coming up long

Struggling Tampa Bay got a boost Tuesday night from former Itawamba Community College standout Desmond Jennings, who hit his 12th home run in a 7-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Jennings also stole his 19th base for the Rays, who are clinging to the second wild card in the American League despite just two wins in their last 10 games. … Mitch Moreland added a long ball, No. 22 for the Mississippi State product, in Texas’ 5-1 win over Oakland. The Rangers are a game up on the A’s in the AL West; Oakland leads the wild card race. (Isn’t this fun?) … And former Mississippi Braves stars Evan Gattis and Andrelton Simmons went yard for Atlanta, which beat the New York Mets 3-1 and remained 2 games ahead of the L.A. Dodgers in the race for the best record in the National League. Gattis, just back from a short sojourn at Triple-A Gwinnett, hit homer No. 16, his first since July 24. Simmons belted his 13th, a go-ahead shot in the seventh. P.S. Good to see that Texas recalled Pascagoula High product Joey Butler. The minor league veteran got a call-up in early August when Nelson Cruz was suspended, played in two games (going 2-for-4), then went back to the minors when the Rangers acquired Alex Rios. Butler, in his third tour at Triple-A Round Rock, batted .291 with 12 bombs and 51 RBIs this season.