UNDATED (AP) — There’s been a slight shift in the American League race, with the Toronto Blue Jays on the outside looking in. The Jays were beaten at home by the Twins, the Yankees clobbered the Indians and the Red Sox knocked off the Orioles.
Corey Kluber beat his old team and Joey Gallo slammed two of the Yankees’ five home runs in a 8-0 pounding of the Indians. Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner and Giancarlo Stanton also went deep for the Bombers, who moved a half-game ahead of Toronto for the second AL wild card.
Kluber won for the first time in nearly four months, scattering four hits over six innings.
Jorge Polanco, Josh Donaldson, and Miguel Sanó hit consecutive home runs in a five-run third that carried the Twins past the Blue Jays, 7-3. Michael Pineda pitched 5 2/3 innings to win his third straight start, yielding three runs and three hits to help Minnesota win for the second time in six games.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reclaimed the major league lead with his 46th home run, but the Jays lost for just the third time in 16 games this month.
The Red Sox’s 7-1 win over the Orioles gives Boston the first AL wild card by a half-game over the Yankees. Chris Sale returned from COVID-19 to pitch five innings of two-hit ball, allowing one run. Bobby Dalbec homered and Hunter Renfroe put the game out of reach with a three-run double as the Bosox dealt the Orioles their 100th loss.
Checking out Friday’s other major league action:
— The AL East-leading Rays erased a three-run deficit in the ninth before Brett Phillips hit a three-run homer in the 10th to give them a 7-4 triumph over the Tigers. Pinch-hitter Yandy Díaz poked a two-run single to spark the ninth-inning rally. Austin Meadows picked up his 100th RBI on a sacrifice fly, the first Rays player to hit the century mark since Evan Longoria 11 years ago.
— Chas McCormick was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in the winning run in the 10th inning of the Astros’ 4-3 verdict over the Diamondbacks. Houston tied it in 10th with an RBI bloop single by Jake Meyers before McCormick sent Arizona to its 100th loss. It was Houston’s first win on a hit by pitch since August 1998 and third time in franchise history.
— The White Sox hammered the Rangers, 8-0 as Luis Robert hit a three-run double and Dylan Cease (sees) struck out 10 in five innings. Jose Abreu had two hits and drove in two runs, giving him 111 RBIs this season. Romy Gonzalez doubled twice among his career-best three hits as the AL Central leaders inched closer to their first division title in 13 years.
— The Athletics are within 2 1/2 games of an AL wild-card slot following a 5-4 victory over the Angels. Josh Harrison had two RBIs and Mark Canha scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball in the sixth inning of Oakland’s third win in a row. Cole Irvin pitched six solid innings to earn his first victory in four weeks.
— Rookie Jarred Kelenic spoiled Jonathan Heasley’s major league debut by hitting a pair of two-run homers in the Mariners’ 6-2 win over the Royals. Kelenic’s first multihomer game of his career kept the Mariners 3 1/2 games behind the Yankees for the second AL wild-card spot. Chris Flexen allowed one run and six hits in 5 2/3 innings for his 12th win.
— Zack Wheeler allowed a run and struck out six over five-plus innings of the Phillies’ 4-3 downing of the Mets. Wheeler is 4-1 with a 2.62 ERA in nine starts against his former club. Brad Miller put the Phillies ahead 2-1 in the fifth with a solo shot, helping Philadelphia climb within two games of the NL East-leading Braves.
— Pinch-hitting pitcher Kevin Gausman lofted a full-count, bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the 11th inning to complete the Giants’ 6-5 victory against the Braves. Donovan Solano came off the COVID-19 injured list and connected for a tying, pinch-hit home run with two out in the ninth for San Francisco. Down 4-2, the Braves rallied in the ninth when Travis d’Arnaud hit a go-ahead, three-run homer.
— Kyle Farmer doubled twice and the Reds snapped the Los Angeles Dodgers’ six-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory. Winning pitcher Luis Castillo struck out 10 and didn’t allow a runner past second base over 6 1/3 shutout innings. Walker Buehler was hoping to notch his career-high 15th win, but the Reds reached him for three runs over six frames as Los Angeles fell two games behind the NL West-leading Giants.
— The Cardinals won their sixth in a row as Dylan Carlson homered twice, including a grand slam in an 8-2 thumping of the Padres. Miles Mikolas threw 5 2/3 shutout innings, allowing three hits in his first victory in two years. St. Louis still leads the Reds by one game for the second NL wild card, with San Diego 1 1/2 games back.
— Kolten Wong provided a tiebreaking single with two out in the eighth inning to spark the Brewers’ 8-5 decision over the Cubs. Milwaukee scored four runs off reliever Rowan Wick in the eighth to come from behind and beat the Cubs for the 10th straight time. Luis Urias drove in three runs and Wong was 3-for-5 with two RBIs, helping the Brewers cut their magic number to four for winning the NL Central.
— Elías Díaz hit a tying homer and Brendan Rodgers had an RBI single as the Rockies rallied in the ninth inning to beat the Nationals, 9-8. Rodgers and Sam Hilliard homered for Colorado, which is 6-1 on its nine-game road trip.
— The Pirates knocked off the Marlins, 2-1 as Wil Crowe pitched five innings of one run ball for his first victory since July 30. Cole Tucker hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the sixth.
