ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (AP) Troy Tulowitzki doubled and singled in his return to the Toronto lineup after missing three weeks with injuries as the American League East champion Blue Jays rallied past the Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 Friday night.
Tulowitzki went 2 for 5 and scored a run on a day that saw three major league games postponed as the East Coast faced steady rain with Hurricane Joaquin swirling in the Atlantic.
Edwin Encarnacion and Russell Martin homered for the Blue Jays, who started the day tied with Kansas City in the race for the AL’s best record and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
In New York, the Mets’ chase for home-field advantage in their opening playoff series was put on hold when their game against the Washington Nationals was called off. They were scheduled to play a split doubleheader Saturday.
The New York Yankees’ game in Baltimore and the Marlins-Phillies game in Philadelphia also were rained out and rescheduled as part of doubleheaders Saturday.
Angels slugger Mike Trout hit a leadoff triple in the ninth inning and scored off Albert Pujols’ tiebreaking single, helping wild card-contending Los Angeles beat Texas 2-1 and keep the Rangers from clinching the AL West title.
Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson (6-4) appeared in his fourth consecutive game. Trout hit the second pitch deep into the right-center gap, then slid headfirst into third base before emphatically pumping his right arm toward his teammates in the dugout.
Ben Zobrist put a major dent in Minnesota’s postseason bid with an RBI double in the eighth inning against struggling All-Star Glen Perkins as the Kansas City Royals topped the Twins 3-1.
The Twins entered the night trailing Houston by one game and tied with Los Angeles in the AL wild-card race.
In Phoenix, Dallas Keuchel became the AL’s first 20-game winner as the Houston Astros backed him with the highest-scoring game in team history, moving closer to a playoff berth by routing the Arizona Diamondbacks 21-5.
The Astros have won five of six and held their one-game edge over the Los Angeles Angels for the second AL wild-card spot. Houston trails West leader Texas by two games with two to play.
The Chicago Cubs tried to keep up with Pittsburgh in the race to host the NL wild card game as Jake Arrieta struck out seven batters in six strong innings for a 6-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
In other games, Josh Tomlin pitched into the seventh inning and Carlos Santana drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double as the Cleveland Indians downed the Boston Red Sox 6-2, the Chicago White Sox edged the Detroit Tigers 2-1, the Atlanta Braves blanked the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 over 12 innings.
San Diego took a half-game lead over the Mets for home-field advantage in their upcoming playoff series after a 6-2 2win over the San Diego Padres, the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2 and the Colorado Rockies were 9-3 winners over the San Francisco Giants.
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