Rookie Petey Halpin belted a three-run homer in the sixth inning to help the host Cleveland Guardians grab sole possession of first place in the American League Central with a 6-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.
Jo Adell ripped a two-run single and Jose Ramirez added an RBI double for the Guardians, who won the decisive game of the three-game series to move a half-game ahead of the White Sox.
Parker Messick (12-9) threw six innings of three-run ball for the victory, and Cade Smith got four outs for his 37th save.
Chicago, which has lost seven of its last nine games, had held at least a share of first place in the division since July 4. Tommy Pham, who came off the injured list earlier in the day, hit a three-run homer for the White Sox in the fifth inning.
Reds 6, Dodgers 2
Elly De La Cruz and Dane Myers homered while Sal Stewart added three hits to lead Cincinnati past visiting Los Angeles.
The loss denied the Dodgers a chance to clinch their 13th National League West title in the past 14 seasons. Dodgers starter Blake Snell, in his seventh start since arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow in May, was removed after one inning due to left groin tightness.
De La Cruz’s two-run shot in the third put the Reds ahead to stay. Myers hit a solo shot in the fifth. Tejay Antone (3-2) got one out to earn the win over Seth Halvorsen (1-2).
Brewers 5, Pirates 4
Christian Yelich’s two-run single in the seventh inning was the game-winning hit as Milwaukee won at Pittsburgh.
Cooper Pratt went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Brewers, who earned their seventh victory in eight games. Reliever Antonio Senzatela (11-5) emerged with the win, and Trevor Megill handled the ninth inning for his 28th save.
Oneil Cruz, Brandon Lowe and Rafael Flores Jr. homered for the Pirates, who have lost four of their past five games. Reliever Carmen Mlodzinski (7-7) permitted two runs in two innings.
Giants 6, Cardinals 5 (10 innings)
Drew Gilbert hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the 10th inning, and visiting San Francisco recovered after blowing a ninth-inning lead to beat St. Louis.
Rookie Jonah Cox had three hits, two stolen bases and an RBI, and former Cardinal Andrew Knizner had three hits and drove in a run for the Giants, who took two of three from the Cardinals after sweeping them at home last week.
Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his first appearance since Aug. 29. Wetherholt missed 15 games because of right wrist tendinitis. Nathan Church collected two of St. Louis’ five hits.
Twins 5, Yankees 4 (13 innings)
Victor Caratini’s pinch-hit single bounced off the mound and under the glove of shortstop George Lombard Jr. to score automatic runner Luke Keaschall in the 11th inning as Minnesota edged New York in Minneapolis.
Ryan Kreidler hit a solo home run and Keaschall collected three hits, two runs and an RBI for the Twins. Tommy Nance (3-3) set up Caratini’s heroics by striking out two in a scoreless 13th.
Yankees reliever John Schreiber (2-4) gave up one run in one inning. Cody Bellinger contributed three hits and Anthony Volpe went 2-for-5 with a two-run double. Aaron Judge exited in the sixth due to lower right leg tightness.
Rays 4, Athletics 3
Chandler Simpson and Jonny DeLuca each went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI as first-place Tampa Bay stretched its lead in the American League East by defeating the visiting A’s in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Rays won their fifth straight game and moved 4 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees in the division. Tampa Bay starter Nick Martinez (15-4) tossed five innings and allowed two runs on five hits, and Cole Sulser pitched a shutout ninth inning for his third save.
Tommy White went 3-for-4 with a solo homer for the A’s, who also got a solo shot from Henry Bolte. Shea Langeliers added an RBI single to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.
Phillies 3, Nationals 0
Zack Wheeler and two relievers combined on a four-hit shutout, Alec Bohm had two hits and three walks and Philadelphia earned a split of its two-game series in Washington.
Wheeler (13-5) went seven innings, allowing four hits. He has yielded three runs over 26 innings (1.04 ERA) in his past four starts. Jhoan Duran tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 31st save. Bryce Harper singled, walked and scored twice for the Phillies.
Daylen Lile had two hits for the Nationals, who had won four straight. Washington opener Jared Simpson (1-1) allowed two runs on one hit, recording just one out. Nationals pitchers allowed only five hits but tied a team record with 13 walks issued.
Padres 9, Rockies 3
Ethan Salas hit the first two home runs of his major league career, Jackson Merrill finished with three hits and San Diego beat Colorado in Denver.
Salas drove in three runs. At 20 years, 107 days old, he is the youngest catcher in the majors (since 1900) with a multi-homer game. Salas, Samad Taylor, Jake Cronenworth and Dustin Harris had two hits each and Robbie Ray tossed six solid innings to help the Padres win for the ninth time in 10 games.
Kyle Karros homered for Colorado, which has lost nine of its last 10. Rockies starter Mason Adams (0-1) allowed six runs on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings.
Marlins 4, Diamondbacks 3
Jakob Marsee hit a two-run homer and a double as Miami held off Arizona in Phoenix to further damage the Diamondbacks’ National League wild-card chances.
Heriberto Hernandez collected four singles and an RBI and Otto Lopez added two hits for the Marlins, who won two of three in the series and have won four of five overall.
Pavin Smith, Gabriel Moreno and Nolan Arenado hit bases-empty homers for the D-backs, who have lost four of five and slipped to 3 1/2 games behind San Diego for the third and final NL wild-card spot.
Cubs 8, Braves 4
Pete Crow-Armstrong homered twice and Shota Imanaga threw a quality start to help lead Chicago over visiting Atlanta.
Crow-Armstrong has 44 homers this season, one behind the major league leader, Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber. Alex Bregman went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs for the Cubs, who stayed a half-game ahead of the Phillies for the National League’s top wild-card spot.
Imanaga (11-10) allowed one run on four hits. Mauricio Dubon had two hits and an RBI for the Braves, who have dropped three of their past four.
Blue Jays 5, Tigers 1
Max Scherzer pitched five effective innings as host Toronto defeated Detroit to salvage the finale of a three-game series.
The 42-year-old Scherzer (3-8), who enjoyed several outstanding years with Detroit, allowed one run on three hits. He helped the Blue Jays move within 1 1/2 games of the third American League wild-card spot.
Miles Straw and Brett Bateman each finished 2-for-4 for Toronto. Kevin McGonigle led the Tigers with two hits. Keider Montero (9-9) gave up two runs on six hits in four innings.
Orioles 7, Mets 1
Pete Alonso, Jeremiah Jackson and Christian Encarnacion-Strand each homered for the second consecutive game, and visiting Baltimore completed a three-game sweep of New York.
Samuel Basallo also homered and finished with two RBIs for the Orioles, who are 2 1/2 games back of the White Sox for the third American League wild-card spot. Chris Bassitt (8-5) tossed 6 2/3 solid innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits.
Marcus Semien had an RBI single for the Mets, who have dropped four straight, their longest skid since June. In his first start since Sept. 28, 2024, Xzavion Curry (0-1) allowed six runs on six hits over three innings.
Royals 5, Astros 2
John Rave and Michael Massey smacked home runs in support of Daniel Lynch IV, who twirled five shutout innings to lead visiting Kansas City over Houston.
The Royals squared the three-game series at a win apiece as the Astros dropped into a tie atop the American League West with the Texas Rangers. Houston, which got a solo homer from Yainer Diaz, holds the tiebreaker over Texas.
Massey finished 3-for-5. Lynch (6-5) limited Houston to two hits and one walk. Astros starter Cristian Javier (2-6) allowed two runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Rangers 7, Red Sox 3
Texas broke open a tie game by scoring three runs in the seventh inning and defeated Boston in Arlington, Texas, to claim a share of first place in the American League West.
Rangers reliever Nate Eovaldi (11-9) pitched four scoreless innings, allowing one hit. Josh Jung had three hits while Jake Burger and Justin Foscue each added two hits and a RBI for Texas, which has won four in a row.
Willson Contreras homered for the Red Sox, who were limited to three hits. Boston reliever Erik Miller (4-1) gave up three runs in his lone inning.
Mariners 7, Angels 2
Cal Raleigh went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs and Josh Naylor had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs as Seattle salvaged the finale of its three-game series with Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.
Randy Arozarena had a single and scored three runs and Julio Rodriguez doubled and had two hits for Seattle. Carlos Vargas (1-0) earned the win, allowing one hit in 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.
Denzer Guzman went 4-for-5 with a run and Zach Neto and Moises Ballesteros each had two hits for the Angels, who left 14 men left on base. Yusei Kikuchi (1-6) allowed five runs, four earned, on five hits in 4 1/3 innings.