Braves beat Mariners 6-4 to move alone in 1st for first time

SEATTLE — Dansby Swanson hit one of Atlanta’s four home runs and the World Series champion Braves took sole possession of first place for the first time all season with a 6-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.

Robbie Grossman, Travis d’Arnaud and rookie Michael Harris II also went deep for the streaking Braves, who won their eighth straight and finally jumped a half-game ahead of the Mets in the NL East after chasing them for five months. New York lost 6-3 at Miami earlier in the night.

Atlanta was seven games back on Aug. 8 and 10 1/2 behind on June 1. The only previous day this season the Mets did not hold at least a share of the division lead was April 11.

Carlos Santana homered twice for the Mariners, and J.P. Crawford also connected.

Grossman had three hits and two RBIs for Atlanta. Charlie Morton (8-5) allowed four runs in 6 1/3 innings.

Swanson gave Atlanta a 2-0 lead in the first with a two-run homer off Robbie Ray (12-9), who gave up four runs in five innings.

MARLINS 6, METS 3

MIAMI — Pete Alonso hit his 33rd home run but New York could not erase an early deficit and lost to Miami.

The Mets squandered a pair of good scoring chances by grounding into double plays and dropped out of first place for the first time this season, falling one-half game behind defending World Series champion Atlanta.

Garrett Cooper homered, doubled and singled for the Marlins, who have never had a player hit for the cycle. Charles LeBlanc hit a two-run homer for Miami in the eighth.

Edward Cabrera (5-2) allowed three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings for the Marlins. The rookie right-hander walked two and struck out four. Dylan Floro closed with a perfect ninth for his fourth save.

Mets starter David Peterson (7-4) gave up three runs, seven hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out seven.

RAYS 4, YANKEES 2

NEW YORK — Aaron Hicks was benched midgame after failing to catch consecutive drives to left that landed for run-scoring doubles in the fourth inning, and Tampa Bay closed within 3 1/2 games in the AL East.

Randy Arozarena hit an RBI double in the first off Frankie Montas (5-12) to put the Rays ahead to stay.

Wander Franco hit a two-out, two-on drive in the fourth that dropped out of Hicks’ glove along the left-field foul line just in front of the wall. Hicks drooped his head for a few seconds, thinking he caught the ball and the drive was foul, and two runs scored before he reacted and picked up the ball.

Arozarena drove the next pitch to left, and Hicks backpedaled a half-dozen steps while taking a bad route on a difficult fly, and the ball dropped behind him on the warning track as Franco scored for a 4-0 lead.

Drew Rasmussen (10-4), reinstated from the paternity list allowed six hits in six scoreless innings, striking out a career-high 10. The Rays have won for nine of 10 and 15 of 18.

Aaron Judge hit an RBI single in the seventh and Kyle Higashioka homered in the ninth off JT Chargois. With Judge on first after a two-out walk, Gleyber Torries flied out to the right-field warning track.

BLUE JAYS 4, RANGERS 3

ARLINGTON, Texas — Bo Bichette homered for the fifth time in the last four games, Danny Jansen hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth inning and playoff-contending Toronto beat Texas.

Bichette’s 23rd homer was a two-run shot in the third inning that put the Blue Jays up 3-0. He also drove in a run with a fielder’s choice grounder in the first.

Top Rangers prospect Josh Jung hit a home run in his first career at-bat in the third inning. After Texas tied it at 3 on Corey Seager’s RBI double in the eighth, Rangers reliever Jose Leclerc (0-2) issued a leadoff walk in the ninth. Raimel Tapia then stole second base, went to third on a long flyout and scored on Jansen’s hit.

Tim Mayza (6-0), the fourth Toronto pitcher, got two outs in the eighth before Jordan Romano worked the ninth for his 32nd save in 36 chances. With a runner on second, the right-hander Romano struck out Jung and got pinch-hitter Adolis Garcia on an game-ending flyout.

The Blue Jays, who maintained a 4 1/2-game lead over Baltimore for the American League’s third and final wild-card spot, won for the 16th time in their last last 22 games.

ORIOLES 3, RED SOX 2

BALTIMORE — Gunnar Henderson hit a bases-loaded single in the sixth inning to cap a big Baltimore rally.

It was a much-needed victory for the Orioles, who lost three of four to Toronto in their previous series to fall 4 1/2 games behind the Blue Jays for the final American League wild card. Baltimore trailed 2-0 after Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run homer in the third, but came back with three runs in the sixth.

Henderson’s hit brought in two and gave the Orioles the lead.

Jake Reed (1-0) got the win as the second of five Baltimore relievers who shut out Boston for five innings. Dillon Tate got the final four outs for his fourth save.

Brayan Bello (1-5) took a shutout into the sixth for a second straight start, but his wildness caught up to him, and reliever Kaleb Ort couldn’t hold the lead.

ASTROS 4, ANGELS 3

HOUSTON — Jeremy Peña hit a solo homer and Chas McCormick had a two-run shot in the seventh inning to lead Houston.

The Astros trailed by one entering the seventh when Trey Mancini led off with a single. McCormick then connected on his homer off Andrew Wantz (2-1) to put Houston ahead 3-2. The Astros added an insurance run in the eighth when McCormick drew a bases-loaded walk off José Marte.

Houston starter Lance McCullers Jr. (3-1) gave up four hits and two runs with six strikeouts in a season-high seven innings for his second straight win.

Closer Ryan Pressly allowed a solo homer to Taylor Ward with one out in the ninth before striking out the next two batters to get his 26th save in his return from the injured list after being out since August 22 with a neck strain.

Mike Trout homered for the fifth straight game, the longest streak of his career and tying an Angels franchise record.

GUARDIANS 7, TWINS 6

MINNEAPOLIS — Oscar Gonzalez hit two home runs and drove in five runs, and Austin Hedges added a solo homer as Cleveland held on to beat Minnesota.

Gonzalez, the surprise rookie, had four hits and Cal Quantrill (12-5) won his eighth straight decision. The Guardians scored the first seven runs of the game, including four in the first inning after the start was delayed 1:16 due to rain.

Minnesota’s Carlos Correa hit a two-run homer off Guardians reliever James Karinchak in the eighth, but Karinchak stranded the tying run at second to end the inning and Emmanuel Clase finished for his 32nd save.

The Guardians extended their lead in the American League Central to 1 1/2 games over the Chicago White Sox and 2 1/2 over Minnesota. The Guardians and Twins play seven more times over the next two weeks.

Cleveland has held on to first despite losing nine of its previous 13 games.

Minnesota starter Dylan Bundy (8-7) surrendered season-highs with seven runs and 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings. The Twins have lost seven of nine.

WHITE SOX 5, ATHLETICS 3

OAKLAND, Calif. — Elvis Andrus hit a go-ahead two-run double against his former club with two outs in the ninth as A.J. Puk blew a three-run lead, and Chicago rallied for its eighth win in 10 games.

Eloy Jiménez started the five-run ninth with a one-out homer against Puk (3-2), who gave up a walk and plunked a batter. Andrew Vaughn added an RBI single and Romy González delivered a tying single with two outs. Oakland challenged that pinch-runner Adam Engel beat the throw home on the hit but the call was confirmed on replay review. Andrus capped it with his double to left.

Aaron Bummer (2-1) pitched the eighth for the win. Liam Hendriks, another former A’s star, closed it out with a big fist pump after his 32nd save.

Oakland lost its fourth in a row and eighth in nine.

PHILLIES 5, NATIONALS 3

PHILADELPHIA — Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto hit solo homers and Noah Syndergaard pitched well enough into the seventh inning to keep Philadelphia in playoff position with a win over Washington.

Phillies reliever Brand Hand failed to earn a save in the ninth when he put two runners on and was pulled for Nick Nelson with two outs. Nelson retired .188 hitter Riley Adams on a grounder to earn his first save in the majors.

The Phillies entered with a grip on the third wild-card spot and each win moves them closer to their first playoff berth since 2011.

Edmundo Sosa tripled and scored in his first at-bat and singled in the fifth, marking eight straight times he had reached base, with a home run, double, walk, home run, single, double, triple, single over three games. Syndergaard (9-9) allowed eight hits and walked none over 86 pitches in six-plus innings.

Nationals starter Patrick Corbin (6-18) gave up 12 hits and five runs in 6 2/3 innings.

CUBS 4, GIANTS 2

CHICAGO — Drew Smyly allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings and Yan Gomes and Nico Hoerner homered to lead Chicago.

Smyly (6-8) struck out eight and walked two. The left-hander departed after Austin Dean reached on a fielding error to start the eighth.

Gomes lofted a two-run shot to left center in the second to give the Cubs the lead for good. Hoerner had a two-run flare off Yunior Marte in the sixth to help end a two-game skid and send San Francisco to its fifth straight loss.

After Smyly left in the eighth, Manuel Rodríguez gave up Evan Longoria’s bases-loaded ground rule double to end a shutout bid. Brandon Hughes finished the inning and worked a clean ninth for his fourth save in eight chances.

Giants starter Carlos Rodón (12-8) struck out 11 in the 5 1/3 innings. He allowed three hits.

ROCKIES 13, DIAMONDBACKS 10

DENVER — Elías Díaz hit a game-ending, three-run homer to give him seven RBIs, C.J. Cron had a 504-foot home run that was the second-longest since tracking began and Colorado recovered after wasting a seven-run lead.

Trailing 8-1, Arizona took the lead with a nine-run fifth. However, the Rockies rallied to become the first team to win after allowing a nine runs in a single inning since the Los Angels Angels did it at Texas on Sept. 19, 2008.

Díaz, who had four hits and set a career-best for RBIs, had a two-run homer in the second and an RBI single in the fourth, both off Zach Davies. After Yonathan Daza’s run-scoring double in the sixth against Kyle Nelson pulled the Rockies within a run, Díaz tied the score 10-10 with an RBI double off Reyes Moronta in the seventh.

Charlie Blackmon walked against Caleb Smith (1-2) leading off the ninth, but pinch-runner Garrett Hampson was caught stealing. Randal Grichuk walked and Michael Toglia singled before Diaz, who started the night in a 7-for-35 slide, drove a slider to left for the game-ending homer.

Colorado hit six homers, including a pair of solo drives by Ryan McMahon.

Daniel Bard (5-4) pitched a perfect ninth.

PIRATES 8, CARDINALS 2

PITTSBURGH — Oneil Cruz finished a home run short of the cycle, and Pittsburgh kept St. Louis from stretching its lead atop the NL Central.

Cruz had a two-run triple, a double and an RBI single to extend his hitting streak to six games, matching the rookie’s longest in the majors. The 23-year-old is 12 for 26 (.462) with two homers, two triples and two doubles during the streak.

Albert Pujols entered as a pinch hitter for the Cardinals and went 0 for 2. The 42-year-old remained at 695 home runs with 23 games remaining in his final big league season. St. Louis has lost three of five while playing the Pirates and Washington Nationals but maintained a sizable lead over the second-place Milwaukee in the NL Central.

Roansy Contreras (5-4) gave up one run and four hits in 5 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh. The rookie right-hander has allowed four runs in 23 1/3 innings over his past four starts.

Miles Mikolas (11-11) gave up four runs and eight hits in five innings with eight strikeouts for the Cardinals.

REDS 8, BREWERS 2

MILWAUKEE — TJ Friedl homered to lead off a five-run first inning, left-hander Nick Lodolo pitched eight strong innings and Cincinnati beat Milwaukee.

In a matchup of rookie starters, Lodolo (4-5) easily outperformed Brewers right-hander Jason Alexander (2-3). Lodolo had career bests with 11 strikeouts and eight innings, while Cincinnati’s first six batters reached base off Alexander.

Friedl hit an 0-2 pitch for his first career leadoff home run. Jonathan India hit the next pitch for a stand-up triple and scored on Kyle Farmer’s single. Jake Farley was hit by a pitch, then boos followed an RBI single Donovan Solano that put the Reds up 3-0.

After Aristides Aquino walked to load the bases, Milwaukee — fighting for a wild-card spot — recorded its first outs by turning a double play, but a run scored to put the Reds up 4-0. Alexander appeared to yell into his glove after an RBI single by Jose Barrero made it 5-0.

Tyrone Taylor hit his 16th home run of the season, a two-run shot off Lodolo in the third inning, to cut the Reds’ lead to 5-2.

TIGERS 10, ROYALS 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Eric Haase hit two solo homers, Jeimer Candelario had a three-run shot and Detroit beat Kansas City.

Haase opened the second inning by blasting Daniel Lynch’s second pitch 444 feet to the seats above the left-field fountains for his seventh consecutive hit. One out later, Candelario hammered his team-leading 13th homer of the season 445 feet deep to left for a 4-0 lead.

Haase added another shot to left-center in the sixth, his 12th homer of the year and fifth career multi-homer game. He added a two-out RBI double in the eighth.

Kansas City-area product Joey Wentz (1-1) allowed only a pair of two-out hits in 6 2/3 shutout innings for his first major league victory. He struck out five with walked one.

Candelario, Haase and Spencer Torkelson each had three hits as Detroit out-hit Kansas City 17-6.

Lynch (4-10) allowed six runs on 10 hits, recording 11 outs. He has won just one of his last 11 starts.