Toronto’s George Springer, right, celebrates with Raimel Tapia after hitting a two-run homer Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla. Scott Audette/Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — George Springer homered twice, Alejandro Kirk and Teoscar Hernández also went deep and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-1 on Sunday to gain a four-game split.
Toronto (86-67) opened a two-game lead over Tampa Bay (84-69) for the top AL wild-card spot with nine games left.
Toronto allowed 20 runs in losing the first two games, but limited Tampa Bay to a total of two runs in winning the final two.
Ross Stripling (9-4) allowed one run and six hits in five innings. Zach Pop, Adam Cimber, Trevor Richards and Yusei Kikuchi combimed to give up one hit over four innings.
Rays All-Star Shane McClanahan (12-7), who was pulled in the fifth inning of his previous start because of neck tightness, gave up four runs and six hits, including a career-high three homers, over five innings.
ASTROS 6, ORIOLES 3: Christian Vazquez hit a bases-loaded single to cap a four-run 11th inning for visiting Houston, which dealt another blow to Baltimore’s playoff hopes.
The Orioles remained four games behind Seattle for the third and final AL wild-card spot.
ROYALS 13, MARINERS 12: Luis Castillo, fresh off signing a rich contract with Seattle, got chased as the Royals erupted for 11 runs in the sixth inning to rally from a nine-run deficit at Kansas City.
Mitch Haniger singled twice during an eight-run fifth for the Mariners, and they led 11-2 going into the bottom of the sixth. But Castillo struggled, and Michael Massey homered and drove in four runs during the Royals’ biggest inning since 2004.
GUARDIANS 10, RANGERS 4: Five of rookie Steven Kwan’s career-high five RBI came on his first career grand slam in the eighth inning, and Aaron Civale allowed two runs on three hits in five innings as visiting Cleveland clinched the AL Central title.
The Guardians were assured of the division title about 15 minutes before their game ended when the second-place Chicago White Sox lost to Detroit.
TIGERS 4, WHITE SOX 1: Dylan Cease pitched six scoreless innings, but Chicago’s bullpen got tagged and the Whie Sox were eliminated in the AL Central with a loss to visiting Detroit.
Jonathan Schoop hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth, sending Chicago to its sixth straight loss.
ANGELS 10, TWINS 3: Mike Trout had three hits, including his 37th homer of the season, and Los Angeles won in Minneapolis.
Trout also doubled twice, walked and scored three runs. Shohei Ohtani added two hits, including an RBI single in the ninth that keyed a five-run inning.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
BRAVES 8, PHILLIES 7: Ronald Acuña singled home the go-ahead run in the 11th inning and Atlanta outlasted host Philadelphia in a game that took over six hours to complete because of a two-hour rain delay.
The Braves split the four-game series and remained 1½ games behind the New York Mets in the NL East,
Kyle Schwarber extended his National League-leading home run total to 42 with a pair of solo drives while scoring three times for the Phillies. Philadelphia holds a 1½-game lead over Milwaukee for the third NL wild-card spot.
REDS 2, BREWERS 1: Spencer Steer hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth, and Nick Lodolo pitched six strong innings as Cincinnati won at home.
Hunter Renfroe homered for the Brewers, who were unable to complete their first four-game sweep of the Reds since 2003.
DODGERS 4, CARDINALS 1: Will Smith had two hits and Michael Grove pitched five solid innings to pick up his first career victory as Los Angeles won at home and clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the National League.
PADRES 13, ROCKIES 6: Manny Machado and Brandon Drury hit back-to-back home runs in a five-run eighth inning, Wil Myers also went deep, and San Diego won at Denver.
NATIONALS 6, MARLINS 1: Aníbal Sánchez threw five scoreless innings and Washington won at Miami.
Sánchez (3-6), 38, gave up two hits, continuing a recent string of solid outings. He walked two and struck out four, lowering his ERA to 1.31 in his last seven starts.
Rookie Joey Meneses hit his 12th homer and C.J. Abrams had three hits for the Nationals.
CUBS 8, PIRATES 3: Patrick Wisdom hit a three-run homer, Adrian Sampson tossed six efficient innings and Chicago won at Pittsburgh.
GIANTS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 2: Pinch-hitter Evan Longoria had a go-ahead, two-run single in the eighth inning and San Francisco won in Phoenix.
INTERLEAGUE
METS 13, ATHLETICS 4: Pete Alonso homered, doubled and drove in five runs, Max Scherzer pitched six sharp innings and visiting New York routed Oakland.
NOTES
MARLINS: Don Mattingly will not be back as manager next season, announcing that he and team officials have decided a new voice is needed to lead the club going forward.
Mattingly’s contract expires when the season ends. He said he met with Marlins principal owner Bruce Sherman and General Manager Kim Ng to talk about the future, and that “all parties agreed” that it’s time for a change.
Mattingly, the club’s all-time leader by a wide margin in managerial wins, is finishing his seventh season with the Marlins. He has a 437-584 record in Miami.
RAYS: Right-hander Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to rejoin the rotation Wednesday night at Cleveland after missing nearly 14 months because of Tommy John surgery.
The Rays’ Opening Day starter last year hasn’t pitched this season after undergoing the procedure on Aug. 4, 2021.
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