ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Randy Arozarena hit a three-run homer in the first, Christian Bethancourt and Yu Chang went deep back-to-back during the sixth, and the surging Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 8-4 on Tuesday night.
The Rays are an AL-best 22-10 since Aug. 4, and moved within 4 1/2 games of the AL East-leading New York Yankees. Tampa Bay is in a three-way competition for the first AL wild card with Seattle and Toronto.
With Tampa Bay scheduled starter Drew Rasmussen scratched and placed on the paternity list for the birth of son early Tuesday, six pitchers combined on a six-hitter.
Garrett Cleavinger (1-1) allowed one hit during a scoreless third and fourth to get his first win since June 20, 2021.
Triston Casas hit his first major league homer for the Red Sox, who are 18-38 against the AL East this year. Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3, ending his team record-tying streak of nine consecutive multi-hit games. He shares the team record with Kevin Youkilis (2007), Jim Rice (1978) and Roy Johnson (1934).
Yandy Díaz had a leadoff double in the first and Manuel Margot singled before Arozarena connected on his 19th homer.
Arozarena is one homer and three stolen bases away from joining B.J. Upton (2011, 2012) as the second player in team history with 20 homers and 30 steals in a season. Arozarena had two doubles.
After Casas’ two-run homer during the second off JT Chargois, Harold Ramierz put the Rays up 5-2 on a two-run single in the third.
Tommy Pham cut the Boston deficit to 8-4 on a two-run homer in the eighth.
Boston’s Rich Hill (6-6) allowed five runs and nine hits over four innings. The left-hander couldn’t repeat his success in a 5-1 win over Tampa Bay on Aug. 27, when he struck out 11 and allowed three hits over seven scoreless innings.
MARINERS 3, WHITE SOX 0
SEATTLE (AP) — Logan Gilbert tied his career high with nine strikeouts, Cal Raleigh homered and Seattle beat Chicago to keep the AL wild-card race tight.
Raleigh hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Mariners won for the eighth time in nine games. Seattle and Tampa Bay are 1 1/2 games ahead of Toronto, which is 3 1/2 games on front of Baltimore for the final AL wild card. Raleigh has 23 homers, tops among catchers.
Chicago has lost two of three and dropped three games behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central, also trailing Minnesota by 1 1/2 games.
Gilbert (12-5) allowed five hits in six innings, striking out two each in the third, fifth and sixth. Johnny Cueto (7-7) took the loss.
The Mariners and Rays are tied for the top spot in the American League wild-card race, 1.5 games up on the Toronto Blue Jays.
ORIOLES 9, BLUE JAYS 6
BALTIMORE (AP) — Adley Rutschman hit a bases-loaded double during a five-run third inning and Baltimore beat Toronto in a heated game in which both benches briefly emptied in the middle of the seventh.
Then tempers flared when Bryan Baker appeared to make a “chirping” signal with his hand toward the Toronto dugout after striking out Matt Chapman for the third out. Benches and bullpens emptied, and although order was quickly restored, Blue Jays interim manager John Schneider was ejected during the bottom of the inning and came out to give plate umpire Jeff Nelson an earful.
The Orioles pulled within 3 1/2 games of Toronto for the last American League wild card. They were swept by the Blue Jays in a doubleheader Monday.
Baltimore seemed to be treating this like a must-win game — or close to it. Dillon Tate (4-3), Cionel Pérez and Félix Bautista all worked more than an inning in relief. Four Orioles relievers combined to throw six innings, with Bautista getting the final six outs for his 12th save.
Bo Bichette homered again for Toronto — his fourth in the past two games — but Mitch White (0-4) couldn’t make it out of a wild third inning in which he walked three and hit a batter.
GUARDIANS 4, ROYALS 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Shane Bieber pitched eight sharp innings, José Ramírez drove in two runs and AL Central-leading Cleveland beat Kansas City.
Bieber (9-8) allowed a run and four hits. He struck out seven and walked one. James Karinchak pitched the ninth for his first save.
The Royals lost their 82nd game, meaning they’ll have a losing record for the sixth straight season.
Salvador Perez hit his 20th home run for Kansas City, the sixth year he’s reached the mark. Kris Bubic (2-11) was the loser.
CUBS 9, REDS 3
CHICAGO (AP) — Hayden Wesneski allowed two hits over five shutout innings of relief to win his major league debut and Chicago took advantage of 11 walks to beat Cincinnati for its second win in nine games.
Wesneski (1-0), a 24-year-old right-hander acquired from the New York Yankees on Aug. 1 for reliever Scott Effross, struck out eight and walked one.
He relieved Wade Miley, who returned from a shoulder injury to make his first start since June 10. Wesneski retired 13 of the first 14 batters around a walk before Spencer Steer doubled with one out in the ninth and Aristides Aquino singled. Wesneski struck out Jake Fraley and Jose Barrero to end the game.
Ian Gibalt (1-1) took the loss.
PHILLIES 3, MARLINS 2
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper got a gift double in the ninth inning when Miami left fielder Brian Anderson slipped chasing a flyball, then hustled home on Jean Segura’s single to send Philadelphia over the Marlins.
Edmundo Sosa homered and doubled and Aaron Nola struck out 10 for the playoff-contending Phillies. They rebounded from a poor road trip in which they lost five of six to the sub-.500 Diamondbacks and Giants.
Anderson drove in both runs for the Marlins. Miami lost its eighth in a row.
Tommy Nance (0-3) intentionally walked J.T. Realmuto, and Segura lined a single to right. Harper just beat the throw by Avisaíl García. David Robertson (4-2) was the winner.
CARDINALS 4, NATIONALS 1
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nolan Gorman broke out of a slump with a homer and two RBIs to help St. Louis beat Washington.
José Quintana (5-6) gave up a run on five hits and he struck out five in five innings for first win since Aug. 10. The Cardinals have won five of their last six games and 19 of their last 22 at Busch Stadium.
Ryan Helsley pitched around a leadoff double in the ninth for his 14th save in 18 opportunities. Brendan Donovan also homered for St. Louis.
Cardinals slugger Paul Goldschmidt was held to one hit and did not drive in a run as he continued his Triple Crown pursuit. Goldschmidt leads the NL with a .329 average and 107 RBIs. He has 34 homers to trail Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber (36) and Atlanta’s Austin Riley (35).
Paolo Espino (0-7) took the loss.
PIRATES 8, METS 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mitch Keller scattered five hits over six shutout innings and Pittsburgh served the suddenly listless New York Mets with a loss.
The NL East-leading Mets failed to get a runner to third base against Keller (5-10) while dropping their third straight against teams playing out the string.
The Mets have lost three in a row for just the third time this season and saw their lead over Atlanta shrivel to a half-game. The Braves played in Oakland later Tuesday night.
Taijuan Walker (10-4) labored through five innings as the Mets lost for the fifth time in his last six starts. Brandon Nimmo hit a two-run home run in the seventh to cut New York’s deficit to two.
Rodolfo Castro hit his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot that clanged off the foul pole in right field in the third inning to stake the Pirates to a 3-0 lead. Rookie shortstop Oneil Cruz had three hits for Pittsburgh, including a 421-foot home run in the eighth that bounced into the Allegheny River.
ROCKIES 10, BREWERS 7, 10 INNINGS
DENVER (AP) — Christian Yelich led off the game with a 499-foot homer for Milwaukee, but Randal Grichuk connected twice for Colorado, including a three-run drive in the 10th inning.
Yelich gave Milwaukee a great start, launching a drive into the third deck at Coors Field. It was the third-longest home run since Statcast started tracking homers in 2015 — Texas’ Nomar Mazara hit a 505-foot shot in 2019 and Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton hit a 504-footer at Colorado in 2016.
Grichuk hit a solo homer that capped a five-run rally in the eighth that made it 6-all. His second home run, and 15th of the season, came off Taylor Rogers (3-7). Daniel Bard (4-4) pitched two innings for the win.
Willy Adames had three hits for Milwaukee, including an RBI double in the 10th inning to drive in Yelich for a 7-6 lead.
Yonathan Daza, who had a three-run homer in the eighth, hit an RBI double in the Colorado 10th that tied it. After an intentional walk and a groundout, Grichuk homered to win it.
RANGERS 4, ASTROS 3
HOUSTON (AP) — Corey Seager scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the seventh and Texas snapped a nine-game losing streak, beating AL West-leading Houston.
Houston’s Framber Valdez (14-5) had his six-game winning streak end. The left-hander surrendered four runs, two earned, on six hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out 11 and walked four.
Taylor Hearn (6-7) pitched two shutout innings for the win. Jose Leclerc pitched around a walk in the ninth for his third save.
ANGELS 5, TIGERS 4, 10 INNINGS
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Andrew Velazquez scored on Magneuris Sierra’s bunt single in the 10th inning and Los Angeles beat Detroit for its first winning homestand since early May.
Taylor Ward scored the tying run moments earlier on a throwing error to the plate by shortstop Javier Baez, who had singled home Kody Clemens with the Tigers’ go-ahead run in the top of the 10th.
Sierra then laid down a bunt along the first base line, and Andrew Chafin (1-3) couldn’t field it cleanly before Velazquez slid home to secure the Angels’ eighth victory in 11 games. Los Angeles had endured six straight losing homestands.
Mike Trout homered in his third consecutive game for the Angels, while Mike Ford and Jo Adell hit back-to-back homers before Los Angeles blew that early 3-0 lead. Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 4 after hitting two homers Monday night.
Baez singled to right on a two-out, two-strike pitch from former Blue Jay Ryan Tepera (4-2) in the 10th, but he couldn’t make the play in the bottom half after he fielded Velazquez’s grounder with the infield pulled in.
PADRES 6, DIAMONDBACKS 5
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jorge Alfaro hit a two-run, bases-loaded single with two outs in the ninth inning to lift San Diego past Arizona.
The Padres, who fell behind 5-0 after five innings, pulled back into the game on three home runs against Merrill Kelly and then won it against Ian Kennedy in the ninth.
Kennedy (4-7) loaded the bases on a fielder’s choice, single and walk before Alfaro singled to center field to win it. The catcher, who came off the injured list on Monday, was mobbed by his teammates in shallow right field.
Nick Martinez (4-3) pitched a perfect ninth for the win.
The Diamondbacks seemed in control from the start. Josh Rojas homered on Joe Musgrove’s first pitch and Merrill Kelly retired his first 12 batters. Daulton Varsho and Christian Walker also homered for the Diamondbacks.
DODGERS 6, GIANTS 3
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joey Gallo blasted a go-ahead, three-run homer in the second inning, Max Muncy added a pair of solo shots and Los Angeles beat San Francisco.
The NL West leaders improved to 11-4 against their rival this season. All of the game’s runs came on homers.
Muncy, who came in hitting .186, went 3 for 4 and drove in three runs.
Tyler Anderson (14-3) allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings. The left-hander struck out three and walked two. Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth to earn his 22nd save.
Muncy doubled leading off the second and Justin Turner walked before Gallo’s 408-foot shot to the right-field pavilion off Jarlin Garcia (1-4) put the Dodgers ahead, 3-1.
