Toronto — Drew Smyly pitched 5 innings to remain unbeaten at Rogers Centre, Alexei Ramirez and Steven Souza Jr. hit home runs and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 on Tuesday night.
The Blue Jays entered one game ahead of Baltimore for the first AL wild card. They have lost seven of their last 11 games against the Rays.
Ramirez hit a three-run homer off Marcus Stroman (9-8) in the fifth, and Souza drilled a solo shot off Joe Biagini in the seventh.
Russell Martin had a two-run shot, but Toronto lost for the eighth time in 11 September games.
Smyly (7-11) came in 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA at Rogers Centre in five appearances, including three starts.
Yankees 3, Dodgers 0
New York— Jacoby Ellsbury and Didi Gregorius came off the bench and hit back-to-back homers in the seventh inning, sending New York over Los Angeles.
Gary Sanchez added a leadoff home run in the eighth, CC Sabathia pitched three-hit ball for 6 innings and the Yankees helped their unexpected playoff push by winning for the eighth time in 10 games.
New York began the night two games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild card.
Prized rookie Julio Urias was pulled in the fourth by the Dodgers, who had won seven of nine before their latest offensive flop against left-handed pitching.
They entered play with a four-game lead in the NL West over San Francisco, which hosted San Diego later.
Adam Warren (3-1) retired both batters he faced, and Dellin Betances got four outs for his 11th save.
Ellsbury and Gregorius homered off Ross Stripling (4-7).
Rangers 3, Astros 2
Houston — Jurickson Profar hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth, and Texas handed Houston another difficult loss.
Rougned Odor helped set up Profar’s clutch swing when he reached on a wild pitch after striking out with one out. He swiped second and scored on Elvis Andrus’ two-out triple against Ken Giles (2-4).
Profar followed with a base hit into left field, helping AL West-leading Texas improve to 15-3 against Houston this year.
Twins 8, Tigers 1
Detroit — Jorge Polanco homered and drove in four runs, Brian Dozier added three more hits to his torrid second half and Minnesota beat Detroit.
The Tigers lost for the third time in 14 games against Minnesota, costing them precious ground in a crowded race for the second AL wild card.
White Sox 8, Indians 1
Chicago — Todd Frazier and Carlos Sanchez each drove in two runs in a seven-run sixth inning, and Chicago handed the division-leading Indians their second straight lopsided loss.
The White Sox had seven hits, drew two walks and sent 12 batters to the plate against three pitchers in their highest-scoring inning of the season. The Indians maintained a six-game lead over Detroit in the AL Central after the Tigers lost to Minnesota.
Mets 4, Nationals 3 (10)
Washington — T.J. Rivera homered in the top of the 10th inning to lead New York over Washington.
The Mets pulled within nine games of Washington in the NL East and retained their hold on the second NL wild-card spot. New York has won eight of its last 10 and is 17-6 since Aug. 20, gaining 3½ games on Washington in that stretch.
Rivera, who had three RBIs, drilled an 0-2 pitch with one out in the 10th into the left field seats off Nationals closer Mark Melancon (2-2). The loss snapped Washington’s four-game winning streak.
Pirates 5, Phillies 3
Philadelphia — Sean Rodriguez had a pinch-hit three-run homer in the ninth inning, lifting Pittsburgh over Philadelphia. Pittsburgh remained six games behind the Mets for the second NL wild card.
Marlins 7, Braves 5
Atlanta — Ichiro Suzuki scored two runs and drove in another in the 900th multihit game of his career and the Marlins boosted their fading wild-card hopes.
Miami, which began the night five games out of a playoff spot, won for only the fifth time in its last 17 games.
Athletics 5, Royals 4
Kansas City, Mo. — Pinch hitter Yonder Alonso delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning and the Oakland rallied past Kansas City.
The defending World Series champion Royals dropped five games out of the wild-card race with only 18 games left.
