Astros’ lead shrinks

David Freese hit a go-ahead, tworun double in a three-run eighth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels rally for a 6-5 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday, trimming Houston’s wildcard lead over Los Angeles to 1½ games.

HOUSTON — The Los Angeles Angels aren’t where they want to be yet, but they’re closer than they were at the start of the week.

David Freese hit a go-ahead tworun double in a three-run eighth inning to help the Angels rally for a 6-5 victory over the Astros on Wednesday to gain ground in the AL wild-card race.

Los Angeles took two of three in the series and is 1 ½ games behind Houston for the second AL wildcard spot.

“We’re staying focused, know what we need to do, don’t try to force it, just do our job and win series,” slugger Albert Pujols said.

The Astros are 2 ½ games behind AL West-leading Texas.

The Astros took their first lead of the game in the seventh, and the Angels trailed 4-3 entering the eighth. Mike Trout hit a leadoff double off Will Harris (5-5) before David Murphy drew a walk with one out, and Harris was replaced by Pat Neshek.

BLUE JAYS 4, YANKEES 0 Russell Martin hit a three-run home run, Marcus Stroman pitched seven strong innings to win his third consecutive start and host Toronto beat New York. Martin connected off Andrew Bailey in the seventh, matching his career high for home runs with 21. Stroman (3-0) allowed five hits, walked one and struck out five.

RAYS 6, RED SOX 2 Drew Smyly (Little Rock Central, Arkansas Razorbacks) pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, and John Jaso’s two-run double keyed a three-run eighth to carry Tampa Bay to a victory over Boston. Steven Souza Jr. had four hits, Asdrubal Cabrera had three hits and both hit home runs. Smyly (4-2) gave up five hits, struck out seven and walked three in 6 1-3 innings.

TIGERS 7, WHITE SOX 4 Justin Verlander

hit 99 mph in evading a bases-loaded jam during his final inning, and Victor Martinez hit his 200th career home run as host Detroit beat Chicago. Verlander (4-8) threw five consecutive fastballs 98-99 mph in striking out Geovany Soto to end the seventh inning and exited with a four-run lead. He allowed three runs on five hits with eight strikeouts.

TWINS 4, INDIANS 2 Phil Hughes (11-9) pitched five scoreless innings in his return to the rotation, and host Minnesota had rare success against Corey Kluber in a victory over Cleveland.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

BRAVES 6, METS 3 Freddie Freeman broke a ninth-inning tie with a three-run home run after driving in two as a pinch hitter in the seventh, and visiting Atlanta stunned the Mets. David Wright had a tying, two-out single off Brandon Cuniff in the seventh after the Braves scored three times in the top half to take a 3-2 lead. But closer Jeurys Familia failed in the ninth as the NL East leaders finished 3-6 on their penultimate set at Citi Field.

BREWERS 4, CUBS 1 Zach Davies allowed two hits over six innings and Martin Maldonado drove in two runs to lead Milwaukee to a victory over host Chicago on Wednesday night. Jorge Soler homered for the Cubs. Davies (2-2) allowed

two singles in the second inning, walked one and struck out four.

CARDINALS 10, REDS 2 Matt Carpenter hit a pair of two-run home runs, Lance Lynn pitched six scoreless innings and host St. Louis Cardinals routed Cincinnati. The win was the fourth in a row for the NL Central leaders and it improved their major league-best record to 96-56. Randal Grichuk and Peter Bourjos also homered as the Cardinals hit four for the first time this season. Matt Holliday returned to the St. Louis lineup for the first time since July 29 and contributed an RBI double.

MARLINS 4, PHILLIES 3 (11 innings) Dee Gordon’s RBI double with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning lifted host Miami to a victory over Philadelphia. Justin Bour hit his 19th home run for the Marlins.

INTERLEAGUE

ORIOLES 4, NATIONALS 3 Manny Machado hit a two-run home run off Max Scherzer with two outs in the seventh inning and visiting Baltimore rallied past Washington. Steve Pearce had a two-run home run and a double for the Orioles.