FRIDAY’S GAMES

HOME team in caps

Cardinals 8, CUBS 5 (G1): The surging St. Louis Cardinals soared to their 13th straight win, using homers by Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill.

Cardinals at CUBS (G2), late

Rangers at ORIOLES, late: Ryan Mountcastle and Austin Hays homered and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers 3-0 Thursday night.

Pirates at PHILLIES, late: J.T. Realmuto homered and drove in four and the Philadelphia Phillies erased a six-run deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-6 Thursday night.

Royals at TIGERS, late: Wednesday’s game between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park was postponed because of rain.

Nationals at REDS, late: Juan Soto homered twice, and the Nationals pushed the Reds further from playoff contention with a 3-2 win Thursday.

White Sox at CLEVELAND, late: The Chicago White Sox clinched their first AL Central title since 2008 with a 7-2 win over Cleveland in a doubleheader opener Thursday.

Marlins at RAYS, late: Kevin Kiermaier was hit by a pitch and the Rays clinched a postseason berth with a 7-1 victory over the Blue Jays Wednesday.

Yankees at RED SOX, late: The Yankees rallied past the Rangers 7-3 Wednesday for a three-game sweep heading into a divisional gauntlet that will decide their postseason fate.

Giants at ROCKIES, late: Jurickson Profar raced home on Victor Caratini’s infield single in the 10th and the Padres beat San Francisco 7-6 Thursday.

Blue Jays at TWINS, late: Nick Gordon drove in four runs and Michael Pineda won his third straight start as the Twins beat Toronto 7-2 on Thursday.

Padres at BRAVES (G1), late: Carson Kelly hit a tying three-run homer in a five-run seventh inning and the lastplace Diamondbacks beat the NL Eastleading Atlanta Braves 6-4 Thursday.

Braves at PADRES (G2), late

Mets at BREWERS, late: Kyle Schwarber homered twice and scored four times, and Chris Sale struck out eight in five innings on Wednesday night to lead the Red Sox to their seventh straight win, 12-5 over the Mets.

Mariners at ANGELS, late: Shohei Ohtani scored the go-ahead run in the sixth and the Angels grabbed a 3-2 victory over the Astros on Thursday.

Dodgers at DIAMONDBACKS, late: Max Muncy homered to start the 10th inning and the Dodgers rallied past the Rockies 7-5 on Thursday to remain in the thick of the NL West chase.

Astros at ATHLETICS, late: Chris Bassitt pitched three scoreless innings, and the Seattle Mariners rallied against Oakland’s bullpen for a 6-5 victory Thursday and a four-game sweep.