The Texas Rangers missed a golden opportunity to get closer to an American League wild-card spot on Thursday.
After Rangers ace Jacob deGrom retired the first 15 Seattle batters to help stake his team to a 3-0 lead, the bullpen let Texas down in a 4-3 loss to the Mariners.
With all the other top contenders for the third wild-card spot idle on Thursday, the Rangers failed to capitalize on a shot to pull within one game of the Cleveland Guardians for the final berth.
Instead, the Rangers are two back while the Toronto Blue Jays are one game behind the Guardians entering a weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre.
Texas next travels to Arizona to face a Diamondbacks team trying to chase down a National League wild-card spot, while the Guardians are in Minnesota to face the fading Twins.
Cleveland is now just 1.5 games back of the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox after the Pittsburgh Pirates completed a sweep of Chicago on Thursday.
The White Sox are in Cleveland starting Monday for a key three-game series.
Here's a look at the AL wild-card standings after games on Thursday:
FRIDAY'S GAMES FOR WILD-CARD CONTENDERS (all times ET)
New York Yankees: vs. New York Mets, 7:05 p.m., Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+
Toronto: vs. Baltimore, 7:07 p.m., Sportsnet, Sportsnet+
Boston: vs. Kansas City, 7:10 p.m.
Cleveland: at Minnesota, 8:10 p.m., Sportsnet+
Texas: at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.
Seattle: at Athletics, 9:40 p.m.
THURSDAY'S GAMES
MARINERS 4, RANGERS 3
SEATTLE — Jacob deGrom struck out 12 for his highest total since 2022 but Julio Rodríguez hit a go-ahead, three-run homer off Jakob Junis in a four-run seventh that lifted the Seattle Mariners over the Texas Rangers 4-3 Thursday.
DeGrom didn’t allow a hit until Cole Young singled on a line drive off the pitcher’s raised glove leading off the sixth. The two-time Cy Young Award winner struck out eight of his first nine batters for the fifth time and finished with his highest strikeout total since Sept. 19, 2022, for the New York Mets against Pittsburgh.
He left with a 3-0 lead but Junis (1-3) hit Randy Arozarena with a pitch leading off the seventh, then allowed Dominic Canzone’s RBI single and Cal Raleigh’s single. Rodríguez hit a first-pitch sinker for his 21st home run this season.
DeGrom gave up one hit in six scoreless innings with one walk.
Texas dropped three games behind AL West-leading Houston and two games back for the last AL wild card held by Cleveland. Seattle trails by five games for the last wild card.
Logan Gilbert (12-9), who like deGrom attended Stetson, struck out 11 in seven innings and became Seattle’s first pitcher with consecutive double-digit strikeout games since Canadian James Paxton in 2018. The combined strikeouts were the most by starting pitchers in the major leagues this season.
YANKEES 10, ROCKIES 3
NEW YORK — Anthony Volpe hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs during his rousing return to the majors as the New York Yankees beat the Colorado Rockies 10-3 on Thursday night to tighten the AL East race.
Luis García Jr. launched an early two-run homer and rookie Spencer Jones had three hits for the Yankees, including a two-run single. New York completed a three-game sweep to move within three games of Tampa Bay atop the division and 4 1/2 ahead of Boston for the first American League wild card with 16 to play.
Max Fried struck out seven in his third start since coming off the injured list but needed 80 pitches to get through 3 1/3 innings. Five relievers followed, and John Schreiber (2-3) worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his first win with the Yankees.
New York slugger Aaron Judge was rested as planned after starting back-to-back games in his return from the 60-day injured list. Cody Bellinger doubled twice and lofted a sacrifice fly for the Yankees, who have won 16 of 23 heading into the second Subway Series of the season against the crosstown-rival New York Mets this weekend in the Bronx.
Kyle Karros hit a 431-foot homer and Jake McCarthy had an RBI triple for the major league-worst Rockies (55-91), who have lost four straight and 10 of 13. Colorado has dropped a season-worst seven in a row on the road.
PIRATES 2, WHITE SOX 0
CHICAGO — Jared Jones pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, Oneil Cruz added a solo home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago White Sox 2-0 on Thursday night to complete a three-game series sweep.
The White Sox had just two hits in losing for the eighth time in 11 games. Chicago's AL Central lead over idle Cleveland slipped to 1 1/2 games.
Jones (4-6), making his 40th career start, allowed leadoff walks in the third and fourth innings and carried a no-hit bid into the seventh, when Colson Montgomery shut down the bid with a two-out double.
Jones finished the inning, matching his longest career outing, and finished with eight strikeouts. Luke Weaver worked a clean eighth and Mason Montgomery came on to record his 12th save for the Pirates, who’ve won four straight and nine of 11.
Cruz homered to deep centre in the fourth off Erick Fedde (8-9) and tagged him for a second earned run when he singled to knock in Jared Triolo in the eighth.
Fedde, who took over one batter into the third for opener Hagen Smith, gave up four hits and a walk while striking out one in 5 1/3 innings.
ASTROS 2, PHILLIES 1
PHILADELPHIA — Cam Smith hit a tie-breaking home run in the ninth inning off Jhoan Duran and Cristian Javier combined on a three-hitter to lead the Houston Astros over the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 Thursday.
Smith connected on a splitter for the first home run off Duran (2-6) since May 22.
Philadelphia dropped four games behind NL East-leading Atlanta heading into a three-game series at the Braves starting Friday.
Javier, who tossed the first six innings of a combined no-hitter for Houston against Philadelphia in the 2022 World Series, gave up one run, three hits and one walk while striking out five over six innings.
Houston retired Philadelphia's last 12 batters. Bennett Sousa, Bryan Abreu (6-3) and Josh Hader each pitched a perfect inning, and Hader needed just eight pitches to remain perfect in 25 save chances.
Philadelphia's Zack Wheeler allowed one run, five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings. He's eight strikeouts shy of striking out 2,000.
BRAVES 3, RAYS 1
ATLANTA — The Tampa Bay Rays were prevented from possibly becoming the first team to clinch a playoff berth when Martín Pérez threw seven scoreless innings and Austin Riley's run-scoring single in the eighth inning gave Atlanta its first lead of the series in the Braves' 3-1 win Thursday.
Seeking its first division title since 2021, Tampa Bay (87-59) entered with a four-game AL East lead and would have clinched no worse than a wild card with a victory and a loss by Texas to Seattle or the Chicago White Sox to Pittsburgh.
Riley's hit came after pinch-hitter Ozzie Albies had his first triple of the season, a drive against Kevin Kelly (6-4). Light-hitting Ha-Seong Kim tacked on a two-run single for the offensively struggling Braves that proved crucial when Victor Mesa Jr. led off the ninth with a homer against Raisel Iglesias.
Iglesias bounced back to get the final three outs for his 32nd save in 35 chances for the Braves, who began the day with a three-game NL East lead.
Didier Fuentes (6-2) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win, which sent the Braves into an important series against second-place Philadelphia with a big lift.
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