TORONTO (AP) David Price pitched seven shutout innings and Jose Bautista had two hits as the Toronto Blue Jays used a three-run first inning to beat the New York Yankees 4-2 and pad their lead in the AL East division on Monday.
Toronto moved clear of New York by 3 1/2 games after winning the opener of a three-game showdown between the division’s top teams.
Facing the Yankees for the fourth time since joining the Blue Jays in a July 30 trade, Price (17-5) improved to 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA.
Roberto Osuna overcame Greg Bird’s two-out solo homer in the ninth to earn his 17th save.
Elsewhere in the league, Pittsburgh took another step toward wrapping up a postseason spot with a 9-3 win over Colorado, Houston beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-3 in a matchup of American League wild-card contenders, and the New York Mets moved closer to an NL East title with 4-0 victory over Atlanta.
In Denver, Starling Marte homered among his four hits and came within a triple of the cycle for the Pirates, who can clinch at least an NL playoff wild card with a win Tuesday and a San Francisco loss.
Aramis Ramirez went deep and Jody Mercer also had four hits as the Pirates built a 5-0 lead on Jon Gray (0-2).
Houston’s Evan Gattis and Carlos Correa hit two-run homers and Dallas Keuchel (18-8) pitched 7 2/3 solid innings to remain undefeated at home this season as the Astros won their third straight.
The Astros lead the Minnesota Twins by three games and the Angels by 3 1/2 for the AL’s second wild-card spot. The victory also put the Astros within a game of first-place Texas in the AL West division.
The Mets, meanwhile, stretched their lead to 6 1/2 games over the second-place Nationals with 12 to play.
Jonathon Niese (9-10) won for the first time in a month and Michael Conforto homered, Daniel Murphy lined a two-run double and Yoenis Cespedes had three hits to hand Shelby Miller (5-16) his 15th straight defeat.
In other games, Anthony Rizzo had three hits and scored three runs and Jorge Soler hit a pinch-hit, 3-run shot as the Chicago Cubs beat Milwaukee 9-5.
The Cubs also inched closer to a postseason berth by solidifying their hold on the second wild-card spot in the NL.
In Los Angeles, Paul Goldschmidt homered after Yasmany Tomas and Aaron Hill gave Arizona the lead with longballs off Brett Anderson as the Diamondbacks topped the Dodgers 8-4.
The NL West-leading Dodgers are seven games ahead of San Francisco at the top of the division.
Boston’s Xander Bogaerts hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to lift the Red Sox to an 8-7 victory over Tampa Bay, moving out of the AL East’s basement and ahead of the Rays.
Also, St. Louis edged Cincinnati 2-1 and the Chicago White Sox beat Detroit in a doubleheader, taking the first game 2-0 and the second 3-2.
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