TORONTO — Steven Matz pitched seven solid innings to win his fifth straight decision, Danny Jansen homered and drove in three runs, and the Toronto Blue Jays kept their playoff hopes alive by beating the Baltimore Orioles 6-4 Friday night.

The Orioles put a scare into the Blue Jays with a four-run eighth, but closer Jordan Romano limited the damage as he got the final five outs for his 23rd save in 24 chances.

Toronto (89-71) remained one game behind Boston, which held onto the second AL wild card spot by beating Baltimore. Seattle, tied with Boston entering Friday, played later. The New York Yankees still occupy the first wild card spot but lost to Tampa Bay, reducing their lead to one game over Boston and two over Toronto.

Jansen hit a two-run homer off Thomas Eshelman (0-3) in the third inning, his 10th, and Corey Dickerson added a solo shot off Brooks Kriske in Toronto’s four-run sixth. The Blue Jays lead the majors with 253 homers this season, four shy of the club record set in 2010.

RAYS 4, YANKEES 3: Gary Sánchez and Rougned Odor both struck out with two runners on to blunt a ninth-inning rally and New York’s lead atop the AL wild card got even tighter with a loss to Tampa Bay.

The Yankees’ edge fell to one game over Boston and two games over Toronto after those contenders each won. Seattle was two games back of New York going into the night. New York needed a win plus a loss by either Boston or Seattle to clinch its fifth straight playoff appearance. Instead, the Yankees fell short against the AL East champion Rays in the opener of a season-ending three-game series.

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NATIONAL LEAGUE

PHILLIES 5, MARLINS 0: Bryce Harper had three hits including his 35th homer, Ranger Suárez pitched seven scoreless innings, and visiting Philadelphia  beat Miami.

METS 4, BRAVES 3: Brandon Nimmo hit two solo home runs, Tylor Megill allowed one hit in five scoreless innings and New beat Atlanta, snapping the NL East champions’ six-game winning streak.

PIRATES 9, REDS 2: Pittsburgh second baseman Cole Tucker made a spectacular diving catch, then hit his first career grand slam to cap an eight-run rally in the eighth inning that sent the Pirates over Cincinnati.

NOTES

CARDINALS: Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals have agreed on a deal for the next season and finalized it Friday, sources close to the team have confirmed to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The team announced the contract during a press conference Friday.

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“He’s been a very effective pitcher throughout his career, one of the greatest Cardinals ever, and has really led the staff for a number of years,” chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said to introduce the contract. “He’s just been a wonderful player, and a really wonderful person and leader. We look at him as a lifetime Cardinal.”

Details of the one-year deal were not immediately known.

The two sides have had discussions throughout the past week, and Wainwright, 40, made it clear earlier this month that he intended to pitch in 2022. He added that he hoped it would be with the Cardinals, the only club he’s known in his 18 years in the majors. The team, likewise, shared that sentiment.

Wainwright is 17-7 this season with a team-best 3.05 ERA, and he will receive votes for the National League Cy Young Award. He won his 17th game Tuesday night as the Cardinals clinched a wild-card berth in the playoffs and extended the club-record winning streak to 17 games.

“I don’t want to be anywhere else,” Wainwright said during the press conference to announce the contract. “Who am I kidding?”

DODGERS: Left-hander Julio Urías is the only pitcher in baseball with a shot at 20 wins this season, and he’ll try to earn it in a showdown against NL Cy Young Award contender Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.

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Urías (19-3, 3.01) hasn’t lost since June 21, and Los Angeles has won his past 10 outings dating to Aug. 1. He’s 7-0 with a 1.81 ERA in that span.

Burnes (11-4, 2.29) leads the majors in ERA and has been in a tight race for the top pitching prize with Dodgers ace Max Scherzer and Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler.

STAT WATCH: Several individual stat races are coming down to the wire, including an NL batting crown that’s likely to go either to Dodgers infielder Trea Turner or his former Washington teammate Juan Soto. Turner entered Friday hitting .325, just ahead of Soto’s .318. They were both Nationals until Turner and Max Scherzer were dealt to LA in July.

Kansas City’s Salvador Perez is trying to close out the major league home run title. He entered Friday with 48, two ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and three clear of Shohei Ohtani. Perez also led RBI by a wide margin with 121 and is set to become the first primary backstop to lead a league in RBI since Philadelphia’s Darren Daulton took the NL crown with 109 in 1992.


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