Wild Card Roundup: Blue Jays tied for second spot after Rays walk-off Mariners

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Yandy Díaz hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning that gave the Tampa Bay Rays a 7-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.

Taylor Walls drew a two-out walk from Tayler Saucedo (3-2) before Díaz connected on his opposite-field drive to right.

Díaz also had a pinch-hit RBI double during a two-run seventh as Tampa Bay went up 5-4.

The Rays hold a 7 1/2-game lead over Seattle and Toronto for the top AL wild card. Tampa Bay started the day four back of AL East-leading Baltimore, while the Mariners were a half-game behind first-place Houston in the AL West.

Colin Poche (11-3) pitched a perfect ninth to get the win.

Seattle slugger Julio Rodríguez hit his career-high 29th homer and is one short of joining Alex Rodriguez as the only Mariners to have 30 homers and 30 steals in the same season. The center fielder would also become the fourth player under 23 to accomplish the feat, joining A-Rod, Mike Trout and Ronald Acuña Jr.

Tampa Bay third baseman Isaac Paredes left after the fourth with a bruised right hand after being hit by a pitch from Luke Weaver. Paredes is Tampa Bay's leader with 29 homers.

Brandon Lowe had a two-run double in the fifth for the Rays.

Seattle pulled even at 5 in the eighth when Eugenio Suárez reached on an error and later scored on Robert Stephenson's wild pitch.

Rodríguez put the Mariners up 4-1 on his second-inning drive off Aaron Civale that struck an overhanging catwalk. Ty France drove in a pair with a single in Seattle's three-run first.

Civale allowed four runs and four hits over five innings. Acquired from Cleveland on July 31, the right-hander has gone 5 1/3 innings or fewer in six of seven starts with Tampa Bay.

Seattle's Teoscar Hernández went 0 for 3, ending his career-best hitting streak at 17 games.

BLUE JAYS 5, ROYALS 1

The stakes are higher in September, but George Springer loves rising to the occasion.

Springer drove in four runs on three hits, including two home runs, to power the Toronto Blue Jays past the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Saturday. It was a key win for Toronto as it tries to hold on to a wild-card berth.

"What's there not to like? I mean, this is what you play for," said Springer. "This is just a fun time to play. I know that sounds cliché, but this is why you play the game, for moments like this, to be in a playoff race, to be in the hunt."

Cavan Biggio added an RBI single as the Blue Jays (79-63) opened a critical 10-game homestand with back-to-back wins.

Toronto had a two-game lead over the Texas Rangers for the third and final American League wild-card berth after the win. The Rangers hosted the Oakland Athletics on Saturday night.

The Blue Jays host Texas in a four-game series starting Monday, followed by a three-game set at Rogers Centre against the Boston Red Sox.

"This is just a fun time to play, you know? We're obviously right in the middle of it," said Springer. "You have to enjoy the moment. You have to slow down and just breathe and have fun."

Kevin Gausman (11-8) was superb for Toronto, striking out 10 and giving up one run on just two hits over eight innings. Jordan Hicks pitched the ninth.

Manager John Schneider said that having Gausman almost pitch a complete game is helpful for the Blue Jays bullpen in the stretch run.

"You get Hicks out there but he'll probably have the day off tomorrow and get ready for Texas and then everyone else is ready to roll," said Schneider. "Just another reason why I think Kevin is one of the best pitchers in the game.

"He has outings like that and he saves the bullpen."

Edward Olivares belted his 10th home run of the season for lowly Kansas City (44-99).

James McArthur pitched the first two innings of the game before giving way to 2009 Cy Young winner Zack Greinke (1-15), who gave up four runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out four over 3 2/3 innings. Angel Zerpa and Steven Cruz came on in relief.

Springer opened the scoring in the fourth, putting a 78.9 m.p.h. slider from Greinke just over the left-field wall, with one fan diving onto the ball as it bounced around under the seats.

Olivares replied for Kansas City in the next inning, launching an 83.3 m.p.h. slider from Gausman to deep left field. It travelled 431 feet, bouncing off the neon Budweiser sign hanging on the ballpark's middle deck and down into the 100 level.

Springer struck again in the fifth with a base hit up the middle to drive in Alejandro Kirk and Daulton Varsho. Kirk led off the inning with a walk and was moved to third when Varsho doubled to right. Springer's two RBIs gave Toronto a 3-1 lead.

The 41,443 fans at Rogers Centre roared their approval in the sixth when Biggio doubled to right. As the ball bounced in the outfield, burly Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. rounded second, third, and charged home, sliding under a tag from Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez for another run.

Springer's second homer of the day came with two outs in the seventh. He launched an 88.2 m.p.h. slider from Zerpa 382 feet and into the visitor's bullpen. It was his 19th home run of the season and his first multihomer game of the year.

Gausman finished the eighth inning of his quality start with three consecutive strikeouts, adding to his American League-leading total of 224.

"To be honest, I'd rather us win the last 20 games than be in Cy Young Award consideration," said Gausman of being in contention for the AL's best pitcher honour. "But, you know, it's cool. Obviously, there's more starts to go.

"I'm focused on winning games. That's really all I'm worried about."

RANGERS 3, ATHLETICS 2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Robbie Grossman scored the tiebreaking run on a wild pitch in the seventh inning and the Texas Rangers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over Oakland Athletics on Saturday night.

Grossman drew the first of three consecutive two-out walks against Lucas Erceg (3-4). Reliever Francisco Perez took over and uncorked a wild pitch when facing pinch-hitter Jonathan Ornelas in his first major league at-bat. Ornelas had an inning-ending flyout.

The Rangers (77-64) won for only the fifth time in their last 21 games, a span when they have gone from a 3 1/2-game lead to third place in the AL West and also 1 1/2 games back of the American League's third and final wild-card spot.

Nathaniel Lowe and Leody Taveras had RBI singles to give Texas a 2-0 lead in the sixth, when Grossman also walked and scored. But last-place Oakland (44-98) got even in the top of the seventh on Zack Gelof's two run homer.

Will Smith (2-5), the fourth Texas pitcher, worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Aroldis Chapman worked around two walks in the ninth for his fifth save.

All-Star right-hander Nathan Eovaldi started again for the Rangers, four days after his return from the injured list. He was on limited pitches again, and was done with one out in the third inning after giving up his second consecutive single on with one out in the third inning.

Eovaldi struck out three, walked two and gave up three his over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He threw 27 of 47 pitches for strikes after manager Bruce Bochy said before the game that he would be limited to 45-50 pitches.

A’s starter Sean Newcomb threw four scoreless innings. The 6-foot-5 lefty struck out five and walked two.

Martín Pérez walked the first batter he faced to load the bases after relieving Eovaldi, but pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings overall. Pérez, an All-Star last season, was a started through the end of July before being moved to the bullpen after the trade deadline acquisitions of starters Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery,

Eovaldi had missed seven weeks because of a right forearm strain before being reinstated from the IL to pitch Wednesday against Houston without going on a rehab assignment. Eovaldi threw only 35 pitches then, allowing five hits and four runs over 1 1/3 innings, and was pulled after Jose Altuve homered against him for the second time.

That was Eovaldi's first start since two-hit ball over six scoreless innings against Tampa Bay on July 18, when he was tied for the AL lead with 11 wins. Before that, Eovaldi hadn't started for Texas since July 6, but threw a scoreless inning in relief in the All-Star Game the week after that.

ORIOLES 13, RED SOX 12

BOSTON (AP) — Yenier Cano retired Enmanuel Valdéz on a game-ending flyout that stranded the tying run on third as Boston’s ninth-inning rally fell short, and the Baltimore Orioles hung on to beat the Red Sox 13-12 Saturday behind a pair of James McCann home runs for their seventh straight win.

Closing in on its first postseason berth in seven years, the Orioles opened leads of 7-2 in the fourth, 12-6 in the seventh and 13-9 in the ninth as Aaron Hicks and rookie Gunnar Henderson hit three-run homers and Jordan Westburg had a solo shot.

Boston, which outhit the Orioles 23-14, closed in the ninth on Trevor Story's two-run, two-out double and Wilyer Abreu's RBI single before Cano hit a flyout to left that Austin Hays caught well in front of the Green Monster.

The Red Sox loaded the bases again in the ninth and got a two-run double by Trevor Story and RBI single by Wilyer Abreu before Valdez's opposite-field flyout to left fielder Austin Hayes in front of the Green Monster.

Baltimore (90-51) won for the 13th time in 16 games and became the first AL team to reach 90 wins, maintaining a four-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the AL East. Shintaro Fujinami (7-8) pitched 1 2/3 innings.

Boston (72-70) dropped four games behind Toronto for the AL's last wild-card berth and also trails Texas.

In a game that started 1 hour, 32 minutes late because of rain, McCann hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Chris Sale (6-4) and a solo drive in the sixth against Zack Weiss, who gave up Westburg's homer on his next pitch.

Henderson's seventh-inning homer off Mauricio Lovera raised his season total to 24.

Fenway Park was filled with orange-clad Orioles fans, who haven’t seen their club in the postseason since 2016 and have gone without an AL East title since 2014.

Justin Turner hit a two-run homer in the first off Jack Flaherty, who gave up five runs - four earned - and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. Flaherty is 1-2 in six starts since he was acquired from St. Louis for Baltimore's playoff push.

Sale allowed seven runs - six earned - and six hits in four innings. The 34-year-old left-hander was coming off his first win since May 26, ending a stretch in which he was 0-1 in five starts.

ASTROS 7, PADRES 5

HOUSTON (AP) — Yordan Alvarez homered and Kyle Tucker added two RBIs to give him an American League-leading 101 as the Houston Astros used a big fifth inning to rally for a 7-5 win over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night.

The Astros bounced back after losing the opener 11-2 to get their fourth win in five games and increase their lead over the Mariners in the AL West to 1 1/2 games.

The Padres led by 2 after four innings before the Astros scored five runs in the fifth to take a 7-4 lead. Alvarez, who hit a solo homer in the third, had an RBI double in the fifth before Tucker's two-run double put the Astros on top.

It’s just the third win in 13 games at home for the Astros, who are just 36-35 at Minute Maid Park this season.

It’s the second consecutive 100-RBI season for Tucker, who had 107 last season. He moved past injured Texas star Adolis Garcia (100) for the AL lead in RBIs.

Closer Ryan Pressly walked Ha-Seong Kim to start the ninth before giving up a single to Juan Soto with one out. But he struck out Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts to end the threat and get his 30th save.

Jurickson Profar had three hits, highlighted by a two-run homer and Luis Campusano added two hits and an RBI for the the Padres, who went 3 for 12 with runners in scoring position.

The Astros went to their bullpen early after starter Cristian Javier allowed four hits and four runs in just four innings. Phil Maton (4-3) pitched a perfect fifth for the win.

San Diego’s Seth Lugo (6-7) gave up seven hits and six runs in 4 1/3 innings.

There were two outs in the third when Alvarez connected off Lugo on his soaring shot to the second deck in right-center to put the Astros on top 1-0.

Soto walked to open the fourth before scoring on a two-out single by Campusano that tied it at 1-1.

Profar, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A El Paso Friday, followed with his home run to right field to give San Diego a 3-1 lead.

Javier walked Matthew Batten and he stole second base. Trent Grisham smacked a liner to right field for a double to score him and make it 4-1.

The Astros added a run in the fourth when Abreu walked and later scored on a groundout by Mauricio Dubón that cut the lead to 4-2.

There were two on and no outs in the fifth when Alvarez hit a ground-rule double that bounced off the track in center field and into the seats to score 1 and get the Astros within 4-3.

Alex Bregman grounded out before Tucker drove in two more with a ground-rule double to the corner of right field to put Houston on top 5-4 and chase Lugo.

Nick Martinez took over and was greeted by an RBI single by Abreu. Michael Brantley and Dubón hit consecutive singles to load the bases before Martín Maldonado’s single extended the lead to 7-4.

The Padres finally got out of the inning when Jose Altuve grounded into a double play.

San Diego hit three straight singles with one out in the sixth to add a run and cut the lead to 7-5. Kendall Graveman then walked Grisham to load the bases and end his night. Héctor Neris came in and retired Kim and Fernando Tatis Jr. on pop ups to preserve the lead.

TWINS 8, METS 4

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) When Max Kepler smashed a middle-of-the-plate slider toward the seats above right-center field with the bases loaded and two outs for the Minnesota Twins in the seventh inning of a one-run game, he turned toward his dugout and smirked at his teammates.

The ball struck the wall a few inches short of the flower boxes, forcing Kepler to recalibrate from a grand slam trot to a race around the bases.

Thanks to a friendly carom, Kepler easily made it to third. That's how well the second half of the season has been going for the right fielder.

Kyle Farmer went 3 for 4 with a pair of two-out RBIs, Kepler had a pinch-hit three-run triple and the AL Central-leading Twins beat the New York Mets 8-4 on Saturday.

“It feels like you’re capable of pretty much anything when the whole lineup is producing and having good at-bats and finding ways to get on base,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Kenta Maeda (4-7) won for the first time in six starts and Willi Castro went 3 for 4 with a home run for the Twins, who moved eight games above .500 for the first time since July 24, 2022.

Minnesota's magic number for clinching the division dropped to 14 with 20 games to go, having begun the day with a 6½-game lead on Cleveland. The Guardians played later at the Los Angeles Angels.

“We bring the same energy every day,” Castro said. “I just think that’s what a winning team does.”

After struggling through the last three years and into the first half of this season, the low-key Kepler has been bringing plenty of that mojo himself. After his big hit off reliever Drew Smith in the seventh and subsequent headfirst dive into third, he pointed at the dugout and gave third base coach Tommy Watkins an exaggerated hand slap.

Kepler, who played through a broken toe for much of last season, is batting .301 with 26 RBIs and a .919 OPS in 49 games after the All-Star break.

“When the body feels good, then my mind feels good,” Kepler said.

Brandon Nimmo hit his fifth leadoff homer of the year and Daniel Vogelbach added an RBI single in the first inning to give the Mets a quick lead, but David Peterson (3-8) didn't hold it despite finishing six innings for the fourth time in 18 starts and posting a season-high eight strikeouts.

All of Minnesota's runs scored with two outs, starting with a two-run single by Donovan Solano in the first. After Jordan Luplow hustled for a double in the third inning, Farmer drove him in with a single.

Pete Alonso hit his 43rd homer and D.J. Stewart also went deep in the eighth inning off rookie Louie Varland, but the Mets fell to 29-44 on the road. New York (64-77) matched its season low of 13 games under. 500.

Minnesota, which won the series opener 5-2, improved to 42-29 at home this year.

BREWERS 9, YANKEES 2

NEW YORK (AP) — After honoring their historic 125-win championship team of 1998, the New York Yankees gave another performance that showed how far the franchise has fallen.

Jonathan Loáisiga allowed a go-ahead homer to No. 9 hitter Tyrone Taylor to start a three-run eighth inning Saturday and the Yankees fell two games below .500 with a 9-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

New York had four hits and managed just seven in the first two games of the series, getting outscored 13-0 from the seventh inning on. The Yankees (70-72) have lost three straight by a combined 27-7 after winning eight of nine and are in danger of their first losing season since 1992.

“It’s tough,” Yankees captain Aaron Judge said. “We kind of got on a little roll there and obviously a little skid here, but that’s baseball.”

Former captain Derek Jeter attended his first Old-Timers' Day since retiring joining Core Four teammates Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera for a 25th reunion of the 1998 juggernaut.

“Getting a chance to see those guys, having them mingling around here was pretty cool,” Judge said.

After a 2-hour, 34-minute rain delay that flooded the outfield, Milwaukee (79-62) opened a four-game NL Central lead over the second-place Chicago Cubs. The Brewers have 16 of their 27 hits in the series during innings seven through nine.

“That swing by Tyrone, it just changes the game,” manager Craig Counsell said.

Milwaukee went ahead 2-0 in the fourth on Willy Adames’ Little League home run. Adames hit an RBI triple and continued home when first baseman DJ LeMahieu’s throw sailed past third for an error.

New York tied the score in the bottom half on Anthony Volpe’s RBI single and Oswald Peraza’s run-scoring grounder.

With the score 2-2, Taylor hit a 1-0 sinker off Loáisiga (0-2) down the left-field line for his sixth homer. Taylor was inserted into Milwaukee’s lineup when Yelich was scratched due to lower back soreness about 10 minutes the scheduled start.

“Tyrone’s been in there, and you just got to be ready,” Counsell said.

Taylor hit his second career homer that gave his team the lead in the eighth inning or later. The Yankees have allowed 18 homers to No. 9 hitters.

“I was just trying to be on top for a heater there,” Taylor said. “He missed away with the first one and then I was hoping that he would overcorrect and leave one over the middle but I think it ended up being a pretty solid pitch in”

Loáisiga has allowed five runs over 1 2/3 innings in the first two games of the series.

After Taylor’s homer, Mark Canha hit a bloop RBI single and pinch-hitter Victor Caratini had a sacrifice fly. William Contreras had a two-run single in the ninth, when Ron Marinaccio walked in two runs.

Joel Payamps (5-4) struck out rookie Jasson Domínguez with Judge on first to end the seventh. Domínguez was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.