American League Wild-Card Roundup: Blue Jays, Orioles one game out

The race for the third wild-card spot in the American League is even tighter after Friday’s results.

Wins by the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles and losses by the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers leave six teams within 1.5 games of the final playoff spot.

Here is an updated look at how the American League standings look after Friday’s results:

PITTSBURGH — Brandon Lowe hit a three-run home run and rookie Rafael Flores Jr. homered for the third time in two days to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

Lowe’s homer came in the fifth inning off Jovani Moran and landed in the right-field stands, extending the Pirates’ lead to 7-2 as they won back-to-back games for the first time since July 26-27. Flores hit a solo shot off Jake Bennett (7-6) in the second to open the scoring after connecting twice Thursday in a 13-1 victory at Miami.

Rookie Esmerlyn Valdez hit a two-run double in the third and scored on a single by Flores to make it 4-0. Lowe had three hits and Bryan Reynolds added two.

The Red Sox lost for the sixth time in seven games after winning 28 of 36. They had runners on first and second with two outs in the ninth, but Mason Montgomery escaped the jam for his third save.

Rookie Bubba Chandler (6-8) won his third straight start, allowing two runs and four hits in five innings with five strikeouts and two walks. Bennett gave up four runs over four innings while losing for the fourth time in four starts.

Nick Sogard drove in two runs for the Red Sox.

TORONTO — Shane Bieber threw six strong innings and Alejandro Kirk homered to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 3-1 win over the New York Yankees on Friday night at Rogers Centre.

Relievers Tyler Rogers and Mason Fluharty threw an inning apiece before Louis Varland came on to pick up his 27th save as Toronto (60-64) won for the fourth time in five games.

Trent Grisham hit a solo homer in the sixth inning for New York. The Blue Jays took advantage of some suspect defence in the bottom half of the frame to take the lead.

With two runners on, George Springer hit a chopper to Ryan McMahon, who stepped on third base for the force but made a low throw to first.

Luis Garcia Jr. couldn’t corral the ball and then threw to third base before shortstop George Lombard Jr. was in position. Lombard collided with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto slugger scored when the ball rolled into foul territory.

Springer then came across with the go-ahead run on a double by Kirk. Guerrero, who appeared to be shaken up, was removed from the game and replaced by Charles McAdoo.

DETROIT — Miguel Vargas homered twice, Tristan Peters and Munetaka Murakami went deep once each, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 9-5 on Friday night

Vargas went 4 for 5 and had his third multihomer game as the White Sox extended their lead atop the AL Central to 3 1/2 games. Peters and Braden Montgomery had three hits each.

Montgomery gave the White Sox the lead with an RBI single in the first, but Detroit pulled ahead 3-1 on Ben Malgeri’s two-run homer in the second and Eduardo Valencia’s RBI double in the third.

Peters’ seventh home run of the season tied the game at 3-all in the fourth. Murakami gave the White Sox the lead for good three batters later with a solo shot, and Montgomery tripled to drive in two more and cap off a five-run inning.

Vargas hit his first home run in the sixth and added his second in the eighth.

CLEVELAND — Luis Campusano and Xander Bogaerts each drove in three runs, Fernando Tatis Jr. homered for the fifth time in nine games and the San Diego Padres overcame an early three-run deficit to defeat the Cleveland Guardians 7-5 on Friday night.

The Padres have won six straight and 16 of 20 since July 24 while the Guardians have dropped five of their last six and are 8-18 since the All-Star break.

Campusano had a pair of doubles, including one off the wall in right-center with the bases loaded in the fifth inning to drive in two runs and give the Padres a 5-3 lead.

Bogaerts hit a towering two-run homer to left-center in the fourth to get the Padres within a run. Tatis tied it on the first pitch of the fifth when he connected on an elevated sinker from Cleveland starter Gavin Williams (11-7) for a solo shot to left field.

Cleveland’s Nathaniel Lowe had three hits and drove in a pair of runs. The first baseman went opposite field to left for his 14th home run in the second and then had an RBI base hit in the third to extend Cleveland’s lead to 3-0. Brayan Rocchio also went deep with one out in the third when he lined an elevated sinker by Padres stater Michael King (8-8) over the wall in right.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Dylan Beavers hit a two-run, pinch-hit single in the seventh to put Baltimore ahead to stay, Gunnar Henderson and Colton Cowser homered, and the Orioles beat Tampa Bay 6-5 on Friday night to snap the Rays’ nine-game win streak.

Chris Bassit, activated off the 60-day IL before the game, allowed two runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings in his first appearance since June 3.

Josh Walker (1-0) earned the win with 2/3 innings in relief and Cam Sanders got the final out to end Tampa Bay’s three-run ninth-inning rally for his second save.

Garrett Cleavinger (4-4) took the loss as Tampa Bay used six relievers behind opener Steven Matz. The Rays, who returned home following a 9-0 road trip, maintain a 6 1/2-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East.

Beavers greeted reliever Kevin Kelly with a base hit to right field with the bases loaded to break a 2-2 tie. Henderson hit a two-run home run off Chris Roycroft in the eighth, which proved to be the difference after the Rays scored three times in the ninth.

ASTROS 10, MARINERS 7 (10 INNINGS)

HOUSTON — Christian Walker’s three-run home run with two outs in the 10th inning lifted the Houston Astros to a 10-7 win over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.

Yordan Alvarez hit a solo shot, his AL-leading 36th of the season, in the first. Isaac Paredes had two hits and drove in three runs.

The Mariners scored two runs in the top of the 10th before an RBI single by Paredes cut the lead to 7-6. Jose Altuve singled with two outs before Daulton Varsho drove in a run with a single.

Walker then sent an off-speed pitch from Andrés Muñoz (5-5) to the train tracks atop left field to give the Astros the win.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jeff McNeil was 4 for 5 with three RBIs, including the go-ahead home run, as the Athletics snapped a three-game slide with an 8-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.

Lawrence Butler also went deep for the Athletics, who have lost 12 of their last 15 games.

A hit batter, a single, and a walk loaded the bases for Carlos Cortes in the first inning, and he drove a 1-2 slider from Kumar Rocker to right that emptied the bases and gave the Athletics a 3-0 lead.

It took until the sixth inning for the Rangers to respond. Jake Burger worked the count full and hit a 428-foot, three-run homer to left-center that tied the game and ended Gage Jump’s start for the A’s.

Jump threw 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on three hits while walking four and striking out one.

McNeil got the A’s back in front with a 400-foot homer, his fifth of the season. It was a home run in every MLB ballpark, per Statcast.

Butler tacked on a 411-footer in the seventh to double the Athletics’ lead, and three more came across in the eighth.

In other action across MLB:

LOS ANGELES — Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out nine in six innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers moved back within a game of the National League-leading Milwaukee Brewers with a 3-1 victory Friday night.

Andy Pages and Tommy Edman homered to help the Dodgers win the second game of the four-game series after the Brewers rallied to take the opener 5-4 on Friday night.

Yamamoto (12-7) allowed one run on four hits while striking out at least nine for the third time this season. Edwin Diaz loaded the bases in the ninth inning but finished off his seventh save after taking the loss Thursday when he was charged with three runs in the ninth.

Robert Gasser (3-5) allowed three runs on eight hits over 6 1/3 innings for the Brewers, who surged back atop the NL at the start of August. Joey Ortiz had an RBI for Milwaukee.

CHICAGO — Clay Holmes and three Cubs relievers combined on a three-hitter, and Seiya Suzuki hit a three-run homer to send Chicago to a win over St. Louis.

Making his second start and first at Wrigley Field since being acquired from the New York Mets at the trade deadline, Holmes (5-5) retired his first 16 batters before José Fermin singled in the sixth.

Holmes, who missed three months with a broken right fibula before the trade, struck out three, walked one and allowed one hit in 6 2/3 innings, exiting to a standing ovation. Ryan Rolison, Ryan Zeferjahn and Jacob Webb followed, with Webb pitching the ninth for his ninth save.

For the first five innings, Matthew Liberatore (5-10) was just as good as Holmes. He set down his first 13 batters before Nico Hoerner singled in the fifth.

Liberatore ran into trouble in the sixth, allowing the first two batters to reach before retiring Pete Crow-Armstrong on a foul popup and yielding to George Soriano.

Suzuki hit Soriano’s fourth pitch, a 2-1 changeup, an estimated 390 feet to left for his 21st homer. He also doubled in the eighth, the only player with multiple hits.

CINCINNATI — Chase Burns gave up four hits and struck out eight in seven innings, Eugenio Suárez hit an RBI double in the sixth, and Cincinnati beat Miami.

Burns (14-2) did not give up a walk and allowed just one runner to reach second base. He has now thrown 131 innings this season, far exceeding the 43 1/3 innings he pitched last season and the 66 innings he tossed in the minor leagues. He last pitched 100 innings in a season while at Wake Forest.

Emilio Pagán, who was experiencing hand soreness but cleared to pitch Friday, retired the Marlins in order in the ninth for his 15th save.

Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara (13-7) allowed one run on three hits with four walks in seven innings. By holding the Reds scoreless over the first five innings, he extended his scoreless innings streak to a career-long 25 2/3 dating to July 28.

It’s his second scoreless streak of 20 or more innings this season. The streak surpassed his previous best of 25 straight innings in 2022.

ATLANTA — Brandon Pfaadt allowed only two hits in seven innings in another strong start, Tim Tawa homered in the ninth and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 on Friday night.

Pfaadt (7-1) outdueled Braves ace Chris Sale, striking out seven without a walk. He threw 87 pitches. Since returning to the rotation from Triple-A Reno on June 30, Pfaadt is 7-0 with a 1.16 ERA. He has gone 32 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run.

Sale (12-8) gave up one run on five hits in six innings. He struck out nine and threw 108 pitches, which tied a season high.

Tawa’s solo shot in the inning was his seventh homer of the year. Geraldo Perdomo was 3 for 4 with a run and Corbin Carroll was 2 for 4 for the Diamondbacks.

Rookie left-hander Brandyn Garcia picked up his fourth save with a perfect ninth inning.

Arizona scored its only run off Sale thanks to a misplayed ball in the first inning. After a leadoff walk to Perdomo, Carroll hit a line drive to left where Mauricio Dubón started to come in, then reached up and couldn’t come up with the ball. It was ruled a double, and Perdomo came home on a groundout by Gabriel Moreno.

The Braves had not been shut out since June 27 and were 10-0 in Friday night home games this season.

NEW YORK — Francisco Lindor and Jared Young homered, powering New York to a win over Washington.

Lindor went deep in the sixth, three batters before Carson Benge delivered the tiebreaking RBI single for the last-place Mets, who have won seven of 10 since the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

Lindor’s fielding error in the third inning led to the Nationals’ run.

Young homered with one out in the seventh, and Bo Bichette added an RBI single.

Jonathan Pintaro (1-0) earned his first big league win with two innings of scoreless relief. Kodai Senga worked out of a two-out, two-on jam in the ninth, striking out Abimelec Ortiz to record his second save.

Senga, a former starter who went 0-8 with an 8.66 ERA in his first 13 outings this season, has both Mets saves since Devin Williams went on the injured list Monday.

Mets starter Robert Stock gave up an unearned run and struck out five over 4 1/3 innings.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jac Caglianone homered and drove in five runs on a three-hit night, Michael Massey also homered and had three hits and the Kansas City Royals beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-6 on Friday to snap a four-game losing streak.

John Schreiber, Nate Pearson and Steven Cruz threw scoreless relief innings for the Royals, with Cruz finishing for his fourth save.

Nolan Schanuel had two hits and four RBIs for the Angels. They had won three straight.

After Josh Lowe’s solo homer off Alex Lange (2-7) gave the Angels a 6-5 lead in the sixth, Kansas City scored twice off Tayler Saucedo (0-1) in the seventh to make it 7-6.

Caglianone is batting .438 (21 for 48) with five homers and 18 RBIs during a 12-game hitting streak. In the ninth, he took second on an error and scored on Massey’s two-out RBI single to finish the scoring.

SAN FRANCISCO — Kyle Freeland pitched eight innings of one-run ball, Zac Veen hit his second home run of the year and Colorado beat slumping San Francisco to take the opener of a three-game series.

Freeland (4-10) allowed one run, gave up four hits and walked one. Brennan Bernardino closed out the ninth inning.

Veen hit a curveball 406 feet down the first base line into McCovey Cove to give the Rockies a 4-1 lead.

Brett Sullivan scored from third to break a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning when he beat the throw home after Mickey Moniak reached on a sharp grounder to shortstop Christian Koss.

Will Castro tacked on an RBI sacrifice fly in the ninth. Troy Johnston gave Colorado an early 1-0 lead on his first triple of the year that drove in TJ Rumfield.

Landen Roupp (7-12) surrendered four runs and five hits with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.