Yankees expand playoff edge: Judge passes DiMaggio, Gil's no-hit innings lead win over Red Sox

The Yankees opened a 1 1/2-game lead over the Red Sox in the race for the AL’s top wild-card berth, which would give them potential home-field advantage over the Red Sox in the first round of the postseason.

A day after hitting two homers to tie DiMaggio for fourth on the Yankees’ career home run list, Judge hit a 468-foot solo shot in the first inning that was the longest home run at Fenway Park since his 470-foot shot last July.

New York made it 2-0 in the third after Ben Rice was awarded first base on catcher’s interference. Cody Bellinger followed with an RBI single to score Judge, who had walked.

Gil struck out four and walked four. He also had two wild pitches and a balk. David Bednar pitched the ninth for his 23rd save.

CUBS 6, RAYS 4

CHICAGO (AP) — Ian Happ homered and Moisés Ballesteros hit a tiebreaking triple, helping Chicago beat slumping Tampa Bay.

Happ finished with three hits and two RBIs as Chicago posted its third consecutive victory. Nico Hoerner had two hits and scored twice for the NL wild-card leaders.

Matthew Boyd (13-8) pitched five innings and allowed four runs in his first win since Aug. 19. The All-Star left-hander is 2-4 with a 5.31 ERA in his last seven starts.

Christopher Morel hit a three-run homer for Tampa Bay in his first game against his former team. Morel was acquired in a July 2024 trade with the Cubs.

NATIONALS 6, PIRATES 5

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dylan Crews hit a two-run homer, James Wood threw out the potential tying run at the plate in the ninth inning and Washington edged Pittsburgh.

Josh Bell added a two-run double for the Nationals, who took a 6-3 lead with a four-run seventh, highlighted by Crews’ ninth homer.

Wood allowed a ball hit by Nick Gonzales in the ninth to land over his head in left field for a ground-rule double. But when Joey Bart singled with runners on second and third and one out, Wood nailed Alexander Canario at the plate with a 93 mph throw to keep it at 6-5.

Wood scored the Nationals’ second run on a wild pitch from Evan Sisk. Wood also struck out twice, both looking, to become the first player in baseball to strike out 200 times this season.

Closer Jose A. Ferrer allowed his first run in 15 appearances in the ninth inning. He secured his ninth save of the season despite allowing two earned runs.

MARLINS 8, TIGERS 2

MIAMI (AP) — Sandy Alcantara pitched seven innings of two-run ball to outlast Detroit ace Tarik Skubal, who exited early after experiencing left side tightness, in Miami's win over the Tigers.

Alcantara (9-12) allowed four hits and struck out eight in the matchup of Cy Young Award winners. The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner matched a season-high seven innings for the sixth time.

Skubal (13-5) struggled after a recent string of dominant outings. He gave up four runs and four hits before he left with one out in the fourth. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner had allowed one earned run over his previous 27 1/3 innings.

Tigers shortstop Javier Báez left after he fouled off a pitch that struck near his left eye during an at-bat in the second inning. Báez swung at a 90 mph changeup from Alcantara and the ball first deflected off the brim of his helmet before making contact near his eye.

Rookie Agustín Ramírez, Heriberto Hernández and Joey Wiemer homered for the Marlins, who won their third straight.

PHILLIES 8, ROYALS 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Walker Buehler pitched five strong innings in his Philadelphia debut, Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott homered, and the Phillies won their fifth straight beating Kansas City.

Buehler allowed one run on five hits with one walk and three strikeouts for the NL East-leading Phillies, who are closing in on clinching the division.

A veteran of seven mostly successful but injury-marred seasons with the Dodgers before joining Boston this season, Buehler (8-7) was released by the Red Sox on Aug. 29 and signed with the Phillies two days later.

On Friday, he earned his first win since Aug. 8 for Boston at San Diego. He allowed a run in the first when Bobby Witt Jr. singled, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Maikel Garcia.

The Phillies tied it in the second against Michael Lorenzen on a sacrifice fly by Rafael Marchan. They broke it open over the next two innings.

In the third, Harper hit a two-run homer, and Brandon Marsh tripled and scored on a single by Otto Kemp for a 4-1 lead. In the fourth, Marchan, Harrison Bader and Kyle Schwarber hit consecutive doubles to push the advantage to 6-1.

Stott added a two-run shot in the seventh.

Lorenzen (5-11) went three-plus innings, allowing six earned runs on 10 hits.

RANGERS 8, METS 3

NEW YORK (AP) — Jacob deGrom received a six-run lead before throwing a pitch in his return to Citi Field, and Texas beat the Mets to give New York its third seven-game losing streak this year.

DeGrom (12-7), a two-time Cy Young Award winner while pitching for the Mets from 2014-22, allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings, retiring his last 15 batters.

Texas has won 15 of 19 and five straight, despite missing Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Evan Carter and and Adolis García because of injuries. The Rangers began the night two games back of Houston and Seattle in AL West and two games behind of Astros and Seattle for the last AL wild card.

New York, starting its final homestand, has lost seven straight games three times in a season for the first time since 1980, prompting repeated boos. The Mets’ lead for the last NL wild card cut to a half-game over San Francisco,

Jonah Tong (1-2) got just two outs in his third major league start. The 22-year-old right-hander walked three — all on changeups — and allowed six runs and four hits in a brutal top of the first that lasted 22 minutes. Josh Jung and Alejandro Osuna hit RBI singles, Cody Freeman had a two-run single and Michael Helman a two-run double.

Tong’s outing was the shortest for a Mets starter since David Peterson got one out on Sept. 14, 2022.

GUARDIANS 4, WHITE SOX 0

CLEVELAND (AP) — Tanner Bibee threw a two-hitter for Cleveland’s first complete-game shutout in six years, and David Fry and Angel Martínez homered in the Guardians’ victory over Chicago.

Bibee (10-11) struck out 10 and didn’t issue a walk in going the distance for a second time this season. His first career shutout was the first by a Cleveland pitcher in a nine-inning game since Zach Plesac against the Angels on Sept. 10, 2019.

Bibee gave up back-to-back singles to Chase Meidroth and Will Robertson with one out in the third before Mike Tauchman grounded into a double play. He allowed two baserunners from there — on an error in the sixth and a hit batter in the ninth.

Cleveland didn’t have a hit off Martín Pérez until Fry hit his eighth home run — a two-out shot to left field for a 1-0 lead in the fourth.

Jhonkensy Noel singled with one out in the fifth and scored on a two-out single by Austin Hedges for a 2-0 lead. Nolan Jones had an RBI single after Gabriel Arias doubled with two outs to make it 3-0. Martínez hit his 11th homer off Steven Wilson in the eighth to cap the scoring.

Pérez (1-5) allowed three runs on four hits in 6 2/3 innings.

BLUE JAYS 6, ORIOLES 1

TORONTO (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reached base five times, Myles Straw doubled home the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning, and Toronto beat Baltimore.

Guerrero raised his average to .305 by going 3 for 3 with three singles. He was walked twice, once intentionally.

Daulton Varsho hit a two-run, pinch-hit double off Shawn Dubin in a three-run eighth for AL-best Toronto.

Braydon Fisher (5-0) got two outs in the sixth. The Blue Jays are 64-4 when they score five or more.

Orioles left-hander Trevor Rogers exited after five innings because of a sore toe on his left foot. He allowed one unearned run on three hits to lower his ERA to 1.43 in 16 starts.

Dietrich Enns (3-3) replaced Rogers and retired the first two batters in the sixth. Isiah Kiner-Falefa reached on an infield single and went to second on a throwing error before Straw’s double that made it 2-1.

Samuel Basallo led off the Baltimore third with a double and scored on a one-out single by Jackson Holliday.

Toronto tied it in the fifth. Davis Schneider drew a two-out walk and scored when center fielder Colton Cowser overran Guerrero’s 115 mph single.

Toronto’s Chris Bassitt allowed one run and two hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out six.

ASTROS 11, BRAVES 3

ATLANTA (AP) — Zach Cole hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, Jose Altuve hit his 25th homer of the season and Houston routed Atlanta.

Cole was 3 for 4 with four RBIs after being called up from Triple-A Sugar Land. Christian Walker was 3 for 5 with two RBIs and Jake Meyers was 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs.

Houston used a bullpen game, starting rookie Jayden Murray, who threw three scoreless innings and gave up one hit in his first MLB start and third appearance. AJ Blubaugh (3-1) and Nick threw one scoreless inning apiece before Colton Gordon gave up three runs in the final four innings for his first save.

The Astros entered the day tied with the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West.

Braves rookie Hurston Waldrep (4-1) gave up eight runs on eight hits and his ERA climbed from 1.33 to 2.78. He had only given up six runs in seven appearances prior.

Ronald Acuña Jr. hit his 16th home run in the sixth inning and Eli White hit a pinch-hit two-run homer for the Braves in the eighth.

A six-run fifth inning put the game out of reach for Houston. The Astros scored all six with two outs, with Walker and Mauricio Dubón delivering two-run singles, and Meyers and Cole hitting RBI singles.

BREWERS 8, CARDINALS 2

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Quinn Priester pitched 5 1/3 strong innings to win his 12th straight decision and Christian Yelich homered as major league-leading Milwaukee snapped a three-game skid by beating St. Louis.

The Brewers have won the last 18 games in which Priester has pitched, a stretch that includes 15 starts and three performances in which he followed an opener.

Priester (13-2) carried a shutout into the sixth inning. He ended up allowing two runs and five hits while striking out five and walking one.

According to Sportradar, the last pitcher to win at least 12 consecutive decisions within a single season was Gerrit Cole, who won 16 straight with the Houston Astros in 2019.

The Brewers won in their return home after getting swept in a three-game series at Texas. The Cardinals dropped their fourth straight.

Yelich hit a two-run homer off Jorge Alcala in the seventh inning. His 28th homer of the year was a 432-foot blast off the center-field scoreboard.

The Brewers broke a scoreless tie with four runs in a third-inning rally that featured just one hit, on a bunt single.

TWINS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 8

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kody Clemens hit his third homer of the game to start a ninth-inning rally, Luke Keaschall ended it with a sacrifice fly and Minnesota edged Arizona.

After Arizona scored four runs in the top of the ninth to take an 8-6 lead, Clemens homered off Jake Woodford (0-4) to cut it to one. The son of former major league pitching star Roger Clemens, the 29-year-old Clemens has 19 homers this season.

Woodford then loaded the bases and was relieved by Andrew Saalfrank, who walked in a run to tie it, then allowed the sacrifice fly to Keaschall that scored Byron Buxton.

Gabriel Moreno hit a three-run homer in the ninth for Arizona. Geraldo Perdomo had a two-run shot for the Diamondbacks in the seventh. The star shortstop has 19 homers and 95 RBIs.

Clemens hit a solo shot in the third and gave the Twins a 4-1 lead in the fourth with a two-run shot.

Cole Sands (4-4) got the victory after blowing a save in the ninth.

ROCKIES 4, PADRES 2

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Blaine Crim drove a three-run home run an estimated 439 feet for his first big league hit, Kyle Farmer homered on JP Sears’ next pitch and Tanner Gordon combined with three relievers on a five-hitter as last-place Colorado beat playoff-contending San Diego.

The Rockies scored for the first time in five games in San Diego this season. Colorado, which has the worst record in the majors at 41-107, was outscored 16-0 in a three-game sweep in April and opened this four-game set with a 2-0 loss Thursday night.

The Padres entered the night 2 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West and four games ahead of the New York Mets in the race for the second of three NL wild cards.

Sears (8-11) struck out seven through three innings before allowing singles to Hunter Goodman and Jordan Beck opening the fourth. With two outs, Crim, a 28-year-old rookie, drove the first pitch he saw from Sears into the second deck in left field. Farmer hit Sears’ next pitch an estimated 408 feet into the Padres’ bullpen in left center, his eighth.

ATHLETICS 3, REDS 0

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif (AP) — Carlos Cortes hit a pair of solo home runs, Lawrence Butler led off with a homer and the Athletics beat Cincinnati after A’s starter J.T. Ginn left in the fifth inning with an injury.

Butler hit his 20th homer on Brady Singer’s third pitch to give the Athletics the lead. Cortes hit Singer’s second pitch in the third to center field for a 2-0 lead and the rookie then homered off Chase Burns in the eighth.

Ginn left after an apparent leg injury in the fifth. He issued back-to-back walks to TJ Friedl and Gavin Lux before leaving with Elly De La Cruz at the plate. Tyler Ferguson retired De La Cruz on a soft liner and then fanned Austin Hays.

Ferguson (4-2) struck out three in 1 2/3 innings. Sean Newcomb struck out the side in the ninth for his fourth career save and second this season.

Singer (13-10) gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in six innings. Burns made his first appearance in five weeks after suffering a right flexor strain.

De La Cruz had a third-inning single before stealing his 35th base to join Delino DeShields (1990-92 with the Expos), Vince Coleman (1985-87 with the Cardinals) and Bert Daniels (1910-12 with the Yankees) as the only players to reach 35 in each of their first three seasons.

GIANTS 5, DODGERS 1, 10 INNINGS

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Patrick Bailey hit a game-ending grand slam with one out in the 10th inning, sending San Francisco past the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers to boost its position in the NL wild-card chase.

Bailey crushed a 1-0 pitch from Tanner Scott into the left-field seats and was doused by teammates after his home run trot.

Joel Peguero (2-0) pitched the 10th for the win as San Francisco won for the eighth time in 11 games and pulled within one game of the Mets for the third NL wild card after New York lost at home to Texas.

The Giants missed a chance to end it in the ninth.

Pinch-hitter Luis Matos reached on Mookie Betts’ throwing error, Rafael Devers singled one out later and Blake Treinen (1-4) relieved Jack Dreyer. He intentionally walked Willy Adames to bring up Wilmer Flores, who hit a deep fly to center that Andy Pages fired to catcher Ben Rortvedt at 92.9 mph to tag Grant McCray for the inning-ending double play.

McCray then made a catch and 101.7 mph throw from right field to third for a double play in the top of the 10th.

Michael Conforto had tied it on a home run leading off the seventh against his old Giants team.

MARINERS 2, ANGELS 1

SEATTLE (AP) — Mitch Garver hit a go-ahead, solo home run in the seventh inning and Seattle beat the Los Angeles Angels for its seventh straight win.

Garver turned on an elevated fastball from reliever Connor Brogdon (3-2) and hit it into the left-field bleachers for his ninth home run of the season. Seattle remained in a tie with the Houston Astros atop the AL West for a second straight night.

The Mariners went in front in the fourth inning on a two-out, two-strike RBI double by Jorge Polanco. The switch-hitter kept his hands inside on a fastball from Yusei Kikuchi, cranking it to left to drive in Cal Raleigh, who doubled earlier in the inning.

The Angels were held scoreless until the top of the seventh inning, when Logan Davidson tied it with an RBI double off reliever Carlos Vargas (5-5).

After Garver’s homer in the bottom of the seventh, the Mariners’ bullpen made sure it stood, with Andrés Muñoz getting the last three outs for his 35th save of the season.