BALTIMORE — J.J. Hardy and Michael Bourn came through with RBI in the eighth inning, and the Baltimore Orioles rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 on Friday night.
The final out came when Mike Mahtook was cut down at the plate trying to score from first base on a single into the left-field corner by Alexi Ramirez.
Pedro Alvarez and Chris Davis homered for the Orioles, who remain two games behind first-place Boston.
Baltimore closed to 4-3 before completing the comeback in the eighth against wild reliever Brad Boxberger (4-2).
INDIANS 11, TIGERS 4: Mike Napoli drove in four runs and Cleveland stretched its lead over Detroit in the AL Central to seven games with a win at home.
Corey Kluber (17-9) worked seven innings, keeping the top of Detroit’s lineup in check and setting the tone for the Indians’ biggest series this season. The right-hander is 8-1 in 12 starts since the All-Star break and remains the one pitcher in the rotation Cleveland can count on.
Carlos Santana added two RBI for the Indians, now 12-1 against the Tigers.
WHITE SOX 7, ROYALS 4: Chris Sale pitched his American League-leading sixth complete-game to pick up his 16th win, Carlos Sanchez hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning as Chicago won at Kansas City..
Sanchez had struck out in his first three at-bats before hitting his shot with J.D. Shuck and Avisail Garcia aboard.
RANGERS 7, ATHLETICS 6: Jonathan Lucroy’s two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning gave Texas a win at home, reducing its magic number for clinching the AL West to seven.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CUBS 5, BREWERS 4: Miguel Montero homered in the 10th inning, and Chicago celebrated the NL Central title with a dramatic victory at Wrigley Field.
Chicago (94-53) pushed across two runs in the ninth and Montero connected for a leadoff drive in the 10th against Blaine Boyer (2-4).
The Cubs poured out of the dugout to mob Montero at home plate, and then pulled on postseason hats and shirts as the crowd of 40,823 cheered wildly.
NATIONALS 7, BRAVES 2: Trea Turner homered, had four hits and scored four runs while Max Scherzer won his fifth straight decision as Washington won at Alanta.
Daniel Murphy and Anthony Rendon each added two RBI.
The Nationals, seeking their third NL East title in five years, have won 13 of 17.
Their magic number to clinch the division is six with 15 games remaining.
Scherzer (17-7) gave up seven hits, two runs, two walks and struck out eight in seven innings.
The Washington ace is 12-3 with a 2.10 ERA in his last 20 starts.
INTERLEAGUE
METS 3, TWINS 0: Bartolo Colon limited Minnesota to three singles in seven innings while Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera hit consecutive home runs off rookie Jose Berrios in the third as New York won the opener of their final homestand this season.
The 22-year-old Berrios (2-7) was just 2 years old when Colon, 47, made his big league debut in April 1997.
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