Chapman’s homers carry Jays over Orioles
Guardians top Twins in AL Central showdown; Astros clinch playoff spot
TORONTO — Matt Chapman hit two home runs, George Springer added a three-run shot and the Toronto Blue Jays maintained their position in the AL wild-card race, beating the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 on Friday night.
Chapman went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and three runs to help the Blue Jays (82-63) win for the fifth time in six meetings with the Orioles.
Adley Rutschman hit a tworun home run and Gunnar Henderson added a solo shot for Baltimore (75-68). The Orioles were unable to gain ground on the three leading wild-card contenders, Toronto, Tampa Bay and Seattle.
Toronto improved to 34-17 when hitting two or more home runs, bouncing back from an 11-0 loss to the Rays on Thursday.
Chapman opened the scoring with a solo homer off Jordan Lyles in the second inning, his first since Aug. 20. He made it 6-2 with a two-run shot off Joey Krehbiel in the sixth. The homers were Chapman’s 25th and 26th. It was the 10th multi-homer game of his career.
GUARDIANS 4, TWINS 3: In Cleveland, pinch-runner Ernie Clement raced home from second base on a wild pitch in the eighth inning for the go-ahead run and the AL-Central leading Guardians rallied for a win over Minnesota in the opener of a crucial five-game series.
Clement ran for Josh Naylor, who led off the eighth with a single and took second on Oscar Gonzalez’s single. Jhoan Duran’s 2-1 pitch to Andrés Giménez bounced in front of catcher Gary Sánchez and went back to the screen on the fly.
Sánchez couldn’t find the ball initially and Clement rounded third and slid headfirst, beating Sánchez’s throw.
Cleveland leads Minnesota by five games and has clinched the season series with a 10-5 edge, giving the Guardians the tiebreaker. Cleveland has won six straight over the Twins.
ASTROS 5, ATHLETICS 0: In Houston, Yordan Alvarez homered in his first three at-bats, Justin Verlander threw five hitless innings in his return from the injured list and the Astros clinched a postseason berth with a win over Oakland.
The Astros (95-50) won their sixth straight game to join the Los Angeles Dodgers as the first two teams to secure playoff spots, reaching their sixth straight postseason.
Alvarez, second in the AL with 36 home runs, had solo shots off Adrián Martínez in the first, third and fifth innings. He capped his big night with a single in the seventh to tie his career high with four hits.
METS 4, PIRATES 3: In New York, Taijuan Walker won backto-back starts for the first time in two months, Daniel Vogelbach homered against his former team and the Mets beat Pittsburgh.
Pete Alonso had his National League-leading 113th RBI for New York (91-55), which is assured of its most wins since going 97-65 in 2006. Oneil Cruz hit a two-run homer for last-place Pittsburgh.
BRAVES 7, PHILLIES 2: In Atlanta, Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in a six-run eighth inning off Seranthony Domínguez and the Braves rallied for a victory over Philadelphia.
The opposite-field shot erased a 2-1 deficit and touched off a wild celebration at sold-out Truist Park, helping the Braves stay a game behind the first-place New York Mets in the NL East.
Kyle Schwarber hit his NLleading and career-high 39th homer and Jean Segura also went deep for the Phillies.
NATIONALS 5, MARLINS 4: In Washington, Joey Meneses hit an inside-the-park home run, Ildemaro Vargas had a go-ahead double in the eighth inning and the Nationals rallied to beat Miami.
Washington snapped a fivegame losing streak, beating Miami at home for the first time in eight tries this season. The Nationals are 2-12 overall against the Marlins.
Lewin Díaz homered for Miami. The Marlins have lost six of eight and 15 of 19.
RED SOX 2, ROYALS 1: In Boston, J.D. Martinez had an RBI single in the eighth inning and the Red Sox rallied late to beat Kansas City.
Martinez’s single to left was just the third hit for Boston, which had just tied it up when reliever Scott Barlow (4-2) walked Jason Verdugo with the bases loaded after Dylan Coleman issued two walks to start the inning.
Garrett Whitlock (4-2) gave up a hit in the eighth and Matt Strahm got the last three outs for his fourth save.
RANGERS 4, RAYS 3: In St. Petersburg, Fla., Nathaniel Lowe hit his 25th home run in a four-run inning and Texas beat Tampa Bay.
Lowe’s two-run homer was the fourth of five straight hits in the third inning off Corey Kluber (10-9).
Rangers starter Martin Perez (12-6) gave up three runs and nine hits in 5⅓ innings.
TIGERS 3, WHITE SOX 2, 10 INNINGS: In Detroit, Victor Reyes hit a deep flyball to center field in the 10th inning, scoring automatic runner Ryan Kreidler from third base and giving Detroit the win.
Tigers reliever Alex Lange (5-4) struck out the side in the top of the 10th to get the win.