A busy Monday night saw some wild-card contenders gain ground, while some other teams fell further behind.
The Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins all picked up key wins to close in on the idle Cleveland Guardians for the final wild-card spot. Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers remained stuck in a rut that might be too large to overcome.
Here is how the standings look after Monday's action:
Toronto: at Cleveland, 6:40 p.m., Sportsnet, Sportsnet+
Cleveland: vs. Toronto, 6:40 p.m., Sportsnet, Sportsnet+
Boston: vs. Seattle, 6:45 p.m., Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+
Seattle: at Boston, 6:45 p.m., Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+
Minnesota: vs. Tigers, 7:40 p.m., Sportsnet+
Detroit: at Twins, 7:40 p.m., Sportsnet+
New York Yankees: at Los Angeles Angels, 9:38 p.m., Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+
Texas: vs. Athletics, 8:05 p.m.
Baltimore: at Rockies, 8:40 p.m.
MONDAY'S RESULTS
RED SOX 9, MARINERS 8 (10 INNINGS)
BOSTON — Trevor Story drove in the winning run with a bases-loaded single in the 10th inning after Seattle walked the two batters before him intentionally, lifting the Boston Red Sox to a 9-8 comeback victory over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night.
Jarren Duran hit a two-run homer and Mickey Gasper a solo shot for the Red Sox, who were coming off a rough weekend when they dropped three of four to the Yankees.
Randy Arozarena had four hits, including a homer over the Green Monster, drove in four runs and scored three times for the Mariners, who have lost five straight.
Aroldis Chapman (3-4) worked a scoreless 10th.
Nick Sogard sacrificed, then the Mariners walked the next two batters, before Story lined a 3-2 pitch from Cooper Criswell (2-2) into the left-center gap.
Boston tied it against Andrés Muñoz in the ninth. Roman Anthony had a leadoff triple when center fielder Julio Rodríguez tried to make a sliding catch before the ball hopped past him, and scored on Ceddanne Rafaela’s fly to left.
TWINS 11, TIGERS 1
MINNEAPOLIS — Ryan Jeffers had two homers, Walker Jenkins went deep for the first time in his major league career, and Minnesota beat Detroit.
Taj Bradley (10-6) struck out nine in seven innings, his seventh outing with at least nine strikeouts. The 25-year-old right-hander allowed one run on four hits and allowed three walks.
Jenkins, the Twins’ fifth overall selection in the 2023 draft, had a two-run homer in the eighth off of position player Zach McKinstry for his first big-league knock. The 21-year-old is the third-youngest player in baseball and was the top prospect in the Twins system before his call-up on Friday.
The Twins led 2-0 through four innings after a sac fly and homer from Kody Clemens. They scored three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to take a commanding lead.
Jeffers’ first homer was a 420-foot, three-run shot to left-center in the fifth. Brooks Lee cleared the bases with a three-run single to right in the sixth.
Lee was thrown out after trying to stretch a double, but the throw to second allowed Luke Keaschall to score from first.
Jackson Jobe (1-2) allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits and struck out four in five innings.
ORIOLES 2, ROCKIES 1
DENVER — Colton Cowser made a spectacular leaping catch above the center-field fence for the final out, robbing Jake McCarthy of a game-winning homer and preserving the Baltimore Orioles' 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.
Cade Povich pitched five solid innings and Cowser drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh following a 98-minute rain delay at Coors Field.
Baltimore (69-69) has won four straight and six of seven to reach .500 for the first time since taking the first game of a doubleheader against Houston 10-3 on April 30. The surging Orioles moved within a half-game of idle Cleveland in the crowded chase for the last American League wild card.
The Rockies have lost five in a row overall and a franchise-record 10 straight at home, the longest home losing streak in the majors this season.
RANGERS 8, ATHLETICS 1
ARLINGTON, Texas — Jacob deGrom allowed a second-inning single in seven shutout innings while bouncing back from one of his worst major league starts, and Texas beat the Athletics.
Brandon Nimmo had two hits, two RBIs and scored a run, and Justin Foscue added a solo home run for the Rangers (68-70), who trail Cleveland by 1 1/2 games in the race for the final AL wild-card spot.
Lawrence Butler led off the second inning with a sharp hit to right field off DeGrom (10-9), who struck out eight. The 38-year-old right-hander was coming off an outing in which he matched career highs by allowing six runs in the first inning and eight total in 3 2/3 innings last Tuesday at the Chicago White Sox.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner is 7-2 at home this season with a 2.42 ERA, compared to 3-7 with a 5.86 ERA away from Globe Life Field. In his previous home start, deGrom allowed one hit in six shutout innings against Washington while matching a season high with 10 strikeouts.
Rookie Gage Jump (6-9) allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings for the Athletics (53-85), who have lost four straight. They finished August 8-20, their worst performance in the month since going 7-21 in 1978.
METS 3, RAYS 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Robert Stock pitched shutout ball into the sixth inning for his first major league win in seven years, Mark Vientos homered in his return from the injured list and New York beat Tampa Bay.
Francisco Alvarez had an RBI single and left fielder Christopher Morel made two pivotal defensive plays as the last-place Mets stopped Tampa Bay’s four-game winning streak. New York, which snapped an eight-game skid at Tropicana Field, had lost six in a row and 11 of 13 to the Rays overall.
Liam Hicks and Chandler Simpson each had an RBI single with two outs in the eighth to pull the Rays to 3-2.
Kodai Senga worked a scoreless ninth for his fifth save.
Tampa Bay has the best record in the American League at 82-55 and began the day with a 4 1/2-game lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees.
ASTROS 6, WHITE SOX 3
HOUSTON — Nelson Velázquez hit a two-run homer and Cam Smith added a two-run double to lead Houston to a win over Chicago in a series opener between American League division leaders.
It was the fourth victory in five games for the Astros, who remained two games ahead of second-place Texas in the AL West.
Houston led by one with one out in the fifth when starter Anthony Kay (9-7) walked Christian Walker with the bases loaded to make it 4-2.
Trevor Richards replaced Kay with two outs and Smith doubled to left field, sending home two more runners to make it 6-2.
Colson Montgomery hit his 29th homer to cut it to 6-3 in the seventh. But the AL Central leaders couldn’t muster any offense after that as they lost their second straight.
ANGELS 10, YANKEES 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Vaughn Grissom drove in four runs, rookie Walbert Ureña pitched seven strong innings and Los Angeles ended a seven-game losing streak with a victory over sloppy New York.
Mike Trout had a two-run single and Christian Moore drove in a pair of runs as the Angels won at home for the first time since Aug. 15. Ureña (9-9) gave up five hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.
Elmer Rodríguez (0-3) failed to make it out of the fourth for the Yankees, allowing four runs and four hits with three walks over 3 2/3 innings. It was the shortest of his six career starts since making his major league debut in April.
Spencer Jones homered for the Yankees, who committed three errors after scoring a combined 25 runs in consecutive wins over the rival Boston Red Sox at home last weekend. New York is three games ahead of Boston for the top American League wild card and 4 1/2 games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.
The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the third on Grissom’s run-scoring single. Zach Neto had an RBI single in the fourth after both Oswald Peraza and Tyler Heineman were hit by pitches from Rodríguez with two outs.
Trout added his two-run single in the fourth for his first multi-RBI hit since a two-run homer on July 8.
CUBS 17, BREWERS 3
CHICAGO — Alex Bregman hit three of Chicago’s franchise-record nine home runs and the Cubs wrapped up their August power display with a blowout of Milwaukee.
Clay Holmes pitched six scoreless innings for the Cubs, who launched five homers off Milwaukee starter Kyle Harrison in the first four innings and three more against position player Andrew Vaughn late in the game.
The nine longballs matched the second-most by one team in a major league game, according to Sportradar. Toronto hit 10 during an 18-3 victory over Baltimore on Sept. 14, 1987.
Chicago finished August with 62 home runs, second-most by a big league club in a calendar month behind the 74 hit by the New York Yankees in August 2019.
GIANTS 7, BRAVES 3
ATLANTA — Rafael Devers hit his 30th home run of the season and rookie Turner Hill had a two-run double as San Francisco snapped Atlanta's seven-game winning streak.
Anthony Molina (2-0), who was traded from the Braves to the Giants at the deadline, picked up the win against his former team in his first start of the season. He surrendered three runs in five innings and struck out a career-high six.
Jason Foley, Reiver Sanmartin and Dylan Smith combined for four shutout innings out of the bullpen in a game that was a makeup of a June 18 rainout.
Devers’ first-inning home run to right field marked the fifth time in his career he has reached the 30-home run mark and was his fourth home run in his last eight games. He was 1 for 3 with two runs scored and two walks.
Atlanta starter Bryce Elder (8-8) allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings. Michael Harris II hit his 23rd home run for the Braves.
Osleivis Basabe hit a home run to lead off a four-run sixth inning for the Giants that gave them a 6-3 lead. Hill had a pinch-hit, two-run double off Dylan Lee to break a 3-3 tie, and fellow rookie Bryce Eldridge capped the rally with an RBI single. Rookie Jonah Cox added a solo home run in the ninth inning.
PADRES 5, REDS 0
CINCINNATI — Manny Machado had four hits, Michael King struck out six in six innings and San Diego defeated Cincinnati.
San Diego bounced back from a three-game sweep at Tampa Bay and moved into a tie with Arizona for the third NL wild-card spot. Arizona hosts Philadelphia later Monday.
King (9-9) worked his fifth consecutive quality start, allowing four hits and three walks. The last Padres pitcher to post five or more consecutive quality outings was Matt Waldron, from May 28-June 24, 2024.
Machado had a double and three singles in his first four-hit game since July 27, 2025.
The Padres jumped into the lead with a four-run fourth inning. Jackson Merrill hit an RBI single, Xander Bogaerts added a two-run double, and Dustin Harris knocked in another run before the first out of the inning.
Ty France hit a single that drove Fernando Tatis Jr. across in the seventh to complete the scoring.
Kyle Hart threw two scoreless innings and struck out four, and Wandy Peralta struck out one in the ninth to finish off the shutout.
Brady Singer (5-13) allowed four runs on 10 hits and struck out five in 4 1/3 innings.
NATIONALS 6, MARLINS 3
WASHINGTON — Daylen Lile homered twice and drove in four runs, Erik Tolman pitched out of a bases-loaded jam to earn his first major league save, and Washington beat Miami.
The Marlins dropped three of four to the Nationals and fell four games behind Arizona in the race for the final NL wild-card spot.
Lile, named the NL player of the week earlier Monday, finished 3 for 3. The second-year outfielder has five homers over his past eight games to reach 20 for the season.
Brady House was 2 for 4 with an RBI for the Nationals. Andrew Pinckney and Keibert Ruiz also had two hits apiece.
Tolman replaced Matt Waldron with the bases loaded and nobody out in the eighth. He struck out Kyle Stowers, then induced a double-play grounder from Leo Jiménez. Tolman then struck out the side in the ninth.
Waldron (2-2) allowed five hits across three scoreless innings.
PHILLIES 2, DIAMONDBACKS 1
PHOENIX — Bryson Stott hit a homer, Aaron Nola provided another solid start on the mound and Philadelphia finished a torrid August with a victory over Arizona.
The Phillies have won five straight, 14 of their past 16 and finished with a 21-7 record in August, which was the best mark in the big leagues. They’re now just four games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.
Stott crushed a 464-foot homer to right field in the second that gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Bryce Harper’s double off the center field wall in the third scored Garrett Stubbs and pushed the advantage to 2-0.
Nola (6-10) pitched into the sixth inning, giving up one run on five hits and two walks, striking out five. The veteran right-hander has given up two runs or less in five straight starts.
Alex McFarlane, Orion Kerkering, Brooks Raley, Jose Alvarado and Jhoan Duran combined for four scoreless innings of relief. Duran earned his 29th save in 31 chances, stranding runners on first and third.
Three-time All-Star Ketel Marte made his return for the Diamondbacks, two weeks after he failed to show up for a game in Boston. He was the designated hitter, batted cleanup and was 1 for 3 at the plate with a single and a walk.
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