TORONTO (AP) — Kyle Schwarber matched a major league record with his 13th leadoff home run this season, Kody Clemens and JT Realmuto also went deep and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Wednesday for a two-game series sweep.
Cristopher Sánchez (10-9) struck out seven in seven innings for the NL East-leading Phillies (83-56), who have won four straight and nine of 11.
Schwarber finished 2 for 3. He singled in the second, struck out in the fifth and was replaced by a pinch runner after he walked in the eighth.
Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper left after he was hit on the left elbow by a 92 mph fastball in the first inning. Edmundo Sosa pinch hit for Harper to begin the third and took over at third base, with Clemens moving from third to first.
Sánchez didn’t walk a batter. He was charged with two runs and six hits, including five doubles.
RAYS 9, TWINS 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (AP) — Yandy Díaz hit a two-run homer in an eight-run fourth inning and Tampa Bay went on to beat Minnesota.
All eight runs were scored off Louie Varland (0-6), who was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul to follow opener Ronny Henríquez. Taylor Walls had a two-run single and José Caballero had an RBI single in the inning. The Rays also scored on a pair of fielder’s choice grounders with the infield in and an errant pickoff throw by Varland.
Walls picked up his third RBI of the game on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly.
Carlos Santana hit his 20th homer during a four-run seventh for the Twins, who still hold the second AL wild card despite going 5-11 since August 18.
WHITE SOX 8, ORIOLES 1
BALTIMORE (AP) — Jonathan Cannon pitched into the sixth inning and the Chicago White Sox homered three times, snapping their 12-game losing streak with a victory over Baltimore.
Nicky Lopez, Andrew Vaughn and Dominic Fletcher went deep for the White Sox, who improved to 32-109 this season. They need to go 11-10 the rest of the way to avoid matching the post-1900 record of 120 losses by the 1962 New York Mets.
Cannon (3-9) allowed a run and five hits in 5 2/3 innings.
REDS 12, ASTROS 5
CINCINNATI (AP) — Jonathan India led off Cincinnati’s nine-run first inning with a 436-foot homer and the Reds cruised to their second straight victory over Houston Astros.
The Reds went to work right away against Spencer Arrighetti (7-12), with India hitting his 11th career lead-off homer and the first since July 12.
Elly De La Cruz had a double and a single in the first, two RBIs and his major league-leading 62nd stolen base. Tyler Stephenson and Amed Rosario each drove in two runs during the outburst.
Arrighetti didn’t get out of the first, allowing six hits and walking three.
Reds starter Nick Martinez (7-6) pitched into the sixth, allowing four runs and six hits. He struck out seven. Brett Suter went the final 3 1/3, allowing a run and three hits for his first save.
MARLINS 4, NATIONALS 3, 10 INNINGS
MIAMI (AP) — Xavier Edwards hit an RBI single in the 10th inning and Miami beat the Washington.
Automatic runner Griffin Conine advanced to third on Nick Fortes’ groundout. Edwards followed with a soft line drive off Derek Law (7-3) that bounced into left field for Miami’s first win of the season against Washington after eight losses.
John McMillon (1-1) pitched the top of the 10th for the win.
The Marlins overcame a 3-2 deficit on Jake Burger’s tying single in the eighth. Edwards and Connor Norby hit two-out singles against Nationals reliever Jose Ferrer. Kyle Finnegan relieved Ferrer and allowed Burger’s line drive to left.
BRAVES 5, ROCKIES 2
ATLANTA (AP) — Jarred Kelenic hit a three-run home run and Atlanta continued their mastery of Colorado.
Charlie Morton (8-7) pitched five innings to pick up the win, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out eight. Atlanta starters have now gone 23 straight games allowing three runs or fewer, the longest streak in the majors this season.
Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth inning and extended his scoreless streak to 23 1/3 innings while picking up his 30th save.
Michael Harris II was 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored and Jorge Soler had an RBI.
Rockies rookie Bradley Blalock (1-2), who grew up in an Atlanta suburb, gave up four runs in five innings while walking six and allowing four hits. It was his fifth career start.
METS 8, RED SOX 3
NEW YORK (AP) — Jesse Winker hit his fifth career grand slam, Phil Maton wriggled out of an eighth-inning jam and the surging New York Mets matched a season high by winning their seventh straight game over Boston.
The Mets completed a three-game sweep of Boston, which has lost six of its last seven, and have now won 14 of their last 19 games to pull within a half-game of Atlanta for the third NL wild-card spot.
New York had just four hits after Winker’s first-inning homer against Tanner Houck (8-10), but relievers Alex Young, Huascar Brazobán and Danny Young (3-0) induced inning-ending double plays in the fifth, sixth and seventh before Maton retired Masataka Yoshida on a liner to strand runners at the corners in the eighth.
