NEW YORK (AP) — Daniel Vogelbach hit a tiebreaking single with two outs in the eighth inning and the New York Mets cooled off the first-place Seattle Mariners 2-1 on Friday night.
Brandon Nimmo homered, Kodai Senga struck out 12 over seven innings and Ronny Mauricio had two hits in his major league debut — including a double in his first at-bat that was the hardest-hit ball by a Mets player this season.
Seattle, fresh off a 21-6 August that marked the winningest month in franchise history, began the day a percentage point ahead of Houston and a game in front of third-place Texas in the AL West.
Vogelbach’s opposite-field single off Andrés Muñoz (3-6) scored Francisco Lindor. Phil Bickford (4-4) pitched a scoreless eighth and Drew Smith earned his third save.
J.P. Crawford homered for the Mariners, and Logan Gilbert struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings.
REDS 3, CUBS 2, 2ND GAME
CUBS 6, REDS 2, 1ST GAME
CINCINNATI (AP) – Noelvi Marte’ s two-out single in the ninth drove in the winning run as Cincinnati rallied to beat Chicago and split a doubleheader between the playoff contenders.
Nick Martini homered off Cubs closer Adbert Alzolay (2-5) with one out in the ninth to tie the game. Christian Encarnacion-Strand followed with a single. Pinch-runner Stuart Fairchild stole second, went to third on an errant throw and scored easily on Marte’s hit.
Chicago won the first game with Cody Bellinger driving in three runs and rookie right-hander Jordan Wicks turning in another quality start. Bellinger also hit a two-run homer in the second game.
The Cubs began the late game in second place in the NL Central behind Milwaukee and holding onto the second NL wild card. The Reds were in third place in the division and battling the Giants, Diamondbacks and Marlins for the third and final wild-card slot.
Alexis Diaz (7-4) picked up the win in the nightcap by pitching a scoreless ninth.
In the first game, Bellinger had a solo homer in the fourth off Graham Ashcraft (7-9) and drove in two more with a base hit in the sixth. Seiya Suzuki had a solo homer and Ian Happ added a two-run shot.
Wicks (2-0) allowed five hits through five innings with three strikeouts and three walks.
MARLINS 8, NATIONALS 5, 11 INNINGS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Garrett Hampson hit a two-run homer to cap a four-run rally in the 11th inning and Miami beat Washington.
Tanner Scott (7-4) earned the win and Miami second baseman Luis Arraez went 2 for 4 with a walk and raised his major league-leading average to .350.
Miami (68-67) moved over .500 with its second straight win over the Nationals. The Marlins entered the game three games back of San Francisco in the race for the NL’s third and final wild-card spot.
CJ Abrams, Lane Thomas and Travis Blankenhorn hit solo homer for Washington, which has lost three in a row for the first time since a five-game skid July 3-7. Robert Garcia (0-1) took the loss as the Nationals lost their fifth in six games.
GUARDIANS 3, RAYS 2
CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie Bo Naylor doubled home Gabriel Arias with the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, sending Cleveland past Tampa Bay.
The Guardians trailed 2-1 entering the seventh, but Andrés Giménez led off with a single, stole second and came home on Arias’ single. Naylor followed with a drive to the wall in right-center off Rays starter Tyler Glasnow (7-5).
Tampa Bay had its four-game winning streak snapped and fell two games behind first-place Baltimore in the AL East. The Rays remain firmly in control of the top wild-card spot and have won eight of 10.
Eli Morgan (5-2) pitched the seventh and Emmanuel Clase got his major league-high 37th save with a perfect ninth.
TWINS 5, RANGERS 1
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jordan Luplow and Christian Vázquez snapped extended slumps with home runs in the go-ahead seventh inning and AL Central-leading Minnesota beat slumping Texas.
Minnesota right-hander Joe Ryan (10-8) had seven strikeouts and allowed only one run and three hits over six innings.
Max Scherzer also struck out seven, allowing only one hit over six scoreless innings before Texas’ bullpen gave up a 1-0 lead. Brock Burke (5-3) took the loss for the Rangers (75-59) who lost for the 11th time in 14 games.
Luplow’s homer came after he was hitless in his previous 16 at-bats. Vázquez broke out of an 0-for-18 drought with a solo homer.
Jorge Polanco add a two-run shot in the eighth off Josh Sborz, the second Texas reliver.
All-Star shortstop Corey Seager hit his 26th homer for Texas, and officially qualified as the AL leader with his .345 batting average.
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