The American League wild-card race is as tight as ever after Monday’s slate of games.
With wins by the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins, and a loss by the Baltimore Orioles, there are now five teams tied at 61 wins. Of that group, it’s the Orioles who are in the third wild-card spot thanks to a variety of head-to-head tiebreakers.
Here is how Monday’s action played out.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Pinch-hitter Jonny DeLuca put the Rays in front with a two-run single in the seventh inning, and AL-best Tampa Bay rallied for a 7-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night to avoid a four-game sweep.
Yandy Díaz, Ryan Vilade and Jorge Mateo homered for Tampa Bay. Mateo’s two-run shot with two out in the fourth was his first for the Rays and gave them a 4-3 lead.
Coby Mayo hit a 468-foot homer, and Pete Alonso and Christian Encarnacion-Strand also went deep for Baltimore (61-64), which moved into the AL’s third wild-card spot by taking the first three games against its division rival at Tropicana Field.
Jonathan Aranda’s RBI single against Yennier Cano (2-3) got the Rays within 6-5 in the seventh. After Junior Caminero hit an infield single to load the bases, Josh Walker came in and gave up DeLuca’s go-ahead single to center, the last of four lead changes in the game.
All-Star Bryan Baker got the final five outs for his majors-leading 35th save. Left-hander Cam Booser (1-0) struck out the side in the seventh and earned his first win in a Rays uniform.
RED SOX 11, DIAMONDBACKS 1
BOSTON — Willson Contreras and Mickey Gasper homered, all nine Boston starters drove in at least one, and the Red Sox dismantled the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-1 on Monday night in the first game of a three-game series.
Boston, which scored in six straight innings, did not have a strikeout in the game and finished with 16 hits to maintain a six-game lead for the second AL wild card.
Brayan Bello (5-6) worked 4 2/3 innings of relief, striking out three and allowing a run on three hits. Bello has a 0.85 ERA in 11 relief appearances (52 2/3 innings) this season.
Boston jumped to a 4-0 lead after four innings as Eli White and Caleb Durbin drove in runs with singles, while Nick Sogard and Ceddanne Rafaela added RBI doubles.
Boston stretched its lead to 7-0 in the fifth on Contreras’ 342-foot homer, Andruw Monasterio’s sacrifice fly and Gasper’s RBI groundout.
Arizona got on the board with Geraldo Perdomo’s sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Wilyer Abreu and Adley Rutschman answered with RBI hits before Gasper’s first Red Sox homer sneaked around Pesky’s Pole in the seventh and Abreu hit an RBI single.
PITTSBURGH — Kevin McGonigle hit a two-run homer, and the Detroit Tigers held off the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5 on Monday night and moved into a three-way tie for the final AL wild-card spot.
Brett Callahan and Hao-Yu Lee also drove in two runs as the Tigers built an 8-1 lead before Pittsburgh scored four times in the sixth.
Zach McKinstry and Hao-Yu Lee both hit RBI singles in the first, and McGonigle’s two-run shot in the second, his 13th of the season, made it 4-0.
McGonigle singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch in the sixth. Pirates reliever Yohan Ramirez walked the next three batters, resulting in McGonigle scoring before Callahan hit a two-run single to make it 8-1.
Framber Valdez (8-8) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs and five hits with five strikeouts and four walks. Kenley Jansen struck out two in the final inning for his 15th save of the year.
MINNEAPOLIS — Josh Bell’s two-run double started the scoring in a four-run first inning, and the Minnesota Twins held on to beat the Atlanta Braves 4-2 on Tuesday night.
The first six batters reached against Atlanta starter Martín Pérez (8-7), with the first four in the order scoring. Bell’s flare down the right-field line fell just inside the chalk and bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double. Royce Lewis and Kody Clemens followed with RBI singles.
Bell and Clemens each finished with a pair of hits for Minnesota, which let a five-run lead slip away Sunday in a 7-5 loss to Philadelphia for a three-game Phillies sweep. The bullpen made the lead stand this time after starter Bailey Ober could only last 4 1/3 innings.
Ronald Acuña Jr.’s two-run single chased Ober in the fifth, but left-hander Taylor Rogers retired lefty batters Matt Olson and Michael Harris II to end the inning.
CUBS 7, WHITE SOX 5 (10 INNINGS)
CHICAGO — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his first career walk-off homer, a two-run shot in the 10th inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 7-5 win over the crosstown White Sox Monday night at Wrigley Field.
The All-Star center fielder and MVP contender hit his fifth leadoff homer of the season to start the game. Then he ended it when he led off the 10th by driving a 2-1 slider from Hagen Smith (2-1) deep into the right-field patio area. It was the 30th homer of the season for Crow-Armstrong, one short of his career best from last year. With 31 stolen bases this year, he also has back-to-back 30-30 seasons.
Crow-Amstrong took his left hand off the bat after he connected and pointed it skyward as he began walking down the first-base line. He turned toward the dugout and celebrated before starting his slow, exuberant home run trot.
Seiya Suzuki also homered for the Cubs and Jacob Webb (5-2) left the bases loaded in the top of the 10th to set the stage for Crow-Armstrong, who drove in automatic runner Carson Kelly. The Cubs’ leadoff batter finished 4 for 5 with a walk.
The Cubs snapped a two-game skid and ended the White Sox’s three-game winning streak. Randal Grichuk and Andrew Benintendi homered for the White Sox, who had won six of eight and took two of three from the Cubs on the South side earlier this season.
PHILADELPHIA — Cristopher Sánchez struck out six over six solid innings and became baseball’s first 16-game winner as the Philadelphia Phillies outlasted the Miami Marlins 6-5 on Monday night.
Sánchez (16-4) allowed one run on eight hits for the Phillies (68-58), who moved into the second NL wild-card spot, one game ahead of San Diego.
The Marlins scored two runs on an unusual play in the seventh inning that led to manager Clayton McCullough being ejected. With the bases loaded, Javier Sanoja hit a low, opposite-field line drive that landed on the foul line in the outfield grass just past first base.
The hit was initially declared foul. Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper didn’t field the ball, and all three runners crossed the plate. After a replay review, umpires ruled it fair but declared that only two runners scored, getting Miami within 4-3.
McCullough argued that the call cost the Marlins a run and was tossed. It was one of four times Miami moved within one run but could not take the lead. Brian Navarreto hit his first homer of the season, a solo shot off Brooks Raley in the eighth inning to get the Marlins within 5-4.
Phillies closer Jhoan Duran gave up an RBI single to Otto Lopez in the ninth but retired the next two batters for his 27th save.
NEW YORK — Right fielder Carson Benge threw out two San Diego Padres runners at home plate on consecutive plays in the first inning, fellow rookie A.J. Ewing cut down another from left field moments later, and the New York Mets held on for a 2-1 victory Monday night.
Nolan McLean recovered from a shaky start to last six effective innings as the last-place Mets (57-69) won for the 10th time in 13 games since selling big at the trade deadline.
Bo Bichette had an RBI single in the first, Luis Robert Jr. added a sacrifice fly and New York cooled off the Padres, who began the night tied with Philadelphia for the final two National League playoff spots.
San Diego entered a major league-best 17-5 since July 24.
CARDINALS 2, REDS 1 (GAME 1)
CINCINNATI — Alec Burleson delivered a two-run double early and four St. Louis relievers turned in perfect innings late, helping the Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Monday.
The Cardinals won for the 10th time in 14 games as they try to chase an NL wild-card playoff spot.
Burleson put them ahead for good in the first inning with a double down the right-field line that scored Joshua Báez and Iván Herrera. Báez, who became the first player to hit three home runs in his first three at-bats in the major leagues on Saturday, was hitless for the second consecutive day since his record-setting debut.
Left-hander Quinn Mathews, making his second career start, allowed one run in four innings — a homer in the fourth by Dane Myers, who had two of the Reds’ three hits. Matthews gave way to a stout bullpen that allowed just one hit over the final five frames. He allowed two hits and three walks and struck out seven.
REDS 6, CARDINALS 5 (10 INNINGS, GAME 2)
CINCINNATI — Elly De La Cruz delivered his first career walk-off hit in the 10th inning after Dane Myers hit a tying pinch-hit homer in the ninth, and the Cincinnati Reds rallied past the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 on Monday night to split a doubleheader.
Down to their final out in the ninth, the Reds went to the bench for Myers, who had homered in the opener. Myers delivered again, driving his fifth home run of the season into the left-center seats to tie the game at 5.
De La Cruz won the game an inning later, grounding a single into left field that was deflected off third baseman Blaze Jordan’s glove, allowing automatic runner Tyler Stephenson to score.
Emilio Pagán (5-1) pitched a hitless 10th inning while starter Rhett Lowder matched a career high with 6 2/3 innings pitched. He allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out five, helping the Reds snap a three-game skid.
DENVER — Shohei Ohtani homered twice to help spark a slumping Dodgers offense, Blake Snell struck out five over six innings, and Los Angeles beat the Colorado Rockies 11-5 on Monday night.
Max Muncy added a three-run homer as the Dodgers found the perfect way to break out of their recent funk — playing at hitter-friendly Coors Field. They entered Monday averaging 3.4 runs per game over a stretch that saw them lose 11 of 16.
The 11 runs were the most by LA since a 12-7 win over San Diego on July 2.
Snell (1-1) allowed two hits and one run in his second start since returning from elbow surgery that sidelined him for three months. The lefty ran his scoreless innings streak against the Rockies to 27 before allowing a run in the third. Colorado scored on three walks and a fielder’s choice.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bobby Witt Jr. had a two-run homer, an RBI double and scored four times, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 9-5 victory over the Athletics on Monday night.
Witt’s 15th home run of the year was an estimated 390 feet to left-center field to give Kansas City a 5-1 lead. He added the double in the eighth inning.
After falling behind when Jeff McNeil homered on the first pitch of the game, the Royals went ahead when Maikel Garcia hit an RBI single and Salvador Perez added a two-run single to make it 3-1.
Jac Caglinone hit two RBI singles for the Royals, one in the sixth and the other in the eighth to make it 9-4. Kyle Isbel added one in the third.