Orioles and Yanks tied at the top

UNDATED (AP) — The American League East is tied again with Baltimore and the New York Yankees sporting identical 79-62 records.

J.J. Hardy homered twice, doubled and drove in five runs, and the Baltimore Orioles defeated Tampa Bay 9-2. The Rays are two games back and two behind in the chase for the final AL wild-card spot.

Hardy went four for five. Chris Davis homered and Matt Wieters had three hits and two RBIs for Baltimore.

— Meanwhile, the Yankees were dropping a 4-3 decision to Boston in Fenway Park. Jacoby Ellsbury had four hits and drove in a pair. Ellsbury capped a strong performance on his 29th birthday with a solid single to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.

In the rest of the AL:

— Doug Fister pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, Austin Jackson hit a tying two-run homer and Miguel Cabrera delivered a go-ahead solo shot to lead the Detroit Tigers past the White Sox 5-3, reducing Chicago’s AL Central lead to two games.

— Oakland held off the L.A. Angels 6-5 to stay atop the AL wild card standings. Jerry Blevins got Howie Kendrick to ground into a game-ending double play with two runners on in the ninth inning for their fifth straight victory. Brandon Moss and Yoenis Cespedes (yoh-EHN’-ehs SEHS’-peh-dehs) homered.

— The AL Central-leading Texas Rangers beat Cleveland 6-4. Adrian Beltre cracked his 31st homer. Matt Harrison became the fourth AL hurler to win 16 games.

— Kyle Seager homered and came within a triple of the cycle, Erasmo Ramirez pitched seven innings for his first major league win and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3.

— Kansas City routed Minnesota 9-1. Eric Hosmer homered to help Will Smith win his fifth game.

Over in the NL:

— Meanwhile, the Arizona Diamondbacks were blanking the Dodgers 1-0. Ian Kennedy outpitched Clayton Kershaw for the win. The only run of the game was unearned, the result of an error by Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez.

— Washington rookie Bryce Harper had his first four-hit game in the majors in the Nationals’ 5-3 victory over the Mets. In the process, the Nats denied knuckleballer R.A. Dickey his 19th victory, dropping him to 18-5. Rookie Tyler Moore’s pinch-hit home run in the seventh gave the Nats the lead.

__ Logan Forsythe and Alexi Amarista had key hits in a five-run fourth inning, and the San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 to send the slumping World Series champions to their 10th loss in 13 games.

— Washington’s lead in the NL East is now six and a-half games over Atlanta. Marco Estrada pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, Rickie Weeks and Aramis Ramirez homered and the Milwaukee Brewers blanked the Braves 5-0. The Brewers won their eighth in a row at Miller Park and reached the .500 mark for the first time since April 24. Milwaukee has surged back into the NL wild-card race by winning 17 of 22 overall. They are four out of the final wild card.

— Philadelphia is another team inserting itself in the wild card picture. Jimmy Rollins homered and drove in three in the Phillies’ 9-7 win over Miami for their sixth straight win. The Phils have won 14 of 18. The Phils moved within four games of St. Louis in the NL wild-card race.

— Mike Leake pitched seven innings and had a pair of hits in leading the NL Central-leading Cincinnati Reds to a 5-3 victory over fading Pittsburgh. The Pirates have lost five in a row and 22 out of 31, falling out of contention. They now trail the Reds by a season-high 13 games.

— Jimmy Paredes singled and scored an unearned run in the third inning and the Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0.

Rest for Chapman…Orioles DFA reliever Gregg

UNDATED (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds are giving closer Aroldis Chapman a few days off to rest his tired pitching shoulder.

The left-hander struggled with his control and only hit 96 mph on the radar gun Monday night during a 14-inning, 4-3 win over Pittsburgh.

In other MLB news:

— The Baltimore Orioles have purchased the contracts of outfielders Endy Chavez and L.J. Hoes from Triple-A Norfolk and designated veteran reliever Kevin Gregg for assignment. Gregg went 3-2 with a 4.74 ERA in 40 appearances with the Orioles.

— Texas Rangers right-hander Roy Oswalt has been diagnosed with a right forearm strain and won’t throw for several days.

Goodell to meet with 4 players in bounty scandal

UNDATED (AP) — The NFL confirms that Commissioner Roger Goodell has agreed to meet with four players whose suspensions in connection with the bounty investigation were recently lifted by an appeals panel. No specific dates have been set for the meetings.

Goodell is reconsidering whether to hand down revised suspensions to Saints linebacker Jon Vilma, Saints defensive end Will Smith, Cleveland linebacker Scott Fujita and free agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove.

In other NFL news:

— The NFL lifted the roster exemption for Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, who had the three-game suspension for his role in the Saints’ bounty scandal lifted last week. Fujita is now back on Cleveland’s 53-man roster, which had an opening when cornerback Joe Haden was suspended four games Monday for failing a drug test.

— The Oakland Raiders have finalized a multiyear contract extension with fullback Marcel Reece. No details were announced but Reece had been slated to make $540,000 this season as an exclusive rights free agent. He has played 31 career games for Oakland and has 56 career receptions for 674 yards and five touchdowns. He has also rushed for 234 yards on 48 attempts with one touchdown.

— The Washington Redskins have signed long snapper Justin Snow to replace Nick Sundberg, who was put on injured reserve.

— Former Pro Bowl center Dan Koppen, who spent nine season snapping the ball to Tom Brady in New England, will now have the chance to work with Peyton Manning. Koppen signed with the Denver Broncos on Tuesday, two weeks after his release from the Patriots.

— NFL Charities is awarding more than $1.5 million in grants for sports-related medical research at 15 organizations, with nearly two-thirds of the money going to study concussion prevention and treatment.

Face-to-face meeting today

NEW YORK (AP) — There’s a glimmer of hope in the stalled talks aimed at preventing hockey’s fourth work stoppage since 1992.

The NHL and the players’ association will resume negotiations today in an effort to avoid a lockout this weekend. The two sides have not met face to face since last Friday.

Both sides planned to get together at the league office in New York before the NHLPA holds player meetings later today. The NHL board of governors will convene on Thursday with Commissioner Gary Bettman.

In a show of solidarity, more than 250 players are set to attend union meetings today and Thursday in New York to hear the latest bulletins on any negotiations.

Reports: Harvard captain to leave school

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Harvard basketball co-captain Kyle Casey plans to withdraw from school amid a cheating scandal that also may involve other athletes, according to several reports. Sports Illustrated and the Harvard Crimson are reporting that Casey, a senior, would take a leave of absence from school in an attempt to preserve a year of eligibility once the issue is resolved.

Co-captain Brandyn Curry also has been implicated. The Boston Herald reported Curry also is expected to withdraw from classes.

The school is looking into whether at least 125 undergraduates in what has been reported to be an Introduction to Congress class of about 280 students cheated by working together on a take-home final exam in the spring.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore 9 Tampa Bay 2
Seattle 4 Toronto 3
Boston 4 N-Y Yankees 3
Texas 6 Cleveland 4
Detroit 5 Chi White Sox 3
Kansas City 9 Minnesota 1
Oakland 6 L.A. Angels 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 9 Miami 7
Cincinnati 5 Pittsburgh 3
Washington 5 N-Y Mets 3
Houston 1 Chi Cubs 0
Milwaukee 5 Atlanta 0
San Francisco 9 Colorado 8
Arizona 1 L.A. Dodgers 0
San Diego 6 St. Louis 4