UNDATED (AP) — The Atlanta Braves were third in the National League East and four games out of first at the All-Star break. They are threatening to turn the division runaway by winning nine straight and 16 of their last 18, including Sunday’s 3-1 victory over the Orioles in Baltimore.
Jorge Soler snapped a scoreless tie with a homer in the fifth before Adam Duvall added a two-run double later in the inning. Touki Toussaint allowed a run and five hits in 5 1/3 innings before five relievers closed out Atlanta’s team-record 13th consecutive road win.
The Orioles have lost 18 in a row, the longest skid in the majors since the Royals dropped 19 straight in 2005. The Birds are three off the Baltimore team record set at the start of the 1988 season.
Checking out Sunday’s other major league action:
— The Phillies still trail the NL East-leading Braves by five games after Rhys Hoskins homered twice in his return from the injured list, leading a 7-4 win at San Diego. Kyle Gibson gave up one run and six hits over eight innings to help the Phils hand San Diego its’ ninth loss in 11 games. Odubel Herrera went 4 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs as Philadelphia won for just the fourth time in 12 games since an eight-game winning streak.
— Tyler Naquin hit two of the Reds’ three solo homers in a 3-1 downing of the Marlins. Mike Moustakas broke a 1-1 tie with a leadoff homer in the fifth inning. Vladimir Gutierrez limited Miami to a run and three hits over seven innings as Cincinnati won for the sixth time in eight games to take a one-game lead over the Padres for the second NL wild card.
— The Brewers whipped the Nationals, 7-3 to maintain a 7 1/2-game lead over Cincinnati in the NL Central. Kolten Wong delivered a solo homer and a two-run triple in Milwaukee’s 10th win in 13 games. Lorenzo Cain also connected and the Brew Crew took the rubber game of the weekend series.
— Adam Wainwright allowed two hits in eight masterful innings of the Cardinals’ first win in three games, 3-0 over the Pirates. Wainwright threw 106 pitches and retired his final 11 hitters. Paul Goldschmidt homered as St. Louis prevented Pittsburgh from completing its first series sweep of the season.
— Javier Báez returned from an 11-game injury absence and laced an RBI double in the first inning as the Mets avoided a four-game sweep by the Dodgers, 7-2. J.D. Davis homered and drove in four runs for New York, which is 2-8 in a stretch of 13 consecutive games against Los Angeles and San Francisco. Marcus Stroman pitched six innings of four-hit ball as the Mets ended the Dodgers’ nine-game winning streak.
— The Giants were able to extend their lead in the NL West to 2 1/2 games over the Dodgers by getting a two-run homer from pinch-hitter Donovan Solano in the eighth inning of a 2-1 verdict over the Athletics. Oakland starter Frankie Montas struck out nine over seven scoreless innings in a brilliant duel with Logan Webb, who was reached for one run over six frames. Starling Marte had three hits for the A’s, who remain 3 1/2 games behind the AL West-leading Astros.
— The Mariners beat the Astros, 6-3 behind Ty France, who tied the game with a solo home run in the ninth inning and put Seattle on top with an RBI single in the 11th. Kyle Seager made it 6-2 in the 11th with a three-run homer as Seattle avoided a weekend sweep. Houston outscored the Mariners by a combined 27-4 in winning the first two games of the series.
— The Rays took the rubber match of their three-game matchup of division leaders as backup catcher Francisco Mejía had a three-run double in a 9-0 thrashing of the White Sox. Austin Meadows had three RBIs for Tampa Bay, which outscored Chicago 17-4 in the last two games to take a 4 1/2-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. Five Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a seven-hitter against the AL Central leaders.
— The Tigers knocked off the Blue Jays, 5-3 in 11 innings as Miguel Cabrera became the 28th major league player to hit 500 home runs. The 38-year-old Cabrera connected on a 1-1 pitch from left-hander Steven Matz in the sixth. Daz Cameron and Willi Castro each hit an RBI double in the 11th to help Detroit take the rubber match of the three-game series.
— The Indians were 3-0 winners over the Angels in the Little League Classic at Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Cal Quantrill was brilliant over seven innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out nine. Amed Rosario hit a two-run homer as Cleveland completed a three-game sweep.
— Andrew Benintendi drove in three runs and the Royals completed a three-game sweep by clobbering the Cubs, 9-1. Benintendi and Carlos Santana each had three hits in Kansas City’s sixth win in seven games. It was Chicago’s franchise-record 13th consecutive loss at Wrigley Field.
— Daulton Varsho smacked a three-run homer and finished a single short of hitting for the cycle in the Diamondbacks’ 8-4 victory at Colorado. Taylor Widener tossed five innings of one-hit ball to help Arizona end a seven-game losing streak in Denver. The Rockies had won five straight overall and nine in a row at home before Arizona reached Jon Gray for five runs over 5 1/3 innings.
— The Yankees and Twins were postponed in the Bronx before Tropical Storm Henri hit the tri-state area. The two teams will make up the game on Monday afternoon, September 13.
— The Red Sox-Rangers game was postponed in Boston as Tropical Storm Henri approached. The game has been rescheduled for Monday afternoon.
