MIAMI (AP) — Jake Burger hit a three-run homer, the Marlins scored the tie-breaking run in the eighth inning and Miami beat Milwaukee 5-4 on Saturday to stay within a game of the Cubs for the third NL wild card and prevent the Brewers from clinching the NL Central.
Pinch runner Garrett Hampson scored the winning run on a wild pitch by Brewers reliever Joel Payamps (6-5) in the eighth.
Miami’s Luis Arraez went 1-for-5 and his major league-leading batting average dropped to .353, while Carlos Santana hit his career 300th homer for Milwaukee.
Andrew Nardi (8-1) pitched a scoreless eighth and Tanner Scott closed with a perfect ninth for his 10th save.
Milwaukee starter Brandon Woodruffwas lifted after five innings. The right-hander gave up four runs, six hits, struck out six and walked two.
RAYS 7, BLUE JAYS 6
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Josh Lowe hit a three-run homer and a walk-off single that capped a two-run ninth inning, lifting Tampa Bay over Toronto after the Rays wasted a five-run lead.
Rays starter Zack Littell took a shutout in the sixth but was pulled after the Blue Jays put two runners on with two outs due to Curtis Mead’s throwing error at third and a wild pitch on a strikeout.
Shawn Armstrong entered and gave up four straight hits. Chris Devenski (5-4), Tampa Bays' sixth pitcher, was credited with the win.
Jordan Romano (5-6), Toronto's sixth pitcher, blew a save for the fourth time in 40 chances.
PHILLIES 7, METS 5
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper sparked Philadelphia’s comeback from a two-run deficit by reaching 20 homers for the ninth time, leading the Phillies to their fourth straight win.
Harper had three RBIs for the defending NL champions (86-69), who are closing in on an NL wild card berth. Alec Bohm also homered as the Phillies, who opened a four-game lead over Arizona for the top wild card.
Philadelphia would clinch a playoff berth Sunday with a win and a loss by either the Chicago Cubs or Miami Marlins. The Phillies have not reached the playoffs in successive seasons since a five-year stretch from 2007-11.
Zack Wheeler (13-6) improved to 4-0 in his last six starts, allowing five runs — three earned — and eight hits in seven innings. José Alvarado pitched a perfect ninth for his 10th save in 12 chances.
Mets starter José Quintana (3-6) gave up six runs — five earned runs — and eight hits in six innings with a season-high 10 strikeouts.
ANGELS 1, TWINS 0
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jo Adell homered, Kenny Rosenberg outpitched Sonny Gray and Los Angeles beat Minnesota, a day after the Twins clinched the AL Central title.
Rosenberg (2-2), a 28-year-old left-hander making his fourth big league start and ninth appearance, allowed five hits and two walks in five innings with five strikeouts. Carlos Estévez, the Angels’ fourth reliever, hit Kyle Farmer with a pitch starting the ninth, then got three straight outs for his 31st save in 35 chances.
Gray (8-8) allowed a fourth-inning homer to Adell on a first-pitch sinker, just the eighth home run off Gray this season. He gave up four hits in six innings and struck out eight.
Los Angeles (70-85), assured of its eighth straight losing season, won for just the second time in nine games.
CUBS 6, ROCKIES 3
CHICAGO (AP) — Cody Bellinger hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, and Chicago topped Colorado to improve its position in the NL wild-card standings.
Led by a solid performance from its bullpen, Chicago earned its second straight win after a stretch of seven losses in eight games. It moved within a half-game of Arizona for the second NL wild card and ensured it would hold onto sole possession of the third spot for at least another day.
Colorado wasted a solid performance by Chris Flexen, who pitched five innings of two-run ball. After Nick Mears (0-1) began the seventh with three straight walks on 13 pitches, Bellinger put Chicago in front when he greeted Justin Lawrence with a fly ball to the warning track in left.
Marcus Stroman pitched three innings of three-run ball for the Cubs in his first start since July 31. After Stroman departed, Javier Assad (5-3) struck out six in four scoreless innings. Julian Merryweather escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, and José Cuas worked the ninth for his second big league save.
WHITE SOX 1, RED SOX 0
BOSTON (AP) — Luis Robert Jr. hit a 311-foot home run just beyond the Pesky Pole to break a scoreless, ninth-inning tie, and Dylan Cease struck out 11 in seven shutout innings to lead Chicago over Boston.
Playing in a steady rain, with the wind blowing in at 10 mph, Cease and Boston starter Nick Pivetta matched scoreless innings before both departed after seven.
Aaron Bummer (5-5) pitched the eighth, walking the first two batters before escaping. Bryan Shaw got the last three outs for his third save.
Josh Winckowski (4-3) struck out three after relieving Pivetta, allowing two hits, including the curling line drive that found the first row of seats — just beyond the foul pole that is 302 feet from home plate.
ATHLETICS 4, TIGERS 1
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Joe Boyle had five strikeouts in six innings for his first career win, Esteury Ruiz hit a two-run home run, and Oakland beat Detroit.
Boyle (1-0) was mostly crisp in his second start in the majors. The rookie allowed five hits, pitched around traffic in each of the first six innings and gave up an unearned run in the third, the only runner Boyle allowed past second base.
Trevor May got the final four outs, pitching out of a bases-loaded jams in the eighth, for his 20th save.
Miguel Díaz, working as the Tigers opener for the third time in five days, retired four of the five batters he faced and walked one. Reliever Joey Wentz (3-12) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and striking out five.
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