Matt Kemp scored a phantom run early, then hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning -- right after Washington rallied with a six-run eighth -- and the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers grabbed a 7-6 victory Wednesday night for a doubleheader split that prevented the Nationals from sewing up a playoff berth.

Kemp was credited with crossing home to give Los Angeles a 6-0 lead in the fourth, even though TV replays showed the inning's last out already had been recorded on third baseman Ryan Zimmerman's head-over-heels, reaching tag of runner Adrian Gonzalez.

Informed that he should not have scored, Kemp said: "Actually, yeah, I don't think I did. But we got lucky right there. We stole a run."

That extra run loomed large when the hosts -- who had won the opener 3-1 thanks largely to Jordan Zimmermann's six innings of one-run baseball -- wound up sending 12 batters to the plate while scoring six runs in the eighth. Michael Morse had a homer and a two-run single, and Washington chased Josh Beckett, who had allowed only two hits through seven innings.

The announced crowd of 26,931 was getting loud, perhaps anticipating a comeback and playoff-clinching victory, when Kemp drove an 0-2 pitch from closer Tyler Clippard (2-5) over the wall in center for his 19th homer.

Yankees: Andy Pettitte was a little unsettled by an uncharacteristically thin crowd at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday afternoon compared to the raucous

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environment found at many of his big September and October starts. Still, the 40-year-old lefty was pumped to finally be back on the mound when it mattered most to his team.

Pettitte pitched five sparkling innings in his return from a broken leg and Ichiro Suzuki made a difficult catch to preserve a lead, keeping New York atop the A.L. East with a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of a day-night doubleheader. The Yankees won the nightcap 2-1.

"The beginning of the game it was almost like you could hear people talking -- I'm just trying to focus," Pettitte said. "I think for me it probably would've been better if we had a packed house."

Pettitte (4-3) looked his old steely self in giving up four hits in his first September start since 2010. He was injured on June 27.

  • Toronto's Omar Vizquel moved ahead of Babe Ruth on the career hits list with an RBI double in the eighth inning of the opener. Vizquel, 45, had two hits to move into 41st place with 2,874.

    Orioles: Adam Jones hit a two-run homer in the top of the 11th inning and Baltimore won its 15th straight extra-innings game with a 3-1 victory over Seattle. A night after the teams played an 18-inning marathon that lasted nearly six hours, Jones, the one-time Mariners prospect, gave Baltimore a huge boost in its race with the Yankees in the A.L. East. Additionally, the Orioles moved ahead of the A's into the top wild-card spot.

    Reds: Manager Dusty Baker was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat and was expected to stay overnight in a Chicago hospital.

    TV deals: Major League Baseball is nearing agreements with Fox and Turner Sports on eight-year contracts through 2021, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.