DETROIT (AP) — Nacho Alvarez Jr. hit the first two homers of his MLB career, then added a game-tying single in the ninth inning and the Atlanta Braves won their seventh straight game with a 6-5 victory against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.
The Tigers have lost five straight and eight of the past nine. Their lead in the AL Central is down to 1 1/2 games over the Cleveland Guardians, who have a doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
The Braves trailed 5-4 going into the ninth. Ozzie Albies and Ha-Seong Kim started the ninth with singles off Will Vest (6-5), but he struck out Michael Harris II and Sandy León.
That brought up Alvarez, who had already homered in the third and eighth innings. He lined a single to right to tie the game and Jurickson Profar followed with a base hit to put the Braves ahead.
Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth for his 27th save. Dylan Dodd (1-0) got the win in relief with a scoreless eighth.
GUARDIANS 6, TWINS 0, 1ST GAME
GUARDIANS 8, TWINS 0, 2ND GAME
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Steven Kwan tied a season high with four RBIs and Cleveland made it 10 straight wins by beating Minnesota to sweep a day-night doubleheader without giving up a run.
Winners in 15 of their past 16 games, the Guardians are one game back of first-place Detroit in the AL Central after trailing by 11 on Sept. 4. The Tigers were on Saturday afternoon.
The Guardians started the nightcap one game behind Boston and Houston in the wild-card standings. They , hitting five home runs in a game for the first time since April 10, 2021.
Limited to one hit through four innings, Cleveland sent 10 batters to the plate in the fifth inning.
A one-out single by Kwan scored Brayan Rocchio and Petey Halpin. With two outs, Kyle Manzardo and C.J. Kayfus had RBI singles around a two-run double by Gabriel Arias to the wall in right-center field.
Kwan added a two-run single in the eighth.
That was more than enough for Logan Allen (8-11), who earned his first win since July 29 by scattering four hits and striking out seven in a career-high eight innings.
NATIONALS 5, METS 3, 11 INNINGS
NEW YORK (AP) —Daylen Lile hit an inside-the-park homer in the 11th inning that sent Washington past New York.
With a runner on first base and one out, Lile drove a 2-2 sinker from Tyler Rogers (4-6) off the center-field wall. The ball caromed far away from Cedric Mullins as the speedy Lile circled the bases and scored easily with a headfirst slide at home plate.
PJ Poulin retired the side in order in the bottom half for his first career save, throwing a called third strike past Juan Soto to end it.
It was a costly defeat for the Mets, who began the day with a two-game lead over Cincinnati for the final National League wild card. New York has lost 10 of 14 overall.
PIRATES 2, ATHLETICS 0
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rookie Bubba Chandler and two relievers combined on a one-hitter, and Nick Yorke and Bryan Reynolds hit home runs as Pittsburgh downed the Athletics to end a five-game losing streak.
Chandler allowed only Jacob Wilson’s two-out double in the second inning while striking out six and walking none. He has in 11 innings in his last two starts since getting in 2 2/3 innings by Milwaukee on Sept. 7.
Braxton Ashcraft followed with three perfect innings and six strikeouts. Dennis Santana worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 14th save and first since Sept. 3.
Yorke, a rookie, belted his first home run of the season and third of his career with two outs in the second inning off Luis Morales (4-2). Reynolds hit a 416-foot drive to right-center, his 16th, to lead off the third.
REDS 6, CUBS 3
CINCINNATI (AP) — Spencer Steer hit his fourth home run in four games and Cincinnati gained ground in the National League wild-card race with a victory over Chicago.
The Reds (79-76) are one game behind the New York Mets, who on Saturday afternoon, for the final wild-card spot — and Cincinnati owns the tiebreaker. The Cubs hold the top wild card and have already clinched a playoff berth.
TJ Friedl and Tyler Stephenson also went deep for the Reds, who have won four straight.
YANKEES 6, ORIOLES 1
BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his 49th home run, Giancarlo Stanton ripped a three-run shot and New York got a dominant pitching performance from Carlos Rodón in a victory over Baltimore.
New York closed within two games of first place in the AL East behind Toronto, which lost to Kansas City. Both the Yankees and Blue Jays have seven games left, and º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøholds the tiebreaker.
Stanton put New York up 3-0 in the first inning with his 450th career homer, and Judge went deep leading off the third. Both drives came off Tomoyuki Sugano (10-9), who threw 87 pitches over three stressful innings before being lifted.
Staked to an early lead, Rodón (17-9) had little difficulty reaching a career high in wins. The 32-year-old lefty gave up one run and four hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out eight.
Coby Mayo doubled home the Orioles’ lone run in the seventh.
MARLINS 4, RANGERS 3
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Troy Johnston and Connor Norby hit back-to-back solo home runs with two outs in the sixth inning and Miami beat Texas.
Johnston also had an RBI single for the Marlins (75-80), who have won five consecutive games and 10 of their last 13.
Rookie Cade Gibson (4-5) pitched two innings to earn the win. Calvin Faucher’s 15th save came despite allowing a leadoff homer to Kyle Higashioka in the ninth. Faucher left runners on second and third.
The Rangers (79-76) have dropped six straight, matching their longest losing streak of the season. They were eliminated from the AL West race and are five games out in the wild-card race.
PADRES 7, WHITE SOX 3
CHICAGO (AP) — Ryan O’Hearn hit a tiebreaking three-run double in a four-run sixth inning, and San Diego moved closer to their second straight playoff appearance by beating Chicago.
Jackson Merrill homered leading off the second and scored three runs. O’Hearn had three hits and delivered the big blow in the sixth, when San Diego took advantage of three wild pitches and three walks while chasing White Sox starter Yoendrys Gómez (3-3).
Fernando Tatis Jr. got the go-ahead rally started with a leadoff single and scored from third when Manny Machado knocked Gómez out of the game with a tying single. Fraser Ellard then walked three of the five batters he faced and gave up the go-ahead hit when O’Hearn cleared the bases with a line-drive double to left, making it 5-2.
Gavin Sheets had an RBI single in the eighth against his former team, and the Padres came away with the win after losing two in a row. San Diego (84-71), holding the second wild card, began the night with a magic number of four for clinching a playoff spot.
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