Cole bests Lester on the mound, delays Cubs’ party

NATIONAL LEAGUE

PIRATES 3, CUBS 2

CHICAGO — As hard as he is for opposing hitters to figure out, Gerrit Cole insists he is taking a simple approach on the mound.

Cole outpitched Jon Lester as the Pittsburgh Pirates hung on for their seventh consecutive victory, beating Chicago 3-2 on Friday to delay the Cubs’ playoff celebration.

“There’s a lot of extra noise that happens in September, and I think the simpler you can keep things the better it is,” Cole said.

Pittsburgh increased its lead for the National League’s top wild card to 41/ games over the Cubs, who would

2 have secured their first postseason appearance since 2008 with a victory. Chicago could clinch with a loss by San Francisco to Oakland on Friday night.

Cole (18-8) and Lester (10-12) each lasted seven innings, and Mark Melancon held off a rally attempt in the ninth for his major league-leading 51st save in 53 chances.

Chris Denorfia led off the ninth with a double and scored on Starlin Castro’s one-out triple to right as the Cubs closed within a run and excited the crowd of 40,432. Melancon then struck out Jorge Soler and Javier Baez on knuckle curves in the dirt.

BREWERS 4, CARDINALS 3 Khris Davis homered off Trevor Rosenthal leading off the ninth inning and visiting Milwaukee beat St. Louis. The loss cut the Cardinals’ NL Central lead to three games over Pittsburgh with eight games remaining.

MARLINS 12, BRAVES 11 Jose Fernandez became the first pitcher in the modern era to win his first 17 career home decisions, overcoming a rough start to help host Miami beat Atlanta.

PHILLIES 8, NATIONALS 2 Rookie Aaron Altherr had four hits, including an inside-the-park grand slam and a solo home run, and visiting Philadelphia beat Washington in what might have been Jordan Zimmermann’s home farewell. Zimmermann (13-9), who will be a free agent this offseason, exited after allowing 6 earned runs on 6 hits over 5 innings and suffered his first loss since Aug. 12.

METS 12, REDS 5 Lucas Duda hit a pair of three-run home runs and Noah Syndergaard dominated with his 99-mph fastball while pitching into the eighth inning, leading New York to a victory over host Cincinnati that moved it to the verge of its first playoff spot since 2006.

ROCKIES 7, DODGERS 4 Corey Dickerson hit one of Colorado’s three solo home runs in the fourth inning and the Rockies beat visiting Los Angeles, preventing the Dodgers from moving a step closer to clinching their third consecutive NL West title.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANGERS 6, ASTROS 2 Shin-Soo Choo homered and drove in three runs as Texas beat host Houston for the eighth consecutive time to extend their AL West lead over the Astros to 4½ games. Houston star second baseman Jose Altuve exited early after being hurt in a collision with shortstop

Carlos Correa while chasing a popup. There was no immediate word on Altuve’s condition.

INDIANS 6, ROYALS 0 Carlos Carrasco pitched a one-hitter, allowing only a seventh-inning single, and struck out a career-high 15 to lead visiting Cleveland over Kansas City.

RED SOX 7, ORIOLES 0 Rich Hill kept up his startling comeback, pitching a two-hitter and striking out 10 as host Boston beat Baltimore.

TIGERS 6, TWINS 4 Rajai Davis hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning, and Detroit rallied for a victory over visiting Minnesota. Alex Wilson (3-3) got the victory in relief, and Neftali Feliz pitched the ninth for his third save. The Tigers outhit Minnesota 13-2.

BLUE JAYS 5, RAYS 3 R.A. Dickey pitched seven innings to earn his 100th career victory, Josh Donaldson hit his 40th home run and host Toronto moved closer to clinching its first playoff berth in 22 years with a victory over Tampa Bay.

WHITE SOX 5, YANKEES 2 CC Sabathia gave up two costly home runs in the seventh inning and prized rookie Carlos Rodon pitched out of trouble all night as visiting Chicago damaged New York’s playoff drive.