TORONTO — Roberto Perez homered and drove in four, Michael Brantley hit a two-run shot and the Cleveland Indians outslugged the Toronto Blue Jays 9-8 on Saturday.
Brantley returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games because of a sore left foot and went 2 for 4 with two walks as Cleveland inched closer to clinching a playoff berth. The Indians began the day with a magic number of seven to lock up their third straight AL Central title.
Josh Tomlin (1-5) got two outs for the win and Cody Allen, Cleveland’s seventh pitcher of the game, pitched around a one-out double in the ninth to earn his 26th save.
ATHLETICS 8, RANGERS 6: Khris Davis hit his major league-leading 41st home run, Matt Olson homered to drive in the go-ahead run and Oakland defeated Texas for its fifth win in six games, in Oakland, California.
Davis hit a two-run homer in the first. He has 10 homers against the Rangers this year, matching his total against Texas in 2016.
Olson broke a 6-6 tie against Chris Martin (1-4) leading off the eighth. Olson has a career-high 25 homers, one more than last year. He entered in the seventh on what was scheduled to be a day off, and he is the only A’s player to appear in all 143 games.
RAYS 10, ORIOLES 5: Ryan Yarbrough struggled but got his 14th win, most among major league rookies, and Tampa Bay won its 10th straight home game.
ROYALS 4, TWINS 1: Rookie Jorge Lopez allowed a walk and a single to start the bottom of the ninth inning, ending his bid for a perfect game and then a no-hitter, but won at Minneapolis.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
REDS 7, PADRES 2: Joey Votto ended his two-month homer drought with Cincinnati’s 11th grand slam – one shy of the NL record – and the Reds beat San Diego in a game in Cincinnati called because of rain in the top of the seventh inning.
The game started an hour early because of a foreboding forecast and was played in a steady rain that intensified with one out in the top of the seventh.
Votto connected off Robbie Erlin (3-6) during a seven-run second inning, his first homer since July 9 – the second-longest drought of his career. Votto had gone 36 games without a homer, not counting his long ball in the All-Star Game. He spent time on the DL with a sore knee during the span.
NATIONALS 10, CUBS 3: Max Scherzer pitched a complete game and Washington, at home, took advantage of Chicago’s sloppy defense in the opener of a doubleheader.
BREWERS 4, GIANTS 3: Gio Gonzalez received a standing ovation following an impressive first start with Milwaukee, which won at home.
PIRATES 5, MARLINS 1: Josh Bell homered for the second game in a row, Ivan Nova got his first victory in a month and host Pittsburgh beat Miami for its fifth consecutive win.
INTERLEAGUE
TIGERS 4, CARDINALS 3: Victor Reyes scored on a wild pitch with one out in the ninth inning, and Detroit won at home.
NOTES
PIRATES: Right fielder Gregory Polanco, the team’s home run and RBI leader, will miss the remainder of the season because of a bone bruise in his left knee.
TWINS: Minnesota right-hander Ervin Santana may miss the rest of the season while receiving a series of platelet rich plasma injections in the middle finger of his pitching hand.
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