ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jeffrey Springs pitched neatly into the sixth inning, Christian Bethancourt hit a seventh-inning two-run homer, and the Tampa Bay Rays moved within five games of the AL East-leading New York Yankees with a 9-0 victory on Friday night.
Springs (7-4) gave up four hits and three walks, along with seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. JT Chargois, Colin Poche, Jason Adam and Calvin Faucher completed the five-hitter.
Tampa Bay has limited the Yankees to 42 runs (32 earned) in 14 games.
Bethancourt made it 3-0 on his homer off Domingo Germán (2-3), who allowed three runs — two earned — and six hits over 6 2/3 innings.
Yu Chang had a two-run infield single and Manuel Margot drove in two with a single during a six-run eighth against Greg Weissert and Anthony Banda.
New York has lost five of six, while the Rays have won four in a row to move a season-high 16 games over .500.
REDS 3, ROCKIES 2
CINCINNATI — Jonathan India drove in Spencer Steer from third base with a game-ending chopper against Colorado’s five-man infield to lead Cincinnati to the win.
Steer, who hit his first career home run in the fifth in his major league debut, led off the ninth with a double against Alex Colomé (2-7) and went to third on a one-out wild pitch. Jake Fraley was intentionally walked and took second on defensive indifference.
The Rockies moved into the stacked infield with three fielders on the left side. India hit a bouncer up the middle that shifted center fielder Garrett Hampson caught on the grass in front of second base, but he had no play on Steer. India was credited with a single.
Fraley tied it at 2 when he greeted Dinelson Lamet with a leadoff homer in the seventh. It was Fraley’s first career pinch-hit homer.
Sean Bouchard had a two-run homer for Colorado in the third for the first of his career.
Alexis Díaz (5-2) gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth to get the win.
WHITE SOX 4, TWINS 3
CHICAGO — Jose Abreu drove in the winning run with a fielder’s choice grounder in the ninth inning after Minnesota closer Jorge López hit Andrew Vaughn to ignite a heated confrontation.
The White Sox loaded the bases when Lopez hit Vaughn almost in the face. That led to the bullpens and benches emptying. Lopez (4-7) then appeared to hit Abreu with the next pitch, setting off a celebration by the White Sox. The ball apparently grazed the bat and the call was overturned. Chicago won it two pitches later when Abreu sent a grounder toward second and Gonzalez scored as the Twins were unable to complete the double play.
Rookie Davis Martin threw three-hit ball over five scoreless innings in relief. Yasmani Grandal hit a tying home run in the eighth against Caleb Thielbar after Minnesota scored in the top half to take a 3-2 lead, and Liam Hendriks (3-3) pitched around a single in the ninth.
The White Sox won their third in a row after losing 10 of 12. They pulled within three games of first-place Cleveland and prevented the Twins from tying the Guardians for the AL Central lead.
CARDINALS 8, CUBS 0
ST. LOUIS — Jordan Montgomery pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning to remain unbeaten with St. Louis, and Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman homered.
The NL Central-leading Cardinals have won five of six. Chicago has lost five of six.
Montgomery (8-3) scattered seven hits, striking out four and walking two to improve to 5-0 with a 1.47 ERA since being acquired from the New York Yankees on Aug. 2. He gave up two hits to lead off the seventh before reliever Jordan Hicks struck out pinch-hitter Zach McKinstry, Nick Madrigal and Seiya Suzuki.
The Cardinals got late-inning homers from Nootbaar and Edman to break open what had been a close 3-0 game. Nootbaar’s 11th home run and Edman’s 12th came off Cubs reliever Sean Newcomb.
The Cubs went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position.
Chicago starter Adrian Sampson gave up two runs on four hits, striking out four and walking two in five innings.
BLUE JAYS 4, PIRATES 0
PITTSBURGH — Alek Manoah pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning and Bo Bichette homered to lead Toronto.
Manoah (13-7) allowed five hits and struck out six in 7 1/3 innings, retiring 15 of the final 18 batters he faced. The right-hander went at least seven innings without allowing a run for the first time since last Sept. 13, when he made it through eight innings.
The Blue Jays have won 10 of 15 and maintained their 1 1/2-game edge over the Baltimore Orioles in the race for the third and final wild-card spot in the American League.
Toronto scored a pair of runs with three straight hits off of Tyler Beede (1-5) to start the fourth inning. Matt Chapman led off with a double down the left-field line, Cavan Biggio followed with an infield single and Santiago Espinal drove both in with a double to left.
Bichette added to the Blue Jays’ lead in the ninth with a two-run homer to left, his 18th of the season.
TIGERS 5, ROYALS 4
DETROIT — Ryan Kreidler scored twice in his major league debut, including the go-ahead run on pinch-hitter Harold Castro’s seventh-inning single, and Detroit edged Kansas City.
Kreidler, promoted from Triple-A Toledo on Thursday, drew two walks. Javier Baez hit a two-run homer and Willi Castro had three hits, including a solo homer. Detroit snapped a three-game losing streak.
Andrew Chafin (1-2) got the win with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Gregory Soto struck out the side in the ninth for his 24th save.
Michael A. Taylor hit a two-run homer for the Royals, who have dropped three straight. Carlos Hernandez (0-4) took the loss.
DIAMONDBACKS 2, BREWERS 1
PHOENIX — Emmanuel Rivera had three hits, Jake McCarthy added the go-ahead RBI single and Arizona won for the seventh time in eight games.
Rivera had an RBI double in the fifth and added two singles. The 26-year-old has been a consistent contributor in the middle of the D-backs’ order since he was acquired from the Royals at the trade deadline.
The Brewers took a 1-0 lead in the fifth when Andrew McCutchen walked with the bases loaded, forcing home Willy Adames. Arizona tied it in the bottom of the inning on back-to-back doubles by Christian Walker and Rivera. McCarthy brought Rivera home with a single to give Arizona a 2-1 advantage.
The Diamondbacks’ bullpen threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Kyle Nelson (2-0) got the last out in the fifth to get the win and Ian Kennedy worked the ninth for his 10th save.
Brewers left-handed starter Eric Lauer (10-6) gave up two runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings, striking out five.
ASTROS 4, ANGELS 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Lance McCullers Jr. continued to impress in his return from a forearm flexor strain, pitching into the sixth inning as Houston beat Los Angeles.
In just his fourth start this season, McCullers (2-1) gave up two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings with four walks and seven strikeouts. Rafael Montero pitched the ninth for his 11th save.
Jeremy Pena had an RBI double as the Astros won for the eighth time in their last 10 games and maintained their 11-game lead on the Seattle Mariners in the AL West.
Mike Trout and David Fletcher each had two hits for the Angels, who dropped the opener of a three-game series against their division rivals after winning consecutive series against the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Angels MVP candidate Shohei Ohtani went 1 for 4 with a walk.
The Astros got to Angels starter Reid Detmers (5-5) in the third inning, getting a leadoff double from Chas McCormick and a one-out single from Jose Altuve. Pena followed with an RBI double and Alex Bregman added a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead. The Astros added two more runs in the fifth, chasing Detmers and drawing bases-loaded walks by Yuli Gurriel and Yainer Diaz.
ORIOLES 5, ATHLETICS 2
BALTIMORE — Gunnar Henderson doubled twice in his home debut, Jorge Mateo had a two-run single in a three-run eighth inning, and Baltimore beat Oakland.
Another highly touted rookie, Adley Rutschman, put the Orioles in front with a bases-loaded walk as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.
Dean Kremer pitched six solid innings for Baltimore, which improved to 70-61, reaching nine games over .500 for the first time since May 20, 2017. The Orioles entered the day 1 1/2 games out of an AL wild-card spot.
Anthony Santander walked leading off the eighth and Ryan Mountcastle beat out a ground ball off Domingo Acevedo (3-3). Ramón Urías moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Pinch-hitter Cedric Mullins was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Rutschman earned a six-pitch walk. Mateo followed with a single that drove in two more runs.
Dillon Tate (3-3) earned the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
METS 7, NATIONALS 3
NEW YORK — Pete Alonso hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the sixth inning to lead New York.
Alonso’s high drive to left field off Josiah Gray made it 4-3 and kicked off a four-run inning. He has 32 homers and his 106 RBIs are 18 short of the team record shared by Mike Piazza in 1999 and David Wright in 2006. The NL East-leading Mets have 30 games left for Alonso to make a run at the mark.
Eduardo Escobar hit his first homer since July 26 and drove in three runs for New York.
Mychal Givens (7-3), who entered with an 8.03 ERA in his first 13 appearances for the Mets, recorded five outs in relief of starter David Peterson. Givens stranded a runner at third in the sixth and worked around a two-out walk in the seventh.
Gray (7-9), pitching for the first time since Aug. 20, allowed six runs in five-plus innings for last-place Washington.
MARINERS 6, GUARDIANS 1
CLEVELAND — Cal Raleigh homered twice, Luis Castillo pitched six solid innings and Seattle won its fifth straight.
Raleigh hit a solo homer in the second inning off rookie Cody Morris (0-1) and connected for a three-run shot in the sixth as the Mariners kept pace in the crowded AL wild-card chase. Seattle has won seven of eight and 12 of 16.
Castillo (6-5) didn’t allow a run on five hits in six innings. The right-hander extended Cleveland’s scoreless streak to 27 innings — the club’s longest since a 28-inning scoring dry spell in 1991 — before the Guardians pushed across a run in the seventh off reliever Diego Castillo.
Cleveland, which has dropped four of five, came in clinging to a one-game lead over second-place Minnesota in the AL Central.
PADRES 7, DODGERS 1
LOS ANGELES — Yu Darvish combined with two relievers on a four-hitter, Manny Machado and Brandon Drury hit two-run homers in the third inning, and San Diego beat Los Angeles.
Jurickson Profar added a three-run blast with two outs in the sixth off reliever Heath Hembree in the second-place Padres’ fourth straight victory.
The NL West leaders dropped their third in a row for the first time since mid-June. The high-scoring Dodgers managed just six baserunners through eight innings.
Darvish (12-7) struck out nine to reach 3,003 in his professional career. He had 1,250 in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and has 1,753 in Major League Baseball since coming to the U.S. in 2012. The right-hander walked two in seven innings.
Dustin May (1-2) got cuffed around in his third start of the season after returning from Tommy John surgery. The right-hander gave up six runs and four hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked five.
BRAVES 8, MARLINS 1
ATLANTA — Travis d’Arnaud and Vaughn Grissom homered off Sandy Alcantara in a four-run fourth inning, Michael Harris II homered in the sixth and Atlanta won its third straight.
Austin Riley hit his 34th homer in the seventh and d’Arnaud followed with his second of the night and 16th of the season. The Braves tied a tying a season-high with five long balls and have an NL-best 201 for the year.
Atlanta, three games behind the New York Mets in the NL East, matched its season high at 31 games over .500 (82-51).
Alcantara (12-7) was charged with six runs and seven hits in five-plus innings as the Marlins lost their fifth straight.
Charlie Morton (7-5) gave up one run and four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings for the Braves.
RED SOX 9, RANGERS 1
BOSTON — Connor Wong hit his first major league homer, Kiké Hernández doubled twice and Boston overcame an early injury to starting pitcher Nick Pivetta to hand Texas its season-worst sixth straight loss.
Pivetta exited with a bruised left calf after getting hit by Leody Taveras’ comebacker in the third. Pivetta threw out Taveras at first base to end the inning, but hobbled off the field. Tyler Danish (3-1) came on and pitched a scoreless inning.
Texas starter Dallas Keuchel took the loss, going 4 2/3 innings and matching a season high by allowing seven earned runs. In two starts since joining the Rangers as a free agent on July 26, Keuchel has given up a combined 14 earned runs over 10 innings on 18 hits.
Keuchel, the 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner, is a combined 2-9 with a 9.20 ERA with Texas, the Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks this season.
GIANTS 13, PHILLIES 1
SAN FRANCISCO — Joc Pederson homered and drove in five runs, Alex Cobb struck out seven in seven scoreless innings and San Francisco routed Philadelphia.
Evan Longoria and Andrew Knapp each added two RBIs for San Francisco, which snapped a seven-game losing streak. Wilmer Flores, Brandon Crawford and Thairo Estrada also drove in runs.
Cobb (5-6) allowed just three hits and a walk in earning his first career win against Philadelphia, which has lost four of five.
The Giants jumped on Phillies starter Kyle Gibson for four runs in the first inning and three more in the second. Gibson (9-6) allowed a season-high seven runs on five hits and four walks in 1 2/3 innings.