KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Bruce Chen worked five innings, Salvador Perez doubled home two runs and the Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians 7-2 on Wednesday night.
Chen was pulled in the sixth after giving up a single to Michael Bourn and walking Nick Swisher to lead off the inning,
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Royals relievers Tim Collins, Will Smith and Greg Holland then allowed just one hit to keep the team’s playoff chances alive.
RAYS 4, RANGERS 3: Desmond Jennings had an RBI single in the 12th inning and Tampa Bay took over the top spot in the AL wild-card race by beating Texas at St. Petersburg, Fla.
Texas has a half-game lead over Cleveland, which lost at Kansas City, for the second wild- card spot.
MARINERS 8, TIGERS 0: Hisashi Iwakuma (13-6) extended his scoreless innings streak on the road to 25 and Justin Smoak homered off Justin Verlander to help Seattle win at Detroit.
The AL Central-leading Tigers had won three straight and 6 of 7 to close in on their third straight division title.
Verlander (13-11) allowed three runs, four hits, walked three and struck out six over seven innings. He was hoping to win consecutive starts for the first time in more than three months.
YANKEES 4, BLUE JAYS 3: Vernon Wells had a go-ahead two-run double in the eighth inning, Mariano Rivera earned a four-out save and New York rallied from three runs down at Toronto.
The win snapped a four-game skid as the Yankees avoided falling further behind in the AL wild-card race.
ANGELS 5, ATHLETICS 4: Josh Hamilton hit a tying two-run homer in the ninth inning then put the Angels ahead with an RBI single in the 11th, leading Los Angeles to a win at Oakland.
Mike Trout added a two-run home run for the Angels, who won for the fourth time in five games.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
PADRES 3, PIRATES 2: San Diego’s Logan Forsythe and Rene Rivera delivered consecutive RBI singles in the ninth inning off Pittsburgh closer Mark Melancon as San Diego rallied at Pittsburgh and sent the Pirates to their third straight defeat.
BRAVES 5, NATIONALS 2: Justin Upton and Dan Uggla each homered in a three-run sixth inning as Atlanta rallied at Washington, lowering its magic number for clinching the NL East title to two games.
Atlanta has not won the division since 2005, the last of 11 straight titles.
CARDINALS 4, ROCKIES 3: Adam Wainwright pitched effectively into the eighth after a shaky start and helped himself at the plate with three hits as St. Louis won at Denver to expand its lead in the NL Central.
METS 5, GIANTS 4: Josh Satin hit a two-run single to cap a four-run rally in the ninth inning at New York.
NOTES
BREWERS: Suspended slugger Ryan Braun visited the clubhouse for the first time since telling his teammates in July that he accepted a 65-game ban as a result of baseball’s investigation into a Florida clinic accused of distributing performance-enhancing drugs.
METS: Matt Harvey will try to rehab his injured right elbow without reconstructive surgery, a move the young ace hopes is going to keep him on the mound for New York next season.
Tommy John surgery, however, still remains a possibility.
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