UNDATED (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays were able to clinch their third straight American League playoff berth on Wednesday, but not before sparking a little controversy.
Austin Meadows hit a three-run homer during a six-run third that propelled the Rays to a 7-1 win over the Blue Jays. Meadows’ blast occurred long before teammate Kevin Kiermaier was hit by a pitch, which appeared to be retribution for scooping up a Toronto scouting report two days earlier.
Reliever Ryan Borucki was ejected by umpire Joe West for hitting Kiermaier, and pitching coach Pete Walker was tossed for arguing. Borucki said the pitch slipped out of his hand.
On Monday, Kiermaier picked up a scouting card that fell off the wristband of Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk during a play at the plate and refused to give it back.
Yandy Diaz and Taylor Walls drove in two runs apiece as the Rays improved to an AL-best 94-59. Six Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a four-hitter.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— The Yankees completed a three-game sweep by scoring four runs in the eighth to beat the Rangers, 7-3. Gleyber Torres doubled home the tiebreaking run and Gary Sanchez added a two-run homer as New York slid a half-game ahead of Toronto for the second AL wild card. Kyle Higashioka doubled home a pair for the Yankees.
— The Red Sox’s 12-5 pounding of the Mets keeps Boston two games ahead of the Yankees for the first AL wild card. Kyle Schwarber homered twice, drove in four and scored four in support of Chris Sale, who struck out eight in five innings. Alex Verdugo and Jose Iglesias each had two RBIs in the Bosox’s seventh win in a row.
— The Astros moved closer to another AL West crown by scoring four times in the 12th inning of a 9-5 decision over the Angels. Jake Meyers singled home the tiebreaking run and scored on Jose Altuve’s two-run double as Houston reduced its magic number to three for its fourth division crown in five years. Yordan Alvarez smacked a two-run homer and finished with three hits and three RBIs for the winners.
— Kyle Seager hit his 35th home run and the Mariners moved within 2 1/2 games of the second AL wild card by defeating the Athletics, 4-1. Ty France also went deep and Seattle extended its winning streak to four games with their third straight win over Oakland. Chris Flexen struck out eight and limited the A’s to one run on three hits over seven innings for his 13th win.
— The Giants lead the NL West by two games over Los Angeles after Kris Bryant and Buster Posey led their offense in an 8-6 win at San Diego. Bryant lashed a three-run double and Posey had four hits while scoring three times. Tyler Rogers surrendered two runs in the ninth before retiring Fernando Tatis Jr. with the tying run on base for the final out.
— Sam Hilliard lined a three-run homer and C.J. Cron had four hits for the Rockies in a 10-5 thumping of the Dodgers. German Marquez supplied a two-run double but was reached for five runs and six hits over four innings for Colorado. The Rockies tagged Walker Buehler for five runs and seven hits in just 3 2/3s.
— The Cardinals earned their 11th straight win as Tyler O’Neill and Paul Goldschmidt homered early in their 10-2 dismantling of the Brewers. Winning pitcher Miles Mikolas gave up two runs and four hits in a season-high seven innings, helping St. Louis take a 4 1/2-game lead for the second NL wild card. Brett Anderson was torched for six runs over 1 2/3 innings as Milwaukee’s magic number stayed at three for clinching the NL Central.
— Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and Freddie Freeman homered as the Braves ripped the Diamondbacks, 9-2 to keep their three-game lead over Philadelphia atop the NL East. Adam Duvall also hit one over the wall, but he was called out for passing Riley between first and second. Ian Anderson pitched two-hit ball over six-plus innings of Atlanta’s fourth consecutive win.
— Bryce Harper threw out the tying run at the plate in the eighth inning to keep the Phillies ahead in a 4-3 decision over the Orioles. The game was tied 2-2 in the seventh before Jean Segura hit a sacrifice fly and J.T. Realmuto added an RBI single. Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer for the Phils, who began the day three games behind the NL East-leading Braves.
— The Twins were 5-4 winners over the Cubs as Max Kepler homered twice and rookie Joe Ryan struck out a season-high 11 over five innings. Chicago lost for the ninth time in 11 games.
— Juan Soto provided three hits and three RBIs as the Nationals beat the Marlins, 7-5. Soto also walked twice to tie Bryce Harper’s single-season team record of 130.
— Three games were postponed by rain. The Tigers and visiting White Sox will make up their game on Monday afternoon, as will the Pirates and Reds in Cincinnati, along with the Indians and Royals in Cleveland.
