NEW YORK: Starling Marte hit a game-ending single with one out in the 10th inning as the New York Mets earned a 2-1 victory over the visiting Washington Nationals on Monday. After Tyrone Taylor was intentionally walked leading off the inning, Francisco Alvarez hit a fly ball to the warning track in right field to advance pinch runner Harrison Bader, who came on for automatic runner Mark Vientos. Five pitches later, Marte won it by lining a 3-1 fastball from Jacob Barnes (8-3) into left field to easily score Bader. After Marte ensured the Mets (82-68) avoided their third straight loss, he was mobbed by his teammates at second base. The Mets logged their 11th walk-off win of the season on a night when Francisco Lindor did not play to a lower back injury. The Braves (81-69) lost to the Dodgers on Monday night, giving New York a one-game lead over Atlanta in the race for the third National League wild-card spot. Washington starter Jake Irvin allowed just one run on four hits in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out five, walked one and got 11 outs via groundballs. Washington’s Jose Tena, who has reached base safely in 12 straight games, delivered an RBI single in the fourth inning.
Guardians 4, Twins 3
Rookie Kyle Manzardo clubbed a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning and Cleveland rallied for a victory over visiting Minnesota. The Guardians trailed 3-0 after three frames and got just 2 2/3 innings from starter Matthew Boyd. However, five relievers combined to allow just three hits the rest of the way as the Guardians chipped away and came out on top. Angel Martinez paced the Cleveland offense with three hits and an RBI.
Minnesota reliever Griffin Jax (4-5) got out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh with the Twins up 3-2, but the American League Central-leading Guardians got to him an inning later. Starter Pablo Lopez allowed eight hits and walked two but yielded just two runs in 6 1/3 innings for the Twins, who own the AL’s third and final wild-card spot despite being mired in a 9-18 rut. Lopez fanned four.
Cardinals 4, Pirates 0
Andre Pallante allowed just four hits over seven innings as St. Louis blanked visiting Pittsburgh. Pallante (7-8) struck out a career-high nine batters and walked one as the Cardinals snapped their three-game losing streak. Andrew Kittredge tossed a perfect eighth inning for the Cardinals and Ryan Fernandez did the same in the ninth to wrap up the opener of a four-game series. Paul Skenes (10-3) allowed one run on four hits in six innings for the Pirates, who lost for the third time in four games. Skenes struck out seven and walked one while lowering his ERA to 2.07. Pittsburgh reliever Kyle Nicolas exited the game with an injury in the eighth inning after walking the only batter he faced.
Brewers 6, Phillies 2
William Contreras doubled home two runs and Aaron Civale allowed one run over five-plus innings to pace Milwaukee to a victory over visiting Philadelphia in the opener of a three-game series between division leaders. Milwaukee’s magic number to clinch the National League Central dropped to two. Civale (7-8) exited after allowing consecutive singles by Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to open the sixth. He walked one and fanned six in his outing. Colin Rea, who has made 25 starts this season, held the Phillies scoreless for the final 2 2/3 innings to earn his first career save. Philadelphia leads the NL East by eight games over the New York Mets and is one game in front of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the NL. Philadelphia starter Ranger Suarez (12-7) allowed three runs on four hits in five innings.
Dodgers 9, Braves 0
Freddie Freeman’s three-run homer highlighted a six-run seventh-inning rally and sparked visiting Los Angeles to a win over Atlanta. By splitting the four-game series, the Dodgers (89-61) won the season series 5-2 against the Braves. Atlanta (81-69) fell one game behind the New York Mets in the race for the final National League wild-card spot. Los Angeles’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto made another good start in his return from a strained rotator cuff that kept him sidelined for nearly three months. He pitched four scoreless innings and allowed four hits and two walks while striking out three. The winning pitcher was Evan Phillips (4-1), who pitched a perfect fifth inning.
Cubs 9, Athletics 2
Shota Imanaga threw six quality innings, Dansby Swanson homered and drove in four runs as Chicago beat visiting Oakland. Imanaga (14-3) allowed two runs on five hits while walking three and striking out 11 as the Cubs (77-73) won their second straight. Imanaga has come away with a win in each of his past five starts. Isaac Paredes and Miguel Amaya each finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Chicago, and Seiya Suzuki went 3-for-5 as the Cubs tallied 18 hits. Brent Rooker went 2-for-5 with a homer and a pair of RBIs for Oakland (65-86), which dropped its third straight. Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom also tallied two hits apiece for the A’s.
Tigers 7, Royals 6
Matt Vierling’s third hit of the ninth, a sixth-inning RBI single, capped a rally from a 4-0 deficit as visiting Detroit beat Kansas City. Parker Meadows, Spencer Torkelson and McKinstry had two hits apiece for the Tigers, who have won 8 of 11. Brenan Hanifee (1-1) gave up one run in 2 1/3 innings for his first major league win, and Jason Foley earned his 24th save. Bobby Witt Jr. hit a grand slam and he, Isbel and Yuli Gurriel each had two hits for the Royals. Sam Long (3-2) took the loss in relief.
Rockies 3, Diamondbacks 2
Brenton Doyle scored on a throwing error by shortstop Geraldo Perdomo in the bottom of the ninth inning as host Colorado rallied to beat Arizona. Doyle finished with two hits and two stolen bases and Ezequiel Tovar and Hunter Goodman went deep for the Rockies (58-93), which beat the Diamondbacks (83-67) for just the third time in 11 tries this season. Seth Halvorsen (2-0) pitched two innings of relief for the win. The loss cut Arizona’s lead in the National League wild-card race to a game over the New York Mets and two over Atlanta. Marte homered and Gabriel Moreno had two hits for the D-backs. — Reuters