NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge went homerless for the fourth straight game and remained one shy of Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 as the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 7-5 on Saturday to close in on their first AL East title since 2019.
Judge was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk. Since hitting No. 60 to spark a ninth-inning comeback Tuesday night, the slugger is 3 for 13 with two doubles, five walks and six strikeouts.
Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run homer off John Schreiber (3-4) that broke a 5-all tie in the seventh inning. Rizzo equaled his career high, reaching 32 for the fourth time.
The Yankees (93-58) have won six straight and 10 of 12, surpassing last year’s wins total and opening an 8 1/2-game division lead with 11 to play.
Xander Bogaerts went 2 for 4 for Boston and took over the AL batting lead with a .315 average to Judge’s .314. Judge leads the majors with 128 RBIs and is in contention for the first Triple Crown since Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera in 2012.
Oswaldo Cabrera had a two-run homer for the Yankees, and Gleyber Torres hit his 24th of the season.
Triston Casas and Reese McGuire homered for Boston.
Lucas Luetge (4-4) for the win and Scott Effross earned his third save, second with the Yankees.
BLUE JAYS 3, RAYS 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Alek Manoah pitched seven shutout innings, Whit Merrifield hit a three-run homer and Toronto regained the top AL wild-card spot with a victory over Tampa Bay.
The Blue Jays lead the Rays by one game. The top wild card finisher will host all games in their best-of-three opening-round series, while the other two wild cards play strictly on the road.
Manoah (15-7) scattered four hits, walked two and struck out eight while throwing a season-high 113 pitches. Jordan Romano got four outs for his 35th save in 41 chances.
Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen (10-7) gave up one run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings. Merrifield connected in the seventh off Brooks Raley.
ATHLETICS 10, METS 4
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Jacob deGrom got hit around and lasted a season-low four innings as New York squandered an early lead and lost to Oakland.
Handed a 3-0 advantage, deGrom (5-3) gave up four runs in the bottom of the first. He was tagged for five runs and four walks overall — the worst start for the two-time Cy Young Award winner since 2019.
In his last three starts, the right-hander has allowed 11 earned runs in 15 innings. The four walks doubled his previous season total.
The Mets lost for only the second time in nine games. They lead the NL East by 1 1/2 games over reigning World Series champion Atlanta.
Pete Alonso launched his 38th homer for New York, and Mark Vientos hit his first in the majors.
Conner Capel homered among his career-best three hits and drove in a career-high four runs. Seth Brown also went deep for the A’s, and rookie Dermis García had a two-run double. Ken Waldichuk (1-2) earned his first major league win in his fifth career start with five solid innings.
BRAVES 6, PHILLIES 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Wright became the first 20-game winner in the majors this season and Atlanta beat Philadelphia to stop a three-game losing streak.
William Contreras and rookie Michael Harris II each homered and had three hits for the Braves (94-58), who moved within 1 1/2 games of the first-place Mets in the NL East. The teams play three games in Atlanta next weekend.
Bryce Harper hit a two-run homer for Philadelphia (83-68), which holds one of three NL wild-card spots.
The 26-year-old Wright (20-5) went 5 1/3 innings and became the first Braves pitcher to win 20 games since Russ Ortiz won 21 in 2003.
Kenley Jansen earned his 37th save.
Bailey Falter (5-4) allowed six runs and 10 hits over 3 2/3 innings in his first loss since July 24.
GUARDIANS 4, RANGERS 2
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Cal Quantrill won his career-best 10th consecutive decision, rookie Oscar Gonzalez hit two home runs and Cleveland moved closer to clinching the AL Central by beating Texas.
The streaking Guardians won for the 17th time in 20 games. They can wrap up the division title with one more win or a White Sox loss.
Quantrill (14-6) hasn’t lost in 15 starts dating to July 5 while setting a career high for wins. He allowed only Marcus Semien's solo homer in six innings.
Andres Gimenez hit a solo homer in the seventh off Brock Burke (7-4) to give the Guardians a 2-1 lead.
Emmanuel Clase earned his major league-best 39th save in 43 opportunities despite giving up a solo homer to Sam Huff in the ninth.
BREWERS 10, REDS 2
CINCINNATI (AP) — Hunter Renfroe hit a pair of two-run homers and had a season-high five RBIs against Cincinnati in Milwaukee’s fourth straight victory.
Renfroe’s shots boosted Milwaukee’s homer count against the Reds this season to 42, tied with the 2016 Cubs for the most by any team against Cincinnati in franchise history.
Renfroe tied his career high with four hits in support of Corbin Burnes (11-8). The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner gave up four hits and two runs with eight strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.
Reds rookie Graham Ashcraft (5-4) came off the injured list to make his first start since Aug. 19. He was tagged for eight hits and four runs in four innings.
MARINERS 6, ROYALS 5
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cal Raleigh homered and drove in three runs as Seattle rallied past Kansas City.
The Mariners have won two of three after dropping five of six as they try to hold off Baltimore for the third and final AL wild card. They closed to a half-game behind Tampa Bay for the second spot.
With one out in the ninth inning, Jarred Kelenic and Jesse Winker singled ahead of Raleigh’s tiebreaking RBI double off Brad Keller (6-14). Raleigh had tied the score 5-5 as a pinch-hitter with his 25th homer, a two-run shot to start the sixth.
Paul Sewald (5-4) tossed two scoreless innings and Andres Munoz worked the ninth for his fourth save.
The loss ended the Royals’ season-best four-game win streak.
ASTROS 11, ORIOLES 10
BALTIMORE (AP) — Yuli Gurriel hit a two-run single to cap a ninth-inning uprising that carried Houston past Baltimore, giving manager Dusty Baker his milestone 100th win of the season.
The AL West champion Astros trailed 9-7 before mounting a four-run rally against closer Félix Bautista (4-4). Kyle Tucker tied it with a two-out RBI double and Gurriel followed with a single.
On the brink of making up ground in the playoff hunt, the Orioles dropped four games behind Seattle for the third and final AL wild card. Both teams have 11 games left.
Baker joined Hall of Famers Sparky Anderson, Tony La Russa and Whitey Herzog as the only managers in major league history to have 100-win seasons in both leagues. He won 103 games in his 1993 debut with San Francisco.
Anthony Santander hit two home runs for the Orioles, and Cedric Mullins and Rougned Odor also went deep.
Coming off two straight shutout losses to Baltimore, the Astros trailed 7-6 in the eighth before Gurriel doubled in a run against Bautista. In the bottom half, Ryan Mountcastle singled off Rafael Montero (5-2) and Santander followed with a shot to deep center.
But it wasn’t enough in this wild slugfest. Ryan Pressly gave up a ninth-inning homer to Odor but earned his 31st save.
TIGERS 7, WHITE SOX 2
CHICAGO (AP) — Javier Báez taunted Chicago fans after hitting a home run, and Detroit pushed the White Sox closer to elimination in the AL Central.
Cleveland has a magic number of one to close out the White Sox to win the division. Before Chicago lost its fifth in a row, the team announced manager Tony La Russa will not return to the dugout this season.
Báez hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning. As he rounded the bases, the former Cubs star held his hand to his ear, stretched out his arms and made a chatter motion as fans booed him.
La Russa, who turns 78 on Oct. 4, had “additional testing and medical procedures over the past week,” the team said Saturday. Doctors have directed the Hall of Famer to stay away from managing for the rest of the season.
La Russa left the White Sox before an Aug. 30 game against Kansas City to deal with a heart issue. Chicago is 13-11 under bench coach Miguel Cairo, who will continue as acting White Sox manager.
Báez and Harold Castro each had three hits, including a home run, and three RBIs. Riley Greene also had three hits for the last-place Tigers, who have won four of five.
Eloy Jiménez and Gavin Sheets homered on consecutive pitches by Drew Hutchinson (3-9) to tie it at 2 in the White Sox fourth.
Castro hit a two-run homer off Davis Martin (2-5) in the first. Martin gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings.
TWINS 8, ANGELS 4
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gary Sánchez drove in four runs, including a three-run homer in the fifth inning, and Minnesota snapped a five-game losing streak with a win against Los Angeles.
Jose Miranda and Gio Urshela each had three hits for the Twins, who won for only the second time in 10 games. They were eliminated from contention in the AL Central on Friday night.
Griffin Jax (7-3) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief.
Reid Detmers (6-6) permitted five runs – four earned – in four-plus innings for the Angels, who committed three errors.
The first three Los Angeles runs came in the third. Mike Trout hit an RBI double and Shohei Ohtani had a two-run single.
PIRATES 6, CUBS 0
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Johan Oviedo tied his career high with seven strikeouts in seven innings, and Pittsburgh blanked Chicago to snap an eight-game losing streak.
Oviedo (4-2) retired his final 16 batters, allowing just three hits on 82 pitches without issuing a walk. The Pirates (56-96) ended Chicago’s four-game winning streak, and must win at least seven of their final 10 games to avoid reaching 100 losses for the 10th time.
Pinch-hitter Jack Suwinski launched a three-run homer.
Wade Miley (1-2) exited with left oblique tightness in the fifth. He allowed three runs (one earned) in four-plus innings.
MARLINS 4, NATIONALS 1
MIAMI (AP) — Sandy Alcantara struck out 11 in eight dominant innings and Miami shut down Washington.
Bryan De La Cruz homered, doubled twice and singled for the Marlins.
The 27-year-old Alcantara (14-8) allowed Joey Meneses’ home run in the first and little else. In his 13th start of at least eight innings this season, the All-Star righty gave up three hits, walked one and hit a batter with a pitch.
Dylan Floro closed for his seventh save.
JJ Bleday’s two-run single in the first put the Marlins ahead 2-1. De La Cruz connected against Erick Fedde (6-11) leading off the fourth.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, GIANTS 2
PHOENIX (AP) — Merrill Kelly pitched seven strong innings and Arizona ended San Francisco's five-game winning streak.
Kelly (13-7) permitted just four hits and two runs to drop his season ERA to 3.13. He struck out six and walked one.
He is 3-0 against the Giants this season with a 1.53 ERA in five starts. It’s possible he could pitch against them again next weekend when the teams meet in San Francisco.
Reyes Moronta worked the ninth for his second save.
Alex Cobb (6-7) lasted five innings, allowing five hits and five earned runs. Mike Yastrzemski homered for the Giants.
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