The Los Angeles Angels did a number of American League wild-card hopefuls a favour on Saturday.
Led by starter Ryan Johnson, three Angels pitchers combined for a one-hit shutout victory over the Texas Rangers, who entered the day in sole possession of the junior circuit’s third wild-card spot.
With the Rangers’ loss, the victorious Cleveland Guardians, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners all picked up a game in the standings.
Cleveland particularly benefited, moving into a tie with Texas at 64-66 after its win over the Colorado Rockies.
The Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers also lost on Saturday, losing ground on their competition that won.
Here’s a look at how the standings look after Saturday’s results:
New York Yankees: vs. Toronto, 1:35 p.m., Sportsnet, Sportsnet+
Boston: vs. San Francisco, 3:15 p.m.
Texas: vs. Los Angeles Angels, 2:35 p.m.
Cleveland: at Colorado, 8:10 p.m.
Toronto: at New York Yankees, 1:35 p.m., Sportsnet, Sportsnet+
Minnesota: at San Diego, 4:10 p.m.
Baltimore: vs. Tampa Bay, 1:35 p.m.
Seattle: vs. Chicago Cubs, 4:10 p.m., Sportsnet+
Detroit: at Kansas City, 2:10 p.m.
NEW YORK — Dylan Cease carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Nathan Lukes’ homer in the eighth inning was the difference as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 4-3 on Saturday.
Cease’s bid for his second career no-hitter and the second in Toronto history ended with two outs in the seventh on a single to right field by Jazz Chisholm Jr. on his 106th pitch. Cease allowed an RBI single to Austin Wells that cut Toronto’s lead to 3-1 before being replaced by Spencer Miles.
Cease allowed two hits in 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander tied a season-high with five walks and struck out eight.
Cease threw 60 of 111 pitches for strikes. It was the second time this season Cease had a deep no-hit bid and second time he lost a no-hitter at Yankee Stadium.
Cease lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning July 8 at San Francisco and his bid for another on May 7, 2025, with San Diego at Yankee Stadium.
Miles hit José Caballero with a pitch to load the bases before retiring Trent Grisham on a ground ball to first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Tyler Rogers allowed a two-run homer to Luis García Jr. in the eighth and Louie Varland struck out Grisham with a runner on third for his 29th save in 30 chances.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kyle Isbel and Salvador Perez hit home runs, Michael Wacha allowed one run and three hits in seven innings, and Kansas City beat Detroit.
Wacha (7-8) has been outstanding against the Tigers this year in his three starts, going a combined 21 innings while only allowing three earned runs.
He went seven innings in each of those starts and on Saturday he walked one and fanned six.
Alex Lange and Craig Kimbrel pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively, with Kimbrel getting his first save since July 7, 2024, when he pitched for Baltimore.
Isbel hit a leadoff homer 400 feet to the right-field bullpen in the third inning, his second in as many games, to put the Royals up 1-0.
Perez extended the Royals lead to 2-0 when he hit his 17th homer of the season, a 424-foot shot to straightaway centre field, in the fourth inning.
The following inning, Hao-Yu Lee hit a 446-foot home run to left field to cut the deficit to 2-1. It was his seventh homer of the year.
Jac Caglianone doubled and then later scored on a wild pitch by Tanner Rainey in the sixth inning, giving the Royals a 3-1 lead.
Tigers starter Drew Anderson (4-5) went five innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits, striking out four and walking one.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Rookie Ryan Johnson carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning for the second time this season and three Los Angeles pitchers combined for a one-hitter in a win over Texas.
Johnson (3-7) struck out three in a career-high seven innings and won for the first time since July 19. He allowed only Cody Freeman’s leadoff single in the sixth inning and two walks with a hit batter. On June 23, the 24-year-old right-hander threw 6 1/3 innings of no-hit ball in beating Baltimore 5-1.
Rookie Ryan Watson followed Michael Fulmer and recorded his second save.
Zach Neto went 3 for 5 with two doubles, a triple and two runs two nights after going 5 for 6 at Houston. The Angels (52-78) beat the Rangers (64-66), who are competing for an AL playoff spot, for the eighth time in 12 games this season.
ORIOLES 3, RAYS 2, 10 INNINGS
BALTIMORE — Dylan Beavers led off the 10th inning with a pinch double to right-centre to score automatic runner Leody Taveras from second and give Baltimore a victory over AL East-leading Tampa Bay.
Samuel Basallo tied it at 2 for Baltimore in the eighth with a two-run pinch homer off Kevin Kelly. Bryan Baker (1-2) gave up Beavers’ double.
Pete Alonso had two hits to extend his career-high hitting streak to 14 games. Rico Garcia (5-1) pitched an inning for the victory.
Liam Hicks homered for Tampa Bay, and Chandler Simpson singled to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. The Rays have lost three straight and seven of nine. They remain three games ahead of the Yankees.
Hicks led off the second and lined a homer over the scoreboard in right to make it 1-0.
With a runner on first and no outs in the sixth, Yandy Díaz singled to right but Tyler O’Neill threw out Taylor Walls attempting to go first to third. Simpson and Junior Caminero followed with singles and the Rays led 2-0.
Jackson Holliday singled leading off the eighth and, with one out, Basallo hit his first career pinch homer, a shot to centre.
O’Neill made a diving catch on Richie Palacios’s blooper in the ninth to save a run.
Baltimore starter Brandon Young allowed two runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings.
HOUSTON — Donovan Walton homered and Tommy White had three hits as the Athletics used a big eighth inning to rally for a win over Houston and snap a five-game skid.
The A’s trailed 3-1 and had runners on second and third with one out in the eighth when they scored on a wild pitch by Bennett Sousa (1-2).
Lawrence Butler singled on a grounder to right field to tie it at 3-3. White doubled, and Butler scored on a groundout by Jonah Heim to put the Athletics on top.
Elvis Alvarado pitched the ninth for his third save.
Daulton Varsho’s homer off Luis Medina (5-3) put the Astros ahead in the seventh and a two-out RBI single by Jeremy Peña extended the lead to 3-1.
Houston starter Hunter Brown allowed seven hits and a run in 5 2/3 innings.
Jacob Lopez struck out nine, allowing one run on three hits in six innings for the Athletics.
SEATTLE — Randy Arozarena hit a walk-off, two-run home run as Seattle beat the Chicago Cubs.
Arozarena took Cubs closer Jacob Webb (6-3) 404 feet to straightaway centre to seal the come-from-behind victory for Seattle. The Mariners trailed 4-2 entering the ninth inning, and pulled within one run on a two-out, RBI single by Leo Rivas.
Kade Anderson made his much-anticipated MLB debut, yielding three earned runs across 5 2/3 innings. The 22-year-old Anderson entered the game as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. Anderson, the third overall pick in 2025, became the first player from his draft class to make his big-league debut on Saturday.
Mariners reliever Michael Rucker (1-4) earned his first win of the season.
Seattle (62-68) moved 3 1/2 games behind Houston in the AL West and two games back for the final wild-card spot. The Cubs (74-56) dropped to a 4 1/2 -game lead in the NL wild card.
Chicago struck first against Anderson in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Alcántara. Seattle led twice before the Cubs’ three-run sixth inning, first taking a 1-0 advantage on a leadoff home run by Arozarena and then on an RBI groundout by Dominic Canzone in the fifth inning.
SAN DIEGO — Jake Cronenworth raced home with the tying run on an error and Ty France singled in the go-ahead run during a four-run rally in the seventh inning that gave the San Diego Padres a 7-5 win against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.
The Padres remained in the National League’s third wild-card spot after winning for the 10th time in 13 games and for the 20th time in 27. They’ll go for a three-game sweep on Sunday against the Twins, who remain in a bunch just outside of the AL’s third wild card.
The Padres’ rally against Andrew Morris (4-5) started when Freddy Fermin reached on catcher’s interference with one out, followed by Fernando Tatis Jr.’s single. Cronenworth hit an opposite-field double into the left-field corner to bring them both in to pull the Padres to 5-4.
Manny Machado hit a grounder to shortstop Kaelen Culpepper, who threw to third trying to get Cronenworth, but Brooks Lee missed it for an error. Cronenworth got up and headed home, sliding in headfirst with the tying run.
France hit an opposite-field single to right to bring in Machado for the go-ahead run.
MILWAUKEE — Jake Bauers capped a marathon plate appearance with a tie-breaking two-run homer, Logan Henderson pitched six strong innings and Milwaukee defeated Atlanta.
The Brewers have won six of their last seven games. Atlanta has lost five of six and seven of nine.
Henderson (8-2) continued his impressive rookie season by striking out four while allowing one run, five hits and two walks. He hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his 18 career starts.
Atlanta brought the tying run to the plate after Aaron Ashby allowed consecutive singles to Ozzie Albies and Mauricio Dubón to start the ninth. Ashby then retired Lane Thomas on a fly to left and got a double-play grounder from Austin Riley to earn his second save.
Trevor Megill, the Brewers’ usual closer, was unavailable after pitching the last two days.
Milwaukee took the lead for good by scoring three unearned runs in the third.
The Brewers got the leadoff batter on when Atlanta pitcher Martín Pérez (8-8) mishandled a dribbler from Cooper Pratt, who beat the throw to first.
Two outs later, Pratt scored from third when William Contreras singled to left for Milwaukee’s first hit. Contreras went 2 for 4 on Saturday and is 6 of 8 in this series.
Bauers then fouled off seven straight pitches before finishing a 12-pitch plate appearance with a 413-foot blast to centre.
MIAMI — Heriberto Hernández and Jakob Marsee hit solo homers, Eury Pérez pitched five innings and Miami beat Washington.
The Marlins improved to 40-25 at home, the first time they have reached 40 since 2023 when they set a club record with 46.
Pérez (7-9) allowed one earned run on three hits while striking out four. Calvin Faucher worked a hitless ninth for his second save of the season.
Otto Lopez drove in Miami’s first two runs with a single in the first. Hernández homered to left field in the second to make it 3-0. Marsee followed in the fourth with his eighth home run of the season.
Washington’s Jake Irvin (2-8) surrendered all four runs on six hits in six innings.
PHILADELPHIA — Rookie Andrew Painter pitched seven strong innings and Kyle Schwarber hit his MLB-leading 38th homer of the season as Philadelphia extended its winning streak to eight games with a rout of St. Louis.
Every Phillies starter had at least one hit. Edmundo Sosa had two hits, including a two-run double in the first inning. Alec Bohm also had two hits and scored twice. Both singled and scored as part of a four-run outburst in the third inning.
Bryce Harper hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning, his 26th of the season.
Painter (3-8) allowed one run on five hits with eight strikeouts in his longest outing of the season. The 23-year-old right-hander had been demoted in June after a 12-4 loss to Miami, his eighth loss in nine decisions with an ERA above seven at the time. Since being recalled July 31, Painter has gone 2-0 in five starts, his ERA dipping to 6.04.
With Hunter Dobbins becoming the second St. Louis starter in two days to be placed on the injured list, the Cardinals called up highly valued lefty prospect Quinn Mathews to make his third start in August after two previous promotions.
Mathews (0-2) went five innings, allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits. He gave up all the runs and hits in the first three innings before settling down.
LOS ANGELES — Tarik Skubal struck out 11 to earn his first win as a Dodger, Kyle Tucker singled in the tying and go-ahead runs in the fifth inning, and Los Angeles rallied to beat Pittsburgh.
The NL West leaders won their fifth in a row and ninth in 12 games with their 37th comeback win of the season.
After a rough first inning in which he trailed 3-0, Skubal (8-7) settled down and retired 20 of his final 23 batters. The left-hander allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings with one walk. His strikeouts were one off his season high and two off his career best.
Tanner Scott retired the side in the ninth to earn his 19th save.
Skubal was 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA in his first three starts with the Dodgers, who acquired the two-time Cy Young Award winner in a blockbuster deal with the Detroit Tigers ahead of the trade deadline earlier this month.
Tucker snapped an 0-for-25 skid at home with his two-run RBI to right, giving the Dodgers their first lead, 4-3. Mookie Betts got hit by reliever Yohan Ramírez to open the inning and Max Muncy followed with a double to set up Tucker, who again received encouraging applause from the sellout crowd of 53,417.
The Pirates had the tying run on third in the eighth after Esmerlyn Valdez doubled off reliever Evan Phillips. Pinch-runner Billy Cook took third on a passed ball by catcher Ben Rortvedt. Jack Dreyer came in and got Cruz on a called third strike to end the threat.
Yohan Ramirez (6-4) took the loss in relief.
CHICAGO — Luis Robert Jr. hit two home runs against his former team, Bo Bichette, Carson Benge and Luis Torrens also homered and New York beat the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox.
The Mets are 59-71 and 12-5 in their last 17 games.
Bichette hit a go-ahead solo shot in the third inning before Robert, in his second game back at Rate Field after being traded in January, launched his first home run of the game over the centre-field wall to put New York up 4-1.
Benge followed with a solo homer in the fifth, and Eric Wagaman and Marcus Semien extended the lead to 7-3 with RBI singles.
Robert’s second homer of the game — a 417-foot shot into the seats in left — extended the Mets’ lead to 8-3. Torrens capped New York’s scoring with a two-run homer. In Torrens’ last 29 plate appearances, he has six home runs.
BOSTON — Eli White slid headfirst into the plate with the winning run to complete a three-run ninth-inning rally, a play that was upheld after a review, and the Boston Red Sox got to celebrate their 3-2 win over the San Francisco Giants twice on Saturday night.
Wilyer Abreu hit a hard grounder that first baseman Bryce Eldridge made a diving stop on, then threw home for an attempted force, but White was ruled safe by umpire James Hoye, setting off a celebration. The Giants challenged the call on the field and the call stood after a video review, prompting a second celebration.
Willy Adames hit a solo homer over the Green Monster for the Giants, who lost for the 10th time in 13 games.
Dylan Smith had escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the eighth before Boston rallied against Sam Hentges (1-6), tying it on Nick Sogard’s RBI double down the left-field line after pinch-hitter White had a run-scoring single.
Wyatt Olds (1-0) earned the win.