill, 20, and the victim's former boyfriend, Alex Love II, 19, after several witnesses linked the men to the killing. Love is charged with being the gunman who fired two bullets from a semiautomatic pistol into Tameka Henderson's head and torso.

Every so often Angels pitcher Jered Weaver will do or say something to remind you that, at 26, he's still just a big kid playing a little kid's game. Take Thursday, for example, when Weaver appeared so flummoxed over the proper way to tailor his uniform pants, he eventually gave up and took a pair from bullpen catcher Steve Soliz's locker.

Aaron Hill's run-scoring single in the 11th inning Saturday gave Toronto a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, improving the surprising Blue Jays' American League-best record to 17-9. Rod Barajas led off the 11th with a single against Brian Bass (0-1). After Travis Snider popped his bunt attempt to the mound, Barajas took second on Marco Scutaro's sacrifice and scored on Hill's single to right-center.