Blue Jays closer to AL wild-card spot

Chris Bassitt reached 200 innings for the first time, Brandon Belt hit a three-run homer and the Blue Jays moved one step closer to an AL wild-card berth by beating the Yankees, 6-0, in Toronto Thursday night.

Daulton Varsho and Matt Chapman hit solo home runs for the Blue Jays, who entered in position for the second AL wild card, a half-game ahead of Houston and two games ahead of Seattle.

Orioles remain home

The Baltimore Orioles reached a deal with the state of Maryland that keeps the team at Camden Yards for at least 30 years, according to an announcement after the third inning of Thursday night’s game against the Red Sox.

Between innings, a message appeared on the scoreboard telling the crowd about the agreement between the Orioles, the state, the governor, Wes Moore, and the Maryland Stadium Authority. The Democratic governor and Orioles chairman John Angelos were shown on the video board.

The team’s lease was to expire at the end of the year, so this was a welcome announcement for fans — part of what could be a big night at Camden Yards. The Orioles had a chance to clinch the AL East title with a victory. The Orioles have the best record in the American League and have already clinched a spot in the postseason.

Home field to Braves

Max Olson hit his major league-leading 54th homer, and the Atlanta Braves clinched home-field advantage throughout the postseason with a 5-3 win over the visiting Chicago Cubs.

Harper ejected

Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper was ejected in the third inning in visiting Pittsburgh’s 3-2 win over Phildelphia following a furious outburst toward third base umpire Ángel Hernández on a checked strike three.

Harper seemingly held his swing on a full count against Pirates starter Luis L. Ortiz and started to take off his protective gear when Hernández called out the slugger.

Harper whipped off his batting helmet and went off on Hernández as he walked down the baseline. Harper pointed his finger in Hernández's face and had to separated by manager Rob Thomson. Harper tossed his helmet into the stands before he went into the dugout. One child got a lucky souvenir and wore the helmet the next inning.

Rodríguez outraged

Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez said he believes the antics of Houston pitcher Hector Neris crossed a line during a contentious confrontation between the two that led to both benches emptying and has Major League Baseball looking into the incident.

The confrontation took place in Wednesday’s game between the Mariners and Astros that Houston eventually won, 8-3. Neris struck out Rodríguez to end the sixth inning and determinedly walked and shouted toward Rodríguez after the strikeout.

“I feel like you’ve got to keep it respectful and he was someone I had a lot of respect for and known for quite a long time dating back to 2020 during the pandemic and all that. I just feel like I deserve a little more respect on that,” Rodríguez said.

Neris issued a written apology for his actions and denied a claim that he used a homophobic slur in the words he said to Rodríguez.

Mets’ McNeil on IL

Jeff McNeil has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow but the 2022 NL batting champion is not expected to need surgery.

McNeil was placed on the 10day injured list by the Mets on Thursday, ending his season. The injury was diagnosed Wednesday, after McNeil went 1 for 4 in a doubleheader opener against Miami. He is to receive a PRP injection on Friday.

Attendance rebounds

More than 70 million fans will attend Major League Baseball games for the first time in six years, a post-pandemic rebound for a sport that instituted its biggest on-field changes in decades. A pitch clock to speed play, limits on defensive shifts to increase offense, new social spaces at ballparks and technology innovations to speed entry have factored into a 9.2 percent rise in average attendance to 29,176.