Sleepless in Seattle…Giants’ magic number is 7

UNDATED (AP) — The Orioles beat the Mariners 4-2 in 18 innings to inch within a percentage point of the Yankees in the race for the AL East crown. Taylor Teagarden plated the winning run with a pinch-hit single.

Baltimore’s 14th straight extra-inning victory keeps them three games ahead of the L.A. Angels for the league’s second wild card.

The Yankees were rained out and will play a split double-header with Toronto today in New York.

Jered Weaver picked up his 100th career victory in the Angels’ 11-3 drubbing of West leader Texas. The Angels have won 15 of 20 to move within 3½ games of wild-card leading Oakland.

The Athletics were routed by the Tigers 12-2. Triple Crown candidate Miguel Cabrera homered twice, including an eighth-inning grand slam. Cabrera matched a career high with six RBIs and now has a career-best 40 homers on the season.

In the rest of the American League:

— Alex Rios hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 for their fifth consecutive win. Alejandro De Aza and Gordon Beckham also went deep for AL Central-leading Chicago, which maintained its three-game advantage over Detroit.

— Darin Mastroianni scored the go-ahead run from second base on an infield hit in a two-run 12th inning and the Minnesota Twins beat Cleveland 6-4.

— Felix Doubront limited Tampa Bay’s sputtering offense to one hit over six innings and the Boston Red Sox rallied for a 7-5 victory that dealt another blow to the Rays’ fading playoff hopes. Tampa Bay is six back in the AL East race.

— Toronto at the New York Yankees was rained out. They’ll play a day-night doubleheader today.

In the National League:

— The Miami Marlins squandered a three-run lead in the ninth inning but recovered in the 10th to beat Atlanta 4-3 on a game-ending single by Jose Reyes. The loss dropped the Braves five and a-half games back of idle Washington. The Nationals’ magic number for clinching the NL East is 10.

— Kyle Lohse threw seven scoreless innings for his 15th victory and contributed an RBI double as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 4-1 to stay in front for the second NL wild card.

— Milwaukee stayed two and a-half games back of St. Louis in the wild card hunt by blanking Pittsburgh 6-0. Yovani Gallardo allowed just two hits in six and two-thirds innings, striking out six. He is 16-8.

— Ryan Hanigan hit a three-run double and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1 to move closer to the NL Central title. Homer Bailey pitched effectively into the eighth inning to win his 12th game.

— Ian Kennedy gave up one run in eight innings for his 14th victory, Miguel Montero drove in two runs with two doubles and the Arizona Diamondbacks edged the San Diego Padres, 3-2.

— The L.A. Dodgers at Washington was rained out. They’ll play a doubleheader this evening.

— Philadelphia at the New York Mets was rained out. They’ll make it up Thursday.

Kershaw may pitch this season…Larkin’s new gig

UNDATED (AP) — Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw was examined Tuesday by a hip specialist who said the Los Angeles left-hander can continue to pitch without risking damage to his sore right hip. But, the Dodgers want to keep him sidelined if the pain persists.

The team said Kershaw would re-start a throwing program immediately. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly says there’s a chance Kershaw could pitch again this season.

Kershaw was scratched from a start on Sunday because of the right hip. He is 12-9 with a 2.70 ERA and NL-leading 206 strikeouts this season.

In other baseball news:

— Hall of Famer Barry Larkin has been hired by the Brazilian baseball federation to manage its national team in a qualifying round for next year’s World Baseball Classic.

— Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar has been suspended 3 games by the team for having a homophobic slur on his eye-black during a game over the weekend.

Center out for the season

UNDATED (AP) — Will Smith and Anthony Hargrove met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday about the Saints bounty scandal but Scott Fujita’s meeting was postponed.

Fujita, now with the Cleveland Browns, is undergoing treatment for an injured left knee which he hurt during the preseason and couldn’t come to New York, according to the players union.

In other NFL news:

— The Eagles have placed center Jason Kelce on injured reserve, ending his season. Kelce had surgery today to repair a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Once that heals, he will have surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

— Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner was jailed on charges of drunken driving just hours after he scored a touchdown in the team’s 27-21 win over the Denver Broncos. Turner was booked into the Gwinnett County jail in metro Atlanta just after 5 a.m. Jail records show that he spent barely two hours behind bars before he was released on $2,179 bond. A police spokesman said that Turner was clocked going 97 mph, 32 mph over the speed limit.

— Miami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland admits he muttered a profanity as he walked away from a fan following an unfriendly conversation at halftime of the team’s most recent game. Ireland said one man approached him, complained about the direction of the Dolphins and told the GM he should fire himself. Ireland said he regrets what he said.

— NFL Films President Steve Sabol has died of brain cancer. He was 69. The NFL said Sabol died Tuesday, 18 months after he was diagnosed with a tumor on the left side of his brain. Sabol started working with his father Ed, the founder of NFL Films, in 1964, and their innovations revolutionized sports broadcasting and helped make the NFL the country’s most popular sport. Ed was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year.

— Pro Football Hall of Famer Earl Campbell says he is undergoing nerve treatment after doctors ruled out concerns that he might have Lou Gehrig’s disease. The 57-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner says that he will be hospitalized in Houston through the weekend. He compared the effects of the nerve problem to a robot that moves its right leg when instructed to move its left.

Driver reinstated following rehab

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The first phase of his comeback complete, an optimistic AJ Allmendinger is ready to get on with his life.

He’s hopeful that includes another job in racing.

Allmendinger was reinstated by NASCAR, which said he successfully completed its rehabilitation program after testing positive for a banned substance. The process took a little over two months, and Allmendinger said he learned a lot about himself while participating in the “Road to Recovery” program.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tim Lincecum pitched San Francisco one win closer to an NL West crown, and the Giants lowered their magic number to clinch the division to seven with a 6-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.

Lincecum (10-14) struck out six and walked two in 6 1-3 scoreless innings on a day the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers were postponed by rain in Washington.

Marco Scutaro had three singles, drove in a run and scored twice and Xavier Nady had two RBI singles for the Giants (85-63), who moved a season-high 22 games over .500. Pablo Sandoval added two hits, including a double, and Hunter Pence added a sacrifice fly.

Wilin Rosario hit a two-run homer off Santiago Casilla in the eighth inning, matching the Rockies’ rookie record of 25 set by Todd Helton in 1998.

The Husker football team opened the weekend by getting some good injury news. Now, they’ve gotten some bad news on the injury front. Junior linebacker Zaire Anderson is out for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. Anderson says he injured the knee in practice last week, but had no idea of the severity of the injury at the time. He made his first start of the season at WILL linebacker and made three tackles in Nebraska’s 42-13 win over Arkansas State last Saturday. The junior college transfer will apply for a medical redshirt. Defensive coordinator John Papuchis says that Alonzo Whaley and David Santos are in line to fill in for Anderson. Whaley had been the starter at WILL linebacker in the first two games, and Santos made his debut last week. The Huskers host Idaho State in their final non-conference game on Saturday afternoon.

The third-ranked Husker volleyball team looks to rebound from last Saturday’s loss in their Big Ten opener tonight, as they visit fourth-ranked Penn State. Nebraska fell from the top of the national rankings after a four-set loss at Iowa State. The Huskers and Nittany Lions met in two memorable matches last season, with Nebraska winning in five sets in Lincoln and Penn State returning the favor with a four-set win in State College. The match starts at 7:05 tonight and can be seen live on the Big Ten Network.

Nebraska’s Jordan Hooper and Lindsey Moore were both among 25 college players named to the 2012-13 preseason Wade Watch List, announced by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Hooper earned honorable-mention AP All-America and first-team All Big-Ten accolades as a sophomore leading the Huskers in scoring and leading the Big Ten Conference in rebounding. Moore, was a 2012 second-team All-Big Ten choice, ranking second in the Big Ten in assists. The State Farm Wade Trophy is presented annually to the NCAA Division I Player of the Year.

NFL Films President Steve Sabol dies at 69

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Films President Steve Sabol has died from brain cancer. He was 69.

The NFL said Sabol died Tuesday, 18 months after he was diagnosed with a tumor on the left side of his brain. Sabol started working with his father Ed, NFL Films’ founder, in 1964, and their innovations revolutionized sports broadcasting and helped make the NFL the country’s most popular sport.

Ed was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year. The two received the Lifetime Achievement Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2003.

Atlanta running back celebrates a bit too much

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner was jailed on charges of drunken driving and speeding early this morning, just hours after he scored a touchdown in the team’s win over the Denver Broncos. Turner was booked into the Gwinnett County jail in metro Atlanta just after 5 a.m. Jail records show that he spent barely two hours behind bars before he was released on $2,179 bond.

A police spokesman said that Turner was clocked going 97 mph, 32 mph over the speed limit.

Get ready for some good matchups

UNDATED (AP) — As the end of the regular season approaches every game for the teams involved in playoff races is important, and tonight there are some good matchups.

In Anaheim, the Angels open up a series with Texas. In the American League West, the Rangers top the Athletics by 3 games and the Angels by 7 ½. More importantly for the Angels is the Wild Card race, as they are currently 3 games back of Baltimore for the final Wild Card berth. Angels fans must feel good knowing that 17 game winner Jered Weaver is on the mound tonight.

As far as the A’s are concerned, they open a series with Detroit this evening in the Motor City. The A’s are currently in possession of one of the two Wild Card berths while the Tigers are 3 games back of first-place Chicago in the American League Central. The bottom line to this game: it is important to both clubs. Chicago’s opponent tonight is Kansas City as the Royals play host to the White Sox.

As mentioned, Baltimore holds one of the two AL Wild Card berths right now, but they are still gunning for the Yankees in the East Division. As the day begins, New York tops Baltimore by just a half-game in the East. The Yankees are home to the Blue Jays tonight while the Orioles are in Seattle.

The remaining American League games have Cleveland playing at Minnesota and Boston plays at Tampa.

In the National League things are just as unsettled. The tightest divisional race is in the East where the Nationals top the Braves by 5 games. Tonight the Nats are hosting Los Angeles while the Braves are in Miami. In the NL Wild Card race, the Braves and Cardinals hold down the two spots with the Dodgers a game back of St. Louis. The Cardinals are home to the Astros tonight.

The battle for one of the two NL Wild Card spots is intense as four teams are within 3 ½ games of the final spot. Following the Dodgers are the Brewers and Pirates at 2 ½ games back and Philadelphia at 3 ½ games out.

A check of tonight’s other games involving those contending teams shows the Phillies in New York to meet the Mets and Milwaukee playing at Pittsburgh. A.J. Burnett is on the mound for the Bucs and he is going for his 16th win of the season.

The rest of tonight’s NL card has Cincinnati at Chicago, San Diego at Arizona and Colorado at San Francisco.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Minnesota at Cleveland 6:05 p.m.
Oakland at Detroit 6:05 p.m.
Toronto at N-Y Yankees 6:05 p.m.
Boston at Tampa Bay 6:10 p.m.
Chi White Sox at Kansas City 7:10 p.m.
Texas at L.A. Angels 9:05 p.m.
Baltimore at Seattle 9:10 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

L.A. Dodgers at Washington 6:05 p.m.
Milwaukee at Pittsburgh 6:05 p.m.
Atlanta at Miami 6:10 p.m.
Philadelphia at N-Y Mets 6:10 p.m.
Cincinnati at Chi Cubs 7:05 p.m.
Houston at St. Louis 7:15 p.m.
San Diego at Arizona 8:40 p.m.
Colorado at San Francisco 9:15 p.m.