Evan Longoria homered, tripled and scored three runs to help the Tampa Bay Rays beat Baltimore, 5-2, Saturday night, blunting the Orioles’ playoff push.
The loss dropped Baltimore three games behind first-place Boston in the AL East and a half-game in back of Toronto for the top AL wild-card slot, pending the Blue Jays’ late game at the Los Angeles Angels.
The Orioles have lost two of three to the last-place Rays in a series that ends Sunday. Longoria has homered in each of the three games and has a career-high 35 for the season.
Baltimore ace Chris Tillman (16-6) had a one-hitter and a 2-1 lead after five innings, but he failed to get out of the sixth.
Longoria led off the inning by hitting a long fly ball outside the left-field foul pole. He sent the next pitch over the center-field wall – his eighth career homer off Tillman in 63 at-bats.
Brad Miller followed with an infield hit and scored on a two-out double by Richie Shaffer.
The Rays added two unearned runs in the eighth when Mikie Mahtook hit a bases-loaded single after an error by first baseman Chris Davis.
Matt Andriese (8-7) allowed two runs in 5 innings to win his second straight start after losing seven decisions in a row. Alex Colome worked the ninth for his 34th save in 36 chances.
The Orioles played a second straight game without major league home run leader Mark Trumbo, who has back spasms.
Baltimore got a first-inning run when Adam Jones doubled and scored on a fly ball by Manny Machado.
A sacrifice fly by Hyun Soo Kim made it 2-0 in the third. Tampa Bay broke through in the fourth when Longoria tripled – the Rays’ first hit – and scored on a grounder by Miller.
Athletics 11, Rangers 2
Joey Wendle led off the game with his first major league homer for Oakland, Marcus Semien also went deep against Yu Darvish and the Athletics beat the AL-best Texas Rangers.
Darvish (5-5) matched a career high by allowing seven runs while pitching only five innings. He struck out eight, but walked four batters – all of those runners scored.
Carlos Gomez homered for the Rangers (88-61), who began the day with a magic number of six for closing out Seattle in the AL West.
Raul Alcantara (1-1), among five A’s pitchers to make their MLB debuts this season with a start, had three strikeouts without a walk. He pitched into the sixth, when he allowed a two-run homer to Gomez.
Danny Valencia added another three-run homer for the A’s, his 17th, in the eighth off Dario Alvarez.
Royals 3, White Sox 2
Jarrod Dyson had two hits, scored a run and stole a base in Jason Vargas’ first start in 14 months, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox to snap a five-game losing streak.
Vargas, who was making his first start in 423 days after having Tommy John surgery on August 5, 2015, gave up a first-inning run on Melky Cabrera’s RBI single, but retired eight of the last nine batters he faced.
Vargas was pulled after 52 pitches and three innings. Dillon Gee (7-8) replaced Vargas and held the White Sox to one run and five hits over 4 innings.
Dyson, who is 10 for 15 off White Sox starter Miguel Gonzalez (4-7), singled to lead off the first, advanced to second on Whit Merrifield’s bunt single, stole second and scored on Kendrys Morales’s sacrifice fly.
Indians 1, Tigers 0, 10 innings
Carlos Carrasco, the Cleveland Indians’ No. 2 starting pitcher, broke his right hand when hit by a line drive off the bat of Detroit’s Ian Kinsler on the second pitch of Saturday’s win over the Tigers.
Cleveland, which opened an eight-game lead over second-place Detroit, said Carrasco sustained a non-displaced fracture of his pitching hand. The Indians did not provide a timetable for his recovery.
The injury was the latest blow to the AL Central leader, whose rotation is led by 2014 AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber. No. 3 starter Danny Salazar has not pitched since Sept. 9 because of a strained right forearm and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Phillies 8, Marlins 0
Jeremy Hellickson pitched a three-hitter and A.J. Ellis had a three-run double to lead the Philadelphia Phillies over the fading Miami Marlins.
Miami, which began the day five games back for the NL’s second wild card, trailed by seven runs in the second inning and lost for the 14th time in 20 games.
Hellickson (12-9) struck out five, walked none and hit two batters in his second big league shutout and third complete game. He threw 75 of 106 pitches for strikes.
Brewers 11, Cubs 3
Ryan Braun went deep twice to reach 30 homers for the sixth time, Chris Carter hit a grand slam off the Wrigley Field video board and the Milwaukee Brewers routed the NL Central champion Chicago Cubs 11-3 on Saturday.
Braun had five RBI, including a pair of two-run homers. He reached 30 home runs for the first time since he had a career-high 41 in 2012, before his 65-game suspension for violations of baseball’s drug agreement and labor contract.
Carter hit his 35th homer, a drive off Spencer Patton that would have traveled 438 if it had landed unimpeded, according to MLB’s Statcast. Domingo Santana added a solo shot and Scooter Gennett doubled twice.
Braves 7, Nationals 3
Nick Markakis and Anthony Recker each drove in two runs, Josh Collmenter won as an emergency starter and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 7-3 on Saturday.
Washington began the day needing a combination of six Nationals victories or six New York Mets losses to clinch its third NL East title in five years.
Collmenter (2-0), acquired Wednesday from the Chicago Cubs, struck out eight in five innings and allowed two runs, four hits and three walks. He was Arizona’s opening-day starter last year and was making his first big league start on July 7, 2015 for Arizona.
Pirates 10, Reds 4, Game 1
Pirates 7, Reds 3, Game 2
Sean Rodriguez homered in both games, and Andrew McCutchen had a bases-loaded single as the Pittsburgh Pirates swept the Cincinnati Reds in a doubleheader.
In the first game, Jameson Taillon pitched five innings and singled to drive in a big league run for the first time during a 10-4 win that officially eliminated the Reds from postseason contention.
The Pirates swept a doubleheader in Cincinnati for the first time since 1990. They opened the day with a 5½-game gap and three teams to overtake for a wild-card berth.
McCutchen drove in three runs in the opener and had a bases-loaded single in the nightcap off left-hander Brandon Finnegan (9-11), who lasted only 2 innings. Rodriguez hit a solo homer, adding to his two-run shot in the first game.
Cincinnati’s Scott Schebler and Ramon Cabrera homered off rookie starter Trevor Williams, who failed to retire any of the four batters he faced in the fifth inning. Juan Nicasio (10-6) didn’t allow a hit in two innings.
Mets 3, Twins 0
Bartolo Colon limited the Twins to three singles in seven innings, Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera hit consecutive home runs off rookie Jose Berrios in the third, and the New York Mets beat Minnesota 3-0 Friday night in the opener of their final homestand this season.
Matched against a pitcher nearly half his age, the 43-year-old Colon (14-7) won for the fourth time in five decisions. He allowed soft singles in the third to Berrios and Brian Dozier, who extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a slow bouncer to third, then retired Jorge Polanco on a flyout to escape a bases-loaded jam. Polanco singled in the sixth.