Rays lose run on overturned balk, fall to Yanks 5-4

The Nationals, who had won three in a row, lead the idle New York Mets by eight games in the National League East.

Bishop Luers graduate Kevin Kiermaier was 4-for-5 for the Rays, including two solo home runs.

After Tyler Austin homered with two outs in the ninth inning in Thursday’s 5-4 victory over Tampa Bay, the Yankees are four games behind Boston, which is in Toronto this weekend.

Hernan Perez led the onslaught with his second four-hit game in three days, driving in three runs.

Souza Jr.’s second homer of the night was a two-out, sixth-inning solo shot off Holder that made it 4-4. Kiermaier is riding a 12-game hitting streak.2.

Ramirez, who turns 35 on September 22, hit.240 with five homers and 41 RBIs in 128 games with San Diego, starting 109 games at shortstop, three in right field and one at designated hitter.

In St. Louis, Domingo Santana and Orlando Arcia hit back-to-back homers as Milwaukee continued its recent road dominance.

McCann homered in the second and the fourth off Rays starter Alex Cobb, twice giving the Yankees the lead, and added a single in the sixth for his third three-hit game since August 27.

Before Sabathia threw his first pitch on Thursday, Girardi defended the veteran lefty, calling him “probably” the most “victimized” member of his rotation when it comes to “bad luck”, whether it be a lack of run production, an untimely misplay or a poorly-located pitch at a pivotal moment.

McCann’s first homer led off the second inning and landed in the luxury suites just below the third deck in right field. He made four minor league appearances beginning in late August and his suspension ended September 4.

On the mound, the Rays have gone to a six-man rotation now that Alex Cobb (tonight’s starter) is back in the rotation.

Jaime Garcia (10-12) struggled for the fourth time in his last five starts, losing a career-high fourth straight decision.

Cleveland posted a 10-7 win over Houston.

Play was allowed to continue, though replays showed Chisenhall fouled off the pitch. Ramirez batted just.240/.275/.330 through 444 plate appearances with the Friars, and while he’s long graded out as a plus defender at short, Defensive Runs Saved pegged him at -17 this season, with Ultimate Zone Rating offering a similar assessment (-15.1).

Hinch protested the ruling and was ejected by plate umpire Jim Joyce.

Ivan Nova allowed just a Zack Cozart RBI single as he led the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Cody Allen, Cleveland’s fifth reliever, struck out two in a flawless ninth for his 26th save.

Nova improved to 5-0 with a 2.53 ERA in seven starts with the Pirates.