Reds defeat Padres, 7-3, to take series
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CINCINNATI (AP) -- Rookie Juan Brito hit his first home run, JJ Bleday and Héctor Rodríguez also went deep and the Cincinnati Reds scored seven unanswered runs to beat the San Diego Padres 7-3 on Wednesday.
Cincinnati (67-73) sat six games back of Arizona and San Diego for the third and final NL wild-card spot after the win. The Diamondbacks host the Phillies, the top wild card, later Wednesday.
Brito had a game-tying, three-run shot into the right-field seats in the third inning. Two batters later, Rodríguez tacked on a solo shot to give Cincinnati the lead. Rodríguez has five homers in his last 10 games.
Bleday capped the scoring in the seventh with his 22nd homer of the season, a two-run, 416-foot hit to help the Reds clinch the three-game series. Matt McLain added an RBI sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Brandon Williamson (3-3) pitched a season-best 5 1/3 innings for Cincinnati, striking out five and allowing three runs on seven hits. Pierce Johnson, Tejay Antone, Tony Santillan and Emilio Pagán went hitless out of the bullpen to seal the win.
Ty France gave San Diego a 2-0 lead in the first inning with his 20th home run of the season, and Fernando Tatis Jr. plated the Padres’ final run in the second with an RBI single.
Casey Mize (5-9) threw four innings for the Padres and surrendered four runs on five hits with four strikeouts. Since being traded on Aug. 3 from the Detroit Tigers, Mize has 20 earned runs and 15 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched for San Diego.
Up next: Reds RHP Rhett Lowder (6-8, 5.14) takes the mound Friday for the opener of a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
GUARDIANS 6, BLUE JAYS 1
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Gavin Williams struck out a career-high 13 and allowed just two singles in seven innings, leading the Cleveland Guardians to a 6-1 win on Tuesday night over the Toronto Blue Jays in a matchup of teams in the thick of the AL wild-card race.
Patrick Bailey, rookie Angel Genao and Angel Martinez all hit two-run homers for the Guardians, who are 11-4 since Aug. 12. Cleveland came in with a slim lead for the third wild-card spot.
Williams (13-7) began September by dominating the Blue Jays, allowing one unearned run. The right-hander, who was coming off a shaky outing last week, didn’t give up a hit until the fourth.
Williams struck out the side in the seventh and fanned five of his last six. It was his 10th double-digit strikeout game this season.
Hunter Gaddis and Matt Festa pitched an inning apiece to finish the three-hitter.
Bailey put the Guardians up 2-1 in the fifth with his eighth homer. Martinez led off with a walk, and one out later, Bailey drove a 3-1 pitch from Spencer Arighetti (7-8) into the left-field bleachers.
NATIONALS 9, BRAVES 5
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Yohandy Morales homered in his first major league game and Jared Simpson earned the win in relief in his own debut, helping Washington beat Atlanta.
The Nationals called up Morales and Simpson before the game, with major league rosters expanding from 26 to 28. After striking out his first time up, Morales hit a solo shot in the third inning. Simpson (1-0) entered in the fifth with Washington up 5-2 and induced a double play and a flyout after inheriting a first-and-second, nobody-out situation.
Then he worked two more perfect innings.
The 24-year-old Morales, who hit 25 homers for Triple-A Rochester this year, also singled and doubled in an impressive debut.
AJ Smith-Shawver (0-1) allowed five runs and six hits in four innings. Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II homered for the Braves, whose lead over Philadelphia atop the NL East dropped to 3 games, with the Phillies beating Arizona Tuesday night.
RAYS 6, METS 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Freddy Peralta pitched six terrific innings against his former team, Yandy Díaz homered and doubled, and Tampa Bay beat New York.
Junior Caminero extended his hitting streak to 15 games with two singles for Tampa Bay. Victor Mesa Jr. had three hits and Ryan Vilade drove in two runs for the Rays, who have the best record in the American League at 83-55 and a 4 1/2-game lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees.
Peralta, acquired from the Mets for three minor leaguers in an Aug. 2 trade, struggled at the start. He gave up Francisco Lindor’s leadoff homer and consecutive singles to Bo Bichette and Carson Benge. But the right-hander settled down and retired 17 of his final 18 batters.
Peralta (7-11) allowed three hits and one run, with no walks and seven strikeouts. He has permitted just one run over his last 14 innings.
The two-time All-Star combined with three Rays relievers to hold New York to 0 for 26 over the final eight innings, although the Mets managed to score in the seventh when Tampa Bay walked four batters.
MARINERS 9, RED SOX 6
BOSTON (AP) -- Lazaro Montes homered in his big league debut, Randy Arozarena hit a three-run homer and Seattle ended a five-game skid with a win over Boston.
Dominic Canzone also homered for the Mariners, who tagged Jedixson Páez (0-1) for five runs in the second inning of his first career start and finished with 14 hits.
The game was delayed for several minutes in the sixth after umpire Will Little caught a foul ball under his chin, knocking off his throat guard. Little appeared dazed and needed a few minutes before finishing the top of the sixth. He then left the game as second-base umpire Ryan Wills took over behind the plate.
The scary moment came not long after a jubilant trip around the bases by Montes, one of several players added Tuesday as rosters expanded.
Montes walked and scored in the first, hit an RBI single in the second and led off the fifth with a 407-foot shot to center. Montes had an animated run around the bases, nearly bowling over third-base coach Carlos Cardoza during a high-five on his way to the plate, followed by a dugout celebration carrying the Mariners’ golden trident.
Mickey Gasper homered for Boston, which has lost three of four. The Red Sox got a two-run homer by Jahmai Jones as they tried to rally late, but couldn’t overcome a 9-1 deficit.
BREWERS 9, CUBS 4
CHICAGO (AP) -- Christian Yelich capped Milwaukee’s four-run sixth inning with a tiebreaking two-run homer, helping the Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs.
Milwaukee used a 13-hit attack to restore its eight-game lead in the NL Central over Chicago, bouncing back nicely after losing 17-3 to the Cubs in the opener of the four-game series. The top three hitters in the Brewers’ lineup -- Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang and William Contreras -- went 6 for 14 and scored four times.
A day after hitting a franchise-record nine homers, Chicago was held to three singles and three doubles on a muggy night at Wrigley Field. Tyrone Taylor drove in two runs, and BJ Murray Jr. singled in the sixth for his first hit in his major league debut.
Milwaukee went ahead to stay in the sixth. Turang scored on a balk by Daniel Palencia, and Andrew Vaughn’s RBI double tied it at 3. Yelich then drove an 0-2 slider from Palencia (2-2) to right-center for his 10th homer.
Yelich also walked and scored on Joey Ortiz’s eighth homer in the eighth, a two-run shot to center field off Tyler Ferguson that lifted the Brewers to a 9-4 lead.
Antonio Senzatela (10-4) pitched an inning for his first win since he was acquired in a deadline trade with Colorado.
WHITE SOX 5, ASTROS 1
HOUSTON (AP) -- Colson Montgomery had two hits and two RBIs and Randal Grichuk added a two-run double to lead the Chicago White Sox to a win over Houston.
Sean Burke (8-6) allowed one hit and walked four with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the win after walking a career-high eight in just three innings in his last start.
Houston’s loss, combined with Texas’ 8-5 win over the Athletics, cut the Astros’ lead over the Rangers in the AL West to one game.
The White Sox had runners on first and second with two outs in the fifth when Andrew Benintendi’s RBI single to right field made it 1-0. Montgomery followed with a double to score two more and push the lead to 3-0.
Chicago got another big hit with two on and two out in the seventh when Grichuk’s double made it 5-0. The White Sox had a chance to add to the lead after that, but Cam Smith robbed Tristan Peters of a homer with a leaping catch in right field to end the inning.
The Astros had just two hits -- both by Taylor Trammell -- when Isaac Paredes homered to left field with two outs in the eighth inning to cut the lead to 5-1.
PHILLIES 7, DIAMONDBACKS 1
PHOENIX (AP) -- Bryce Harper reached base five times, Jesús Luzardo threw 6 2/3 quality innings and Philadelphia won its sixth straight game by beating Arizona.
The surging Phillies have won 15 of their last 17 and are now just three games behind the Atlanta Braves for the NL East lead.
Harper had four singles, including one on a surprise bunt in the first inning. The nine-time All-Star also walked, scored a run and drove in another, starting September with a terrific performance after slashing .333/.496/.573 in August.
Luzardo (13-5) gave up one run on six hits and a walk while striking out six. The hard-throwing lefty has a 1.32 ERA over his lasts six starts -- joining Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sanchez for arguably baseball’s best starting rotation.
The Phillies never trailed, jumping to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Trea Turner hit an RBI double off the center-field wall in the first while Alec Bohm’s run-scoring single made it 3-1 in the fifth.
The D-backs cut the margin to 3-1 on Jordan Lawlar’s solo homer in the bottom of the fifth. The Phillies put the game away with a three-run eighth inning and another run in the ninth.
Arizona left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (14-5) needed 103 pitches to get through five innings. The All-Star gave up three runs on eight hits and three walks, striking out three.
YANKEES 7, ANGLES 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Spencer Jones homered and drove in three runs, Jazz Chisholm Jr. also went deep and finished with three hits, and New York pulled away for a victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Jones and Chisholm launched back-to-back homers to give Gerrit Cole a 3-0 lead before even throwing a pitch in his latest return home. New York moved four games ahead of rival Boston for the top American League wild card and remained 4 1/2 games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.
A day that began with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment reaching an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Angels from owner Arte Moreno ended with the struggling Angels losing for the ninth time in 11 games.
Cole (8-7) gave up three runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking one. Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn and John Schreiber held Los Angeles to one hit the rest of the way.
Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez (4-6) gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking two.
CARDINALS 13, DODGERS 8
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- St. Louis hit five home runs, including a pair by Thomas Saggese and a two-run shot from Home Run Derby champion Jordan Walker, in a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ramón Urías and Joshua Báez also went deep for the Cardinals, who had lost seven of nine while getting outscored 63-38 during that span. But the bats broke loose in this one as St. Louis scored its most runs in a game at Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles starter Eric Lauer (8-7) was tagged for seven early runs, five in the third inning.
Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy went a combined 1 for 7 with three strikeouts for the Dodgers. Mookie Betts had four RBIs.
Los Angeles dropped to 28-2 when scoring at least eight runs this season.
Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy (6-9) allowed four runs and five hits with four strikeouts in five innings.