Lars Nootbaar homered on the game’s first pitch Friday night and Nolan Arenado added his 30th homer as the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks tightened the National League wild-card race with an 11-4 rout of the San Diego Padres.
Arizona scored in six of the first seven innings to earn its sixth straight win and move within a game of Philadelphia for the final NL wild-card spot with two games remaining. Should the teams finish with identical records, the Diamondbacks would win the tiebreaker.
Brandon Pfaadt (8-3) allowed nine hits and four runs in 7 2/3 innings to beat the Padres for the third time this year. Casey Mize (6-10) absorbed the loss, giving up seven runs on seven hits in four innings.
Despite the defeat, San Diego moved closer to clinching home-field advantage in the NL wild-card round. The Padres are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs, who were swept in a doubleheader at Boston, and two games up on Philadelphia.
Rays 2, Phillies 0
Freddy Peralta and four relievers combined on a four-hitter as Tampa Bay shut out host Philadelphia and put the Phillies’ playoff hopes on hold for at least one more day.
Nick Fortes homered for the Rays, who had already clinched the top seed in the American League playoffs. Peralta (10-11) gave up four hits — all singles — in 5 1/3 innings.
The Phillies came in with a magic number of two to clinch a wild-card berth but got no closer to wrapping up a playoff spot. Philadelphia starter Cristopher Sanchez (18-7) struck out 10 in seven innings, allowing two runs and five hits.
Athletics 6, Astros 5
Michael Stefanic and Henry Bolte each drove in two runs during a six-run sixth inning and Jacob Lopez tossed six strong innings as the Athletics won in West Sacramento, Calif., to keep Houston tied atop the division and ensure a dubious mark will be set this postseason.
The Astros (79-81) remain in a first-place tie with the Rangers (79-81) in the American League West thanks to Texas’ loss Friday night. Houston holds the tiebreaker due to dominating the season series, 9-4. The West champion will be the first team in major league history to reach the playoffs without a winning record, excluding shortened seasons.
Lopez (7-5) gave up one run and two hits to get the win, while Houston starter Hunter Brown (6-4) allowed two runs, one earned, and two hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Twins 10, Rangers 2
Luke Keaschall went 4-for-5 with a double, a triple and three RBIs, as Minnesota pulled away for a win over Texas in Minneapolis.
Kody Clemens went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs for the Twins. Minnesota’s Joe Ryan (7-10) allowed two runs on four hits in six innings.
Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford had one RBI apiece for the Rangers. Jacob deGrom (11-11) was battered for eight runs on eight hits in four innings, though he struck out five to top 200 for the season.
Guardians 12, Royals 9
Angel Martinez recorded two of his four RBIs with a double during an eventful ninth inning that saw Cleveland draw six walks and score five runs as the Guardians won in Kansas City to remain atop the AL Central.
The Royals’ Nate Pearson (2-4) walked four batters in the ninth, including Jose Ramirez with the bases loaded and two out to break a 7-7 tie. After two more walks issued by Nolan Hoffman, Martinez broke it open with a two-run double.
Postseason-bound Cleveland overcame four runs, five hits and four walks allowed over 3 1/3 innings by starter Gavin Williams, thanks in part to 13 walks issued by the Royals. The Guardians won for the eighth time in nine games and stayed a game ahead of the Chicago White Sox.
White Sox 6, Rockies 1
Munetaka Murakami went 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs and Sean Burke pitched effectively into the sixth inning to carry Chicago past visiting Colorado.
The White Sox kept pace with the Guardians. Despite being a game out of the Central lead, Chicago owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Cleveland should the teams finish tied. Both sides have already clinched a playoff berth.
Murakami connected in the first and seventh innings for the third multi-homer game of his rookie season. Burke (11-7) won his third straight start, allowing one run and four hits over 5 1/3 sharp innings.
Red Sox 4, Cubs 3 (Game 1)
Roman Anthony went 3-for-3 with three runs, including one on Connor Wong’s tiebreaking double in the seventh inning, leading Boston past visiting Chicago in the first game of a doubleheader.
Adley Rutschman was 2-for-4 for the Red Sox, tying the game with a two-run single in the fifth. Greg Weissert (4-2) pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, and Raymond Burgos fired two perfect innings for his second save.
Matt Shaw and Michael Busch both had multiple hits and Miguel Amaya drove in two for the Cubs. Alex Bregman, returning from multiple facial fractures sustained five days earlier, went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter.
Red Sox 2, Cubs 0 (Game 2)
Wilyer Abreu broke a scoreless deadlock with a two-out, two-run double in the eighth inning, lifting Boston to a doubleheader sweep of visiting Chicago.
Red Sox reliever Jedixson Paez (1-1) handled the final five innings en route to his first big-league win. Starter Brayan Bello pitched the first four frames.
Chicago got five shutout innings from David Peterson before Javier Assad (6-2) took the loss.
Orioles 10, Yankees 2 (Game 1)
Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer and a solo shot as Baltimore rolled to a victory at New York in the opener of a doubleheader.
Dylan Beavers added a grand slam and Jeremiah Jackson hit an inside-the-park homer for the Orioles. Baltimore reliever Albert Suarez (3-0) tossed four scoreless innings.
Yankees starter Brendan Beck (0-2) allowed seven runs on six hits in five innings.
Yankees 6, Orioles 3 (Game 2)
Spencer Jones and Anthony Volpe had run-scoring hits in a three-run sixth inning as New York earned a doubleheader split against visiting Baltimore.
Will Warren (11-6) threw 3 2/3 shutout innings for the Yankees, who will host an AL wild-card series against the rival Red Sox for the second straight season.
The Orioles (79-82) had their four-game winning streak stopped and clinched their second straight losing season. Leody Taveras had two hits and two RBIs.
Marlins 3, Braves 0
Eury Perez didn’t allow a hit for five innings and finished with a one-hitter in his first career complete game as host Miami defeated Atlanta.
Perez (8-11) walked one and struck out eight. Joe Mack broke a scoreless tie with a seventh-inning solo homer. The Marlins added two runs in the eighth, including a solo homer from Griffin Conine.
Sean Murphy’s leadoff single in the sixth was the Braves’ lone hit. Grant Holmes (10-6), used in relief for just the second time this year, pitched four innings and allowed one run.
Dodgers 2, Giants 0
Tarik Skubal warmed up for the postseason with seven dominant innings, Teoscar Hernandez and Andy Pages provided all the offense with home runs, and visiting Los Angeles blanked San Francisco.
Skubal (12-7) allowed just three singles and no walks in winning his fourth consecutive outing. He struck out 10. Tanner Scott threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 24th save.
The Giants managed only three hits, all singles, as they lost their third straight overall and their sixth in a row to the Dodgers. Yunior Marte (0-2) gave up two runs on six hits in five innings.
Brewers 8, Cardinals 4
Brice Turang’s tiebreaking two-run single keyed a four-run eighth inning as Milwaukee beat visiting St. Louis.
Jackson Chourio singled to open the eighth off Luis Gastelum (5-4). Justin Bruihl took over and hit a batter, committed a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt and gave up Turang’s hit. William Contreras singled in Garrett Mitchell, and Jake Bauers plated Turang with a sacrifice fly.
Abner Uribe (6-3) got the win with a scoreless eighth. Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera all homered for the Cardinals, who have lost seven of their past nine.
Blue Jays 6, Reds 5
Kazuma Okamoto keyed a four-run seventh with a two-run double as Toronto edged visiting Cincinnati.
Okamoto, who also hit an RBI double in the first inning, has 92 RBIs this season to lead the Blue Jays. Mason Fluharty (7-1) pitched two-thirds of an inning to pick up the win. Louis Varland tossed a perfect ninth to log his 35th save.
Eugenio Suarez hit a solo home run for the Reds. Elly De La Cruz stole his 30th base of the season to go with 30 homers, making him the fourth player in Reds history to register a 30-30 season.
Tigers 8, Pirates 7
Spencer Torkelson finished a single shy of the cycle and drove in three runs as host Detroit held off Pittsburgh.
Eduardo Valencia reached base five times and scored three runs, while Dillon Dingler drove in two runs for Detroit. Jackson Jobe (3-3) gave up two runs and three hits with eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
Rafael Flores Jr. hit a three-run homer for the Pirates while Ryan O’Hearn supplied two hits, two runs and two RBIs. Starter Bubba Chandler (8-10) gave up six runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings.
Nationals 7, Mets 6
Dylan Crews homered and scored three runs as host Washington held off New York, assuring the Mets of a last-place finish in the NL East.
James Wood, Jacob Young and Daylen Lile had two hits each for the Nationals, who have won three straight. Wood also walked twice. Washington reliever Gus Varland (2-2) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, and Josiah Gray picked up his first career save.
Bo Bichette and Carson Benge homered for the Mets, who dropped their second game in a row and are assured of finishing last in the division for the first time since 2003.
Angels 7, Mariners 5
Reid Detmers pitched six scoreless innings of two-hit ball as Los Angeles prevailed at Seattle.
Christian Moore and Zach Neto homered and Wade Meckler had four hits, including a double and triple, for the Angels, who led 6-0 through seven innings before hanging on. Detmers (7-8) walked two and struck out seven.
Mariners starter Bryce Miller (4-10) dropped his eighth straight decision, yielding five runs on six hits over six innings. Dominic Canzone had three hits, including a two-run homer.
