Braves join Mets in tie atop NL East
ATLANTA >> Austin Riley and Matt Olson hit backto-back homers off Jacob deGrom in the second inning and Dansby Swanson later connected off the Mets ace as the Atlanta Braves beat New York 5-2 Friday night to move into a tie for the NL East lead.
The defending World Series champion Braves are seeking to keep the Mets from winning one game in the three-game series and earn the tiebreaker between the teams. Atlanta, going for its fifth straight NL East title, has won eight of the 17 games in the season series.
Both teams are 98-59 with five games to go in the regular season.
ORIOLES 2, YANKEES 1 >>
Aaron Judge didn’t come close to hitting his 62nd home run, going 1 for 2 with a pair of walks as Baltimore beat New York.
Baltimore (81-76) assured it will stop a streak of four consecutive losing seasons and must win its remaining five games and get some help from Seattle and Tampa Bay in order to reach the playoffs.
GUARDIANS 6, ROYALS 3 >>
José Ramírez hit a threerun homer and Emmanuel Clase closed for his major league-leading 40th save as Cleveland beat Kansas City.
Ramírez put AL Central champion Cleveland ahead for good at 4-3 in the sixth inning with his 29th home run of the season, a 404-foot blast off Brady Singer (10-5).
PHILLIES 5, NATIONALS 1 >>
Rhys Hoskins hit his 30th home run, Bailey Falter pitched six scoreless innings and Philadelphia beat Washington to boost its lead in the NL wildcard race.
The game was supposed to be the opener of a day-night doubleheader, but the second game was rained out and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader on Saturday.
BLUE JAYS 9, RED SOX 0 >> Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Raimel Tapia homered, Alek Manoah pitched six innings and playoff-bound Toronto beat Boston.
The Blue Jays had a clubhouse celebration after the game because they clinched an AL wild-card berth Thursday when the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles.
TWINS 7, TIGERS 0 >> Joe Ryan allowed five hits in six innings and Minnesota handed Detroit its 22nd shutout loss of the season.
Detroit had its six-game winning streak snapped and surpassed the 1973 New York Yankees and 1976 Chicago White Sox.
CUBS 6, REDS 1 >> Adrian Sampson threw seven efficient innings, Nico Hoerner drove in three runs and Chicago won its fifth straight.
BREWERS 1, MARLINS 0 >> Corbin Burnes outpitched Sandy Alcantra, striking out seven in eight innings to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a victory over the Miami Marlins.
RAYS 7, ASTROS 3 >> Drew Rasmussen pitched seven effective innings and the Tampa Bay Rays clinched a playoff spot for the fourth straight season, beating the Houston Astros.
CARDINALS 2, PIRATES 1 >> Albert Pujols hit his 701st home run, Jack Flaherty allowed one run in six innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates.
ANGELS 4, RANGERS 1 >> Reid Detmers pitched six innings of four-hit ball in the final start of his eventful rookie season, and Jo Adell and Luis Rengifo hit early solo homers in Los Angeles’ fifth consecutive victory over Texas.