MLB Playoff Push: Harper homers twice, Phillies cool off Mets

PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper homered twice, Cal Stevenson hit a two-run, go-ahead double in the seventh and made a run-saving, highlight-reel catch in the eighth and NL East-leading Philadelphia rallied to cool off New York.

J.T. Realmuto added an RBI double for the Phillies, who have won 10 of 13 and lead the Mets by eight games in the division. The teams will wrap up the three-game series on Sunday afternoon before the Mets host the Phillies for four games Sept. 19-22.

Starling Marte singled, tripled and drove in three runs and Luisangel Acuña had a pair of singles in his major-league debut for the Mets, who lost for just the third time in the last 15 games. New York began play Saturday holding the final wild card spot in the National League, one game ahead of the Braves.

ROYALS 5, PIRATES 1

PITTSBURGH — Bobby Witt Jr. drove in his 100th run of the season with a solo homer in the first inning, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 on Saturday.

Witt also hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth and a run-scoring double in the sixth. He went 2 for 3 to raise his MLB-leading batting average to .333. He also has 31 homers and 102 RBIs.

Michael Wacha (13-7) gave up one run in five innings to improve to 9-1 with a 2.68 ERA in 13 starts since the beginning of July. He allowed four hits, walked three and struck out eight.

The Royals won for the seventh time in nine games since a seven-game losing streak as they try to reach the postseason for the first time since winning the World Series in 2015. The Royals also assured themselves of their first winning season since 2015 by raising their record to 82-67.

RED SOX 7, YANKEES 1

NEW YORK — Rafael Devers’ intentional walk by Gerrit Cole with no one on base sparked a three-run fourth inning, and Devers added a two-run single in Boston’s four-run fifth as the Red Sox beat New York.

Cole (6-5), the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, hadn’t allowed a hit and led 1-0 when he walked Devers with one out in the fourth. Boston’s only runner until then had been Devers, who was hit by a pitch in the first and erased on a double play.

After retiring nine of his first 10 batters, Cole allowed 10 of the next 12 to reach base. The 34-year-old right-hander gave up seven runs, his most since June 9, 2022, hit a career-high three batters and left after 4 1/3 innings.

Brayan Bello (14-7) gave up one run and four hits in 5 1/3 innings for the Red Sox.

BLUE JAYS 7, CARDINALS 2

TORONTO — José Berríos pitched seven strong innings to win his seventh straight start, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in his 500th career run and scored twice, and Toronto beat St. Louis.

Guerrero, 25, is the youngest player in Blue Jays history to reach 500 RBIs. Davis Schneider went 3 for 4 with a home run and drove in two as Toronto won its second straight.

Addison Barger had two hits and an RBI and Alejandro Kirk drove in a pair as the Blue Jays handed the Cardinals their first series loss against an AL East opponent in more than two years.

Berríos allowed one run and two hits, walked two and struck out four. He’s 3-0 in five career starts against St. Louis.

Ryan Burr worked the eighth and Luis Frías finished for Toronto.

NATIONALS 4, MARLINS 1

WASHINGTON — Jose Tena had two hits including a home run, Patrick Corbin pitched six innings and Washington beat Miami.

Joey Gallo and Juan Yepez also homered for Washington, which has won three of four, and Keibert Ruiz had two hits.

Tena is 13-for-36 (.361) in his past nine games, hitting safely in eight of them.

Corbin (6-13) has won four of his past five starts. He allowed a run on three hits with a walk and six strikeouts. Corbin didn’t allow a hit after the second inning and retired 13 of his last 15 batters.

Kyle Finnegan pitched the ninth for his 38th save, third most in the Majors.

ORIOLES 4, TIGERS 1

DETROIT (AP) — One day after breaking up a no-hitter in the ninth inning, Gunnar Henderson homered and doubled to help Baltimore beat Detroit.

Henderson drove in two runs and scored twice to help the Orioles move within two games of the AL East-leading Yankees. The All-Star shortstop tripled with two out in the ninth for Baltimore’s only hit in a 1-0 loss to Detroit on Friday night.

The Tigers trailed 4-0 going into the ninth on Saturday, but Parker Meadows ended Detroit’s scoreless streak at 15 innings with a homer off Seranthony Domínguez. Colt Keith followed with a single, but Domínguez retired Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene on deep flyballs.

GUARDIANS 6, RAYS 1

CLEVELAND (AP) — Lane Thomas and José Ramírez hit back-to-back eighth-inning homers and Joey Cantillo pitched five scoreless innings as AL Central-leading Cleveland beat Tampa Bay.

The Guardians remained three games ahead of second-place Kansas City in the division with 13 games remaining. Cleveland has the best home record in the AL at 44-27 and is 85-64 overall, second in the league to the New York Yankees.

Josh Naylor’s two-run single through a drawn-in infield ignited a three-run sixth that extended Cleveland’s lead to 4-0. David Fry added a sacrifice fly off Tyler Alexander (6-5), scoring Ramírez, who had been intentionally walked for a franchise-record 88th time.

Thomas and Ramírez tacked on solo homers in the eighth against Hunter Bigge.

REDS 11, TWINS 1

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — TJ Friedl went 4 for 4 with a two-run homer and Nick Martinez pitched six strong innings for his third straight win as Cincinnati routed scuffling Minnesota.

Jake Fraley had three hits for the Reds, including a solo homer. Cincinnati scored nine times in the fourth to put away the game early.

Minnesota remained 2 1/2 games ahead of Detroit for the final American League playoff berth but dropped 3 1/2 games behind Kansas City for the league’s second wild card.

Martinez (8-6) allowed one run and three hits with no walks and six strikeouts. In three September starts, he’s 3-0 with a 0.48 ERA.

WHITE SOX 7, ATHLETICS 6

CHICAGO (AP) — Andrew Benintendi hit a leadoff homer in the ninth inning, and Chicago stopped a 16-game home losing streak by edging Oakland.

Benintendi, Luis Robert Jr., Nicky Lopez and Lenyn Sosa each had three hits for Chicago, which had dropped four in a row overall. Lopez finished with three RBIs.

The home slide was a franchise record. At 34-115, the White Sox are hoping to avoid the majors’ post-1900 record for losses — 120 by the 1962 New York Mets in their inaugural season.

Chicago carried a 6-3 lead into the ninth, but Oakland rallied against Justin Anderson. Two runs scored on an error on Sosa at third. Zack Gelof hit a tying RBI single off Gus Varland, but Shea Langeliers was thrown out at the plate by left fielder Zach DeLoach.

BRAVES 10, DODGERS 1

ATLANTA (AP) — Chris Sale allowed one run and struck out six over six innings, shutting down Shohei Ohtani in the process, for his major league-leading 17th win of the season as Atlanta beat Los Angeles.

Ohtani, who had a strikeout and walk, has stalled in his quest to be the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, going 0 for 6 in his last two games since hitting his major league-best 47th home run on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs.

Sale (17-3), who hasn’t been charged with a loss since June 27, became the first player in Braves franchise history to allow no more than two earned runs in 17 straight starts, passing Hall of Famer Greg Maddux’s previous record of 16 starts. He also surpassed Padres starter Dylan Cease for most strikeouts in the NL this season with 219.

Atlanta is now a season-high 14 games over .500 and pulled even with the Mets for the final NL wild-card spot. New York lost at the Phillies 6-4 on Saturday night.

ROCKIES 6, CUBS 5, 10 INNINGS

DENVER (AP) — Pinch-hitter Sam Hilliard tied the score with a two-run homer in the ninth inning and Brenton Doyle delivered a game-winning single in the 10th as Colorado rallied to beat Chicago.

Michael Toglia homered, Charlie Blackmon had three hits and Doyle drove in three runs for the last-place Rockies, who took their second consecutive game from Chicago.

Cody Bellinger and Pete Crow-Armstrong each hit a solo homer for the Cubs, who are six games behind the Braves and Mets for the third NL wild card.

The Rockies trailed 5-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, and their first two batters struck out against reliever Porter Hodge. But then Hunter Goodman drew a walk to bring up Hilliard, who was batting for Jordan Beck.

BREWERS 15, DIAMONDBACKS 8

PHOENIX (AP) — Willy Adames hit a grand slam as part of a two-homer night, Garrett Mitchell added a two-run homer and Milwaukee beat Arizona.

Milwaukee’s magic number to win the NL Central is down to 3. The Brewers will go for the three-game sweep Sunday.

Arizona (82-66) still has sole possession of the second NL wild-card spot, but is just one game ahead of the Atlanta Braves (81-67) and the New York Mets (81-67) with 14 games to play.

Milwaukee’s Tobias Myers (8-5) gave up four runs on nine hits over six innings. He struck out three.

PADRES 8, GIANTS 0

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Joe Musgrove struck out eight in six innings, Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill both drove in two runs and San Diego beat San Francisco To hand the Giants their third straight shutout.

Donovan Solano had four of San Diego’s 17 hits and Xander Bogaerts homered for the Padres, who hold the top National League wild card. They clawed within 3 1/2 games of the first-place Dodgers in the NL West.

The Giants have lost four of five. They’ve been shut out in three consecutive games for the first time since 1992 and just the fourth time in the San Francisco era (since 1958).

ASTROS 5, ANGELS 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Justin Verlander picked up his first win since returning from a neck injury and Yordan Alvarez hit a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning as Houston defeated Los Angeles.

Kyle Tucker added a pinch-hit homer, Jose Altuve had two hits and two runs scored, and the Astros won their third straight to remain 4 1/2 games ahead of second-place Seattle in the AL West.

Verlander (4-6) gave up two runs and four hits over five innings after he was 0-4 with a 9.69 ERA in four starts since returning Aug. 21 following a 2 1/2-month absence due to neck stiffness. He had two walks and two strikeouts while earning his first win since May 24 against Oakland.

Ryan Pressly pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for his fourth save.

MARINERS 5, RANGERS 4

SEATTLE (AP) — Randy Arozarena had a one-out bases-loaded single in the ninth inning to give Seattle Mariners a victory over Texas.

Victor Robles doubled and stole third, and Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh walked before Arozarena hit a sharp ground ball off José Leclerc (6-5) that got by shortstop Josh Smith to score Robles. Arozarena has four career walk-off hits — three singles and a home run.

With Houston’s victory over the Los Angeles Angels, the Mariners remained 4 1/2 games back in the AL West standings, and are 2 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins for the final AL wild-card spot.

Andrés Muñoz (3-6) pitched a scoreless ninth for the victory.