DETROIT (AP) — Nacho Alvarez Jr. hit the first two homers of his MLB career, then added a game-tying single in the ninth inning and the Atlanta Braves won their seventh straight game with a 6-5 victory against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.
The Tigers have lost five straight and eight of the past nine. Their lead in the AL Central is down to 1 1/2 games over the Cleveland Guardians, who have a doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
The Braves trailed 5-4 going into the ninth. Ozzie Albies and Ha-Seong Kim started the ninth with singles off Will Vest (6-5), but he struck out Michael Harris II and Sandy León.
That brought up Alvarez, who had already homered in the third and eighth innings. He lined a single to right to tie the game and Jurickson Profar followed with a base hit to put the Braves ahead.
Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth for his 27th save. Dylan Dodd (1-0) got the win in relief with a scoreless eighth.
GUARDIANS 6, TWINS 0, 1ST GAME
GUARDIANS 8, TWINS 0, 2ND GAME
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Steven Kwan tied a season high with four RBIs and Cleveland made it 10 straight wins by beating Minnesota to sweep a day-night doubleheader without giving up a run.
Winners in 15 of their past 16 games, the Guardians are one game back of first-place Detroit in the AL Central after trailing by 11 on Sept. 4. The Tigers were on Saturday afternoon.
The Guardians started the nightcap one game behind Boston and Houston in the wild-card standings. They , hitting five home runs in a game for the first time since April 10, 2021.
Limited to one hit through four innings, Cleveland sent 10 batters to the plate in the fifth inning.
A one-out single by Kwan scored Brayan Rocchio and Petey Halpin. With two outs, Kyle Manzardo and C.J. Kayfus had RBI singles around a two-run double by Gabriel Arias to the wall in right-center field.
Kwan added a two-run single in the eighth.
That was more than enough for Logan Allen (8-11), who earned his first win since July 29 by scattering four hits and striking out seven in a career-high eight innings.
NATIONALS 5, METS 3, 11 INNINGS
NEW YORK (AP) —Daylen Lile hit an inside-the-park homer in the 11th inning that sent Washington past New York.
With a runner on first base and one out, Lile drove a 2-2 sinker from Tyler Rogers (4-6) off the center-field wall. The ball caromed far away from Cedric Mullins as the speedy Lile circled the bases and scored easily with a headfirst slide at home plate.
PJ Poulin retired the side in order in the bottom half for his first career save, throwing a called third strike past Juan Soto to end it.
It was a costly defeat for the Mets, who began the day with a two-game lead over Cincinnati for the final National League wild card. New York has lost 10 of 14 overall.
PIRATES 2, ATHLETICS 0
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rookie Bubba Chandler and two relievers combined on a one-hitter, and Nick Yorke and Bryan Reynolds hit home runs as Pittsburgh downed the Athletics to end a five-game losing streak.
Chandler allowed only Jacob Wilson’s two-out double in the second inning while striking out six and walking none. He has in 11 innings in his last two starts since getting in 2 2/3 innings by Milwaukee on Sept. 7.
Braxton Ashcraft followed with three perfect innings and six strikeouts. Dennis Santana worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 14th save and first since Sept. 3.
Yorke, a rookie, belted his first home run of the season and third of his career with two outs in the second inning off Luis Morales (4-2). Reynolds hit a 416-foot drive to right-center, his 16th, to lead off the third.
REDS 6, CUBS 3
CINCINNATI (AP) — Spencer Steer hit his fourth home run in four games and Cincinnati gained ground in the National League wild-card race with a victory over Chicago.
The Reds (79-76) are one game behind the New York Mets, who on Saturday afternoon, for the final wild-card spot — and Cincinnati owns the tiebreaker. The Cubs hold the top wild card and have already clinched a playoff berth.
TJ Friedl and Tyler Stephenson also went deep for the Reds, who have won four straight.
YANKEES 6, ORIOLES 1
BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his 49th home run, Giancarlo Stanton ripped a three-run shot and New York got a dominant pitching performance from Carlos Rodón in a victory over Baltimore.
New York closed within two games of first place in the AL East behind Toronto, which lost to Kansas City. Both the Yankees and Blue Jays have seven games left, and Toronto holds the tiebreaker.
Stanton put New York up 3-0 in the first inning with his 450th career homer, and Judge went deep leading off the third. Both drives came off Tomoyuki Sugano (10-9), who threw 87 pitches over three stressful innings before being lifted.
Staked to an early lead, Rodón (17-9) had little difficulty reaching a career high in wins. The 32-year-old lefty gave up one run and four hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out eight.
Coby Mayo doubled home the Orioles’ lone run in the seventh.
MARLINS 4, RANGERS 3
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Troy Johnston and Connor Norby hit back-to-back solo home runs with two outs in the sixth inning and Miami beat Texas.
Johnston also had an RBI single for the Marlins (75-80), who have won five consecutive games and 10 of their last 13.
Rookie Cade Gibson (4-5) pitched two innings to earn the win. Calvin Faucher’s 15th save came despite allowing a leadoff homer to Kyle Higashioka in the ninth. Faucher left runners on second and third.
The Rangers (79-76) have dropped six straight, matching their longest losing streak of the season. They were eliminated from the AL West race and are five games out in the wild-card race.
PADRES 7, WHITE SOX 3
CHICAGO (AP) — Ryan O’Hearn hit a tiebreaking three-run double in a four-run sixth inning, and San Diego moved closer to their second straight playoff appearance by beating Chicago.
Jackson Merrill homered leading off the second and scored three runs. O’Hearn had three hits and delivered the big blow in the sixth, when San Diego took advantage of three wild pitches and three walks while chasing White Sox starter Yoendrys Gómez (3-3).
Fernando Tatis Jr. got the go-ahead rally started with a leadoff single and scored from third when Manny Machado knocked Gómez out of the game with a tying single. Fraser Ellard then walked three of the five batters he faced and gave up the go-ahead hit when O’Hearn cleared the bases with a line-drive double to left, making it 5-2.
Gavin Sheets had an RBI single in the eighth against his former team, and the Padres came away with the win after losing two in a row. San Diego (84-71), holding the second wild card, began the night with a magic number of four for clinching a playoff spot.
RED SOX 6, RAYS 3
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Trevor Story hit a tiebreaking single in a three-run ninth inning and Boston beat Tampa Bay to keep pace in a crowded American League playoff race.
Boston remained two games behind the New York Yankees for the top AL wild card and is a game ahead of Cleveland and Houston for the second of those three spots.
Tampa Bay has dropped four consecutive series, and eight straight games to the Red Sox.
MARINERS 6, ASTROS 4
HOUSTON (AP) — Cal Raleigh hit to pass Ken Griffey Jr. for Seattle’s single-season record and Seatte built a big lead and held on for a win over Houston to give them a two-game lead in the AL West.
George Kirby (10-7) scattered five hits across six scoreless innings and struck out seven to help the Mariners to the victory that assures them a season series win over the Astros.
Closer Andrés Muñoz plunked Jake Meyers to start Houston’s ninth before walking Jeremy Peña. But Victor Robles made a diving catch on a ball hit by Carlos Correa and Meyers was out on a double play to end it and give Muñoz his 37th save.
Seattle, which has won 13 of 14, currently has the second seed in the American League ahead of third-seed Detroit, which has .
ROYALS 2, BLUE JAYS 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Noah Cameron pitched into the seventh inning, Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino hit back-to-back home runs, and Kansas City beat Toronto to prevent the Blue Jays from clinching a playoff spot.
Toronto’s lead in the AL East was trimmed to two games over the New York Yankees, who Both teams have seven games left, and the Blue Jays hold the tiebreaker.
Toronto dropped its fourth straight, matching its second-longest losing streak of the year.
Cameron (9-7) allowed a run on three hits in 6 2/3 innings with two walks and five strikeouts for his third straight quality start.
BREWERS 3, CARDINALS 2, 10 INNINGS
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brice Turang singled home Jackson Chourio in the 10th inning, and Milwaukee beat St. Louis.
Turang was 0 for 4 before lacing a two-out single to left off Jo Jo Romero (4-6), who pitched 1 2/3 innings.
Jared Koenig (6-1) pitched the final two innings to pick up the win.
Coupled with the Reds’ 6-3 win over the Cubs 6-3, the Brewers’ magic number to clinch the NL Central Division is one.
DIAMONDBACKS 4, PHILLIES 3
PHOENIX (AP) — Zac Gallen held the Phillies to four hits over seven innings, James McCann scored the go-ahead run in the sixth after a double and Arizona defeated Philadelphia.
Arizona went back over .500 at 78-77 and moved within two games of the final wild-card spot in the National League. Cincinnati, which , is one game behind the New York Mets.
Blaze Alexander and McCann hit back-to-back doubles against Phillies starter Aaron Nola to tie the game at 3-3 and Ildemaro Vargas singled off reliever Tanner Banks for the go-ahead run.
Gallen (13-14) struck out nine — five looking — and walked two. He threw 103 pitches, equaling his season high. John Curtiss pitched the ninth for his first save as a Diamondback and third of his career.
ANGELS 3, ROCKIES 0
DENVER (AP) — Mike Trout hit his , Kyle Hendricks pitched seven innings and Los Angeles defeated Colorado.
Trout reached the milestone in the eighth inning when he hit a 485-foot solo homer to left-center field off Rockies reliever Jaden Hill to extend the Angels’ lead to 3-0.
The three-time American League MVP had just one home run in his previous 36 games.
Taylor Ward and Nolan Schanuel also homered for the Angels, who snapped an eight-game losing streak. Ward’s home run was his 34th of the season, tying him for the 10th-most in the majors.
DODGERS 7, GIANTS 5
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani launched his 53rd home run to tie for the National League lead, and Los Angeles erased an early four-run in a victory over San Francisco.
Max Muncy’s two-run homer in the first inning pulled Los Angeles to 4-2. Michael Conforto also went deep and Tommy Edman hit a tiebreaking shot for the who their fourth straight and lead the NL West by four games over San Diego with seven to play.
Ohtani pulled even with Philadelphia slugger Kyle Schwarber when he connected for his 53rd home run, a 403-foot shot to left field in the sixth.
It was Ohtani’s 29th homer at Dodger Stadium this season, a franchise record. He topped his own mark of 28 last year, when he finished with a career-high 54 on the way to winning his third MVP award and first in the National League.
San Francisco stayed four games behind the New York Mets for the last NL wild card, with Arizona and Cincinnati also ahead of the Giants.
