Pirates rip Reds, wrap up No. 1 wild card

Neil Walker hit two of the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates’ six home runs — their biggest power surge in six years — and the Pirates clinched home-field advantage for the National League wild-card game with an 8-3 victory Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds.

The Pirates will host the Reds on Tuesday in their first playoff appearance in 21 years. They went 50-31 at PNC Park, the third-best home record in the league.

Walker homered twice and Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez and Marlon Byrd once each against losing pitcher Bronson Arroyo (14-12). Andrew Lambo added a homer against reliever Logan Ondrusek to give the Pirates six round-trippers in a game for the first time since Aug. 22, 2007.

Pirates starter Charlie Morton also struggled, leaving with one out and the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Winning pitcher Vin Mazzaro (8-2) struck out Zack Cozart and retired Ryan Hanigan on a fly ball as the Reds left the bases loaded for the second time in the game. The Reds stranded 11 runners overall.

Indians make it nine in row

Scott Kazmir (10-9) allowed one run and six hits in six innings, Carlos Santana hit a two-run homer and the Cleveland Indians moved into sole possession of first place in the American League wild-card race with a 5-1 victory against the host Minnesota Twins. The Indians, who are seeking their first playoff appearance since 2007, have won nine consecutive games and 14 of their last 16.

The Indians, who waited out a 21⁄2-hour rain delay at the start, lead the Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers by one game with one game left. They can clinch the No. 1 wild-card berth with a victory Sunday against the Twins and are assured of no worse than a play-in game should they lose.

Rays step back . . .

Ryan Goins and Kevin Pillar hit two-run homers, Adam Lind drove in three runs and Brett Lawrie reached base four times to power the Toronto Blue Jays past the visiting Rays 7-2. The loss was the Rays’ second in a row after a sevengame winning streak and dropped them into a tie with the Rangers in the battle for the second wild-card spot in the AL.

. . . and Rangers step forward

Craig Gentry had two hits, a run scored and an RBI, and the host Rangers took advantage of five Los Angeles Angels errors to score three unearned runs on their way to a 7-4 victory that moved them into a tie with the Rays in the race for the second wild-card spot in the AL.

Giants, Pence strike $90M deal

The San Francisco Giants and outfielder Hunter Pence reached a tentative agreement on a five-year, $90 million contract, pending a physical. A formal announcement is expected Sunday. Pence is batting .282 with 27 homers and 96 RBI.