CLEVELAND (AP) Houston rookie Alex Bregman continued his hot hitting with a two-run homer that helped the Astros beat Cleveland 6-2 on Monday to boost their playoff hopes while ending the Indians’ six-game winning streak.
The Astros stayed within two games of the last American League wildcard berth and 8-1/2 games off AL West leader Texas, which lost heavily at Seattle.
Toronto lost at the New York Yankees, missing a chance to extend its lead in the AL East, where the top three teams are separated by just two games.
One team not looking over its shoulder in the run toward the playoffs is the Chicago Cubs, who beat Milwaukee to maintain a 16-1/2 game lead in the NL Central with 25 games to play.
Houston’s Bregman has hit all seven of his homers and driven in 22 runs over his past 19 games.
Astros starter Mike Fiers allowed two runs in five innings whereas the Indians – having taken the struggling Josh Tomlin out of the starting rotation – used eight different pitchers in the game to fill that gap.
Seattle scored five runs in the first inning to knock Texas starter Cole Hamels out of the game early and then piled on six more in the sixth inning to beat the Rangers 14-6.
Robinson Cano hit a two-run shot during the first inning to take his season tally to 32; one off his career high.
Hamels failed to make it through two innings for just the second time in his career.
New York’s Jacoby Ellsbury hit a two-run homer on R.A. Dickey’s third pitch of the game, and the Yankees beat Toronto 5-3.
Dickey allowed five runs in four innings on a blustery afternoon. He is 0-6 in his past nine starts at Yankee Stadium.
New York matched its season high of six games over a .500 winning percentage but remained on the periphery of contention, 3-1/2 games off the AL’s second wild card. The Blue Jays stayed a game ahead of Boston atop the AL East.
Chicago’s Kyle Hendricks threw six strong innings to guide the Cubs to a 7-2 win against Milwaukee.
Hendricks gave up one run and has a majors-best earned run average of 2.07 per nine innings. He is 5-0 with a 1.30 ERA over his past seven starts.
Chris Coghlan delivered a go-ahead hit in a two-run seventh and drove in two runs in a four-run eighth for the Cubs.
Detroit’s Justin Upton hit a three-run home run in the 11th inning to lift the Tigers over the Chicago White Sox 5-3.
Chicago pitcher Chris Beck issued consecutive two-out walks before Upton crushed a fastball over right field. He also hit a game-winning homer on Sunday against Kansas City.
Miguel Cabrera homered twice to become the fourth player to reach 300 homers with the Tigers, while Justin Verlander struck out 11 in seven innings for Detroit, which remained tied with Baltimore for the last AL wildcard.
St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright drove in three runs to make up for his own shaky pitching performance as the Cardinals beat Pittsburgh 12-6.
Wainwright hit an RBI double in the second and added a two-run single in the fourth. At the mound he gave up four runs but still took his first win since July.
The Cardinals held on to the second wild card spot in the NL and sent the Pirates to their seventh straight loss.
Colorado’s Chad Bettis pitched a shutout for his first career complete game, steering the Rockies past San Francisco 6-0.
Bettis did not allow a base runner until the fifth inning. He struck out seven and walked none.
Carlos Gonzalez hit a grand slam homer in the third inning as the Rockies put a dent in the Giants’ playoff hopes. They slipped four games behind Los Angeles in the NL West.
The Dodgers widened that gap by cruising past Arizona 10-2, beating former Dodgers ace Zack Greinke in his first start back at Dodger Stadium.
Adrian Gonzalez was one of five Los Angeles players to homer off Greinke, who imploded in his return to the ballpark he once dominated.
Washington’s Trea Turner and Chris Heisey each homered during a five-run third inning that lifted the Nationals over Atlanta 6-4.
Baltimore’s Ubaldo Jimenez pitched his first complete game since 2011 to guide the Orioles to a 7-3 win at Tampa Bay.
San Diego’s Edwin Jackson struck out 11 in seven scoreless innings to lead the Padres past Boston 2-1.
New York veteran Bartolo Colon pitched six scoreless innings to set up a 5-0 win for the Mets against Cincinnati.
Philadelphia’s Jerad Eickhoff allowed the first two Miami runners to score but held the hosts thereafter as the Phillies defeated the Marlins 6-2 for their first win in seven games.
Kansas City’s Brian Dozier hit three home runs to power the Royals past Minnesota 11-5.
Los Angeles slugger Albert Pujols had a two-run double in the fourth inning to help the Angels beat Oakland 10-7.
25% Bonus via Western Union
