ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Manuel Margot flared a run-scoring single to right field to complete a two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning and the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Rays beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-4.
Tampa Bay, which holds the top AL wild card, is 1 1/2 games behind AL East-leading Baltimore, which holds the tiebreaker.
Pinch-hitter Harold Ramirez and Yandy Diaz started the ninth with singles off Angels closer Carlos Estevez (5-5). Ramirez went to third on Curtis Mead’s fly ball and scored to tie it at 4 on Isaac Paredes RBI single.
After Randy Arozarena struck out and Josh Lowe walked to load the bases, Margot delievered his opposite-field game-winning hit that handed Estevez his fourth blown save in 34 chances.
GUARDIANS 5, ORIOLES 2
CLEVELAND (AP) — Ramon Laureano drew a bases-loaded walk off Jacob Webb for the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, sending Cleveland past AL East-leading Baltimore.
The Guardians scored three times in the bottom of the eighth — all charged to Cionel Perez (4-2) — immediately after the Orioles tied the game with two in the top half. Canadian Bo Naylor’s run-scoring single and Gabriel Arias’ RBI grounder followed Laureano’s walk that plated Josh Naylor, Bo’s brother.
Baltimore, which is headed to the postseason for the first time since 2016, holds a 1 1/2-game lead over Tampa Bay in the division and for the best record in the AL. The Rays beat the Angels 5-4 earlier in the day.
Trevor Stephan (7-7) gave up two runs in one inning and Emmanuel Clase picked up his major league-best 42nd save in 53 opportunities for Cleveland, which has eight games remaining and trails first-place Minnesota by 8 1/2 games in the AL Central.
BREWERS 6, CARDINALS 0
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Victor Caratini hit a three-run homer and Blake Perkins added a solo shot, leading Milwaukee Brewers to a victory over St. Louis in the final game of a four-game series.
The Brewers’ magic number to clinch their second National League Central title in three years fell to two with nine games to play.
Milwaukee (87-66) could wrap up the division title as soon as Friday in Miami with another victory and a loss by the Chicago Cubs. The number to just clinch a postseason berth is two over the Marlins.
The Brewers have won eight of their last 11 and 22 of their last 31 games.
St. Louis (67-86) fell to 20 games behind first-place Milwaukee in enduring its first losing season since 2007. The Cardinals, now shut out 12 times this season, have lost seven of their last 11 games.
BRAVES 10, NATIONALS 3
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. scored his 140th run of 2023 — the most in the majors in 16 years — after tripling, Matt Olson hit his 53rd homer and Ozzie Albies went deep for one of his four hits, lifting NL East champion Atlanta past last-place Washington.
The Braves out-hit the Nationals 18-8, and every member of Atlanta’s daunting starting lineup reached base at least once. Olson raised his RBI total to 132, equaling Gary Sheffield in 2003 for the most by a Braves player since the club moved to Atlanta. Albies went 4 for 6, including his 32nd homer, with four RBIs to top 100 in a season for the second time in his career.
Austin Riley, Michael Harris II and Orlando Arcia each collected three hits.
Max Fried (8-1), who got extra rest between starts to avoid developing a finger blister, allowed one run — on Alex Call’s homer in the third — and three hits in six innings while striking out seven. He lowered his ERA to 2.55.
YANKEES 5, BLUE JAYS 3
NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole retired the first 16 hitters and pitched eight outstanding innings to strengthen his Cy Young Award credentials as New York moved back over .500 with a victory over Toronto.
Cole (14-4) allowed a run and two hits in his longest outing since pitching a two-hit shutout against Minnesota on April 16. He struck out nine, walked none and permitted two baserunners while lowering his AL-best ERA to 2.75.
Cole won his fourth straight decision since getting tagged for six runs in an 8-1 loss to Boston on Aug. 19. He also allowed two runs or fewer for the major league-best 25th time this year and improved to 8-3 following a New York loss.
Jake Bauers hit a three-run homer four batters in against Jose Berrios (11-11), Aaron Judge and Estevan Florial added RBI doubles and the Yankees avoided a three-game sweep.
PHILLIES 5, METS 4
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Castellanos homered and drove in four runs to reach a career-best 103 RBIs in a season, and Philadelphia maintained its hold on the top NL wild-card spot by beating New York.
Alec Bohm also went deep and Bryce Harper added a pair of hits for the defending NL champion Phillies, who opened a seven-game homestand with their fifth win in their last seven game. Philadelphia (84-69) is 3 games ahead of Arizona for the first NL wild card.
Mark Vientos homered, and Jeff McNeil singled, doubled, tripled and drove in a run for the Mets.
Castellanos hit a 92 mph fastball from Jeff Brigham (1-3) 454 feet off the facing of the second deck in left field in the sixth inning to put Philadelphia in front 5-4.
DODGERS 7, GIANTS 2
LOS ANGELES (AP) — J.D. Martinez’s sacrifice fly drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning and Los Angeles capitalized on two physical and one mental blunder by San Francisco in the series opener.
The Giants have dropped six of seven on their road trip to fall further out of the NL wild-card race.
Will Smith tripled off John Brebbia (3-1) and Martinez followed with the sac fly to right. Mike Yastrzemski wasn’t that deep when he caught the ball flat-footed and then held it for a moment, apparently forgetting there were only two outs.
That gave Smith time enough to charge home for a 3-2 lead.
Two wild pitches by reliever Luke Jackson led to two runs for the NL West champion Dodgers in the seventh.
TIGERS 7, ATHLETICS 3
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Tarik Skubal had a season-high 10 strikeouts in seven strong innings for his fourth consecutive win, and Detroit handed Oakland its eighth consecutive loss.
Kerry Carpenter had his ninth multi-hit game this month and the 34th of the season for Detroit. Matt Vierling added two hits, an RBI and scored twice for the Tigers, who are 6-2 on their final road trip of the season.
Brent Rooker hit his 28th home run for the last-place A’s (46-107), who need to win their final nine games to avoid matching the 1979 A’s (54-108) for the most losses in Oakland history.
Skubal (7-3), who was born in Hayward 20 minutes south of Oakland, had another strong outing for Detroit while pitching in front of a small crowd of 6,160 at the Coliseum. The left-hander allowed two hits, an infield single in the third and a ball that center fielder Parker Meadows appeared to drop but was ruled a hit in the second inning.