NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a go-ahead, two-run homer to keep up his power resurgence, Gleyber Torres added his 34th home run and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 Wednesday night to move 43 games over .500 for the first time since 2009.
Judge is hitting .317 with eight homers and 12 RBIs in his last 15 games. He connected off Lance Lynn (14-10) in the third inning to become the fifth Yankees player with 20 homers this season.
Torres homered in the fourth, tying Gary Sánchez for the team lead and joining Joe DiMaggio as the only Yankees to hit 34 homers at age 22 or younger. The home run was the 200th off the Rangers this season.
New York improved to 92-49, including 11-2 when using Chad Green as an opener.
Green pitched two innings and Luis Cessa (2-1) followed with three. Cory Gearrin allowed a ninth-inning homer to Rougned Odor.
DODGERS 7,
ROCKIES 3
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joc Pederson hit a leadoff homer and a two-run shot to give Los Angeles the National League record with 250 long balls this season, and the Dodgers beat skidding Colorado to complete a three-game sweep.
Pederson, on a powerful tear at the plate, socked five homers and a double in a string of six at-bats that dated back to Sunday. He sat out Tuesday, one day after crashing into the outfield wall to make a catch.
The Dodgers reduced their magic number to four to clinch their seventh straight NL West title.
Los Angeles surpassed the previous NL home run mark of 249 set by Houston in 2000. The Dodgers slugged 12 homers in the series while outscoring the Rockies 28-15.
Colorado lost its season-high ninth in a row and 11th straight at Dodger Stadium.
DIAMONDBACKS 4, PADRES 1
PHOENIX (AP) — Rookie right-hander Zac Gallen took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Ketel Marte hit a grand slam for his 30th homer and Arizona beat San Diego for a three-game sweep.
The 24-year-old Gallen (3-4) struck out eight, walked one and allowed one hit while lowering his ERA to 2.50. Arizona is 5-1 in his starts since acquiring him from Miami on July 31.
Marte’s slam off Luis Perdomo set up Gallen for the victory and gave the surging Diamondbacks their ninth win in 10 games. Arizona moved within three games of the Cubs for the second NL wild card.
RED SOX 6, TWINS 2
BOSTON (AP) — Mookie Betts homered on the first two pitches he saw, collecting four hits and five RBIs in all, and Eduardo Rodriguez allowed only five singles in seven shutout innings to help Boston beat Minnesota.
The Red Sox won for the 12th time in 17 games and remained 5½ back in the race for the second AL wild card. The AL Central-leading Twins, who had won seven of eight, fell to 5½ games ahead of second-place Cleveland in the division.
Betts homered into the first row of the Green Monster seats on the first pitch of the game from José Berríos (11-8), then sent one out of the ballpark with two on in the second to make it 4-0.
INDIANS 8,
WHITE SOX 6
CLEVELAND (AP) — Shane Bieber struck out nine over seven innings to snap a three-game losing streak, and Franmil Reyes hit a two-run homer as Cleveland beat Chicago.
Bieber (13-7), the All-Star Game MVP, allowed two runs and six hits in winning for the first time in five starts since Aug. 9. The right-hander also earned his first victory over the White Sox in three outings this season.
The Indians are in a tight race with Oakland and Tampa Bay for the second AL wild card.
METS 8,
NATIONALS 4
WASHINGTON (AP) — Justin Wilson and the Mets’ bullpen held on this time, rookie Pete Alonso hit his major league-leading 45th home run and New York bounced back from a brutal loss to stop the Nationals.
A day after a trio of Mets relievers was tagged for seven runs in the bottom of the ninth inning in an 11-10 loss to the Nationals, three pitchers combined to close with 3 1/3 scoreless innings.
After Wilson issued a two-out walk to Kurt Suzuki, whose three-run homer won it Tuesday night, Victor Robles followed with an easy grounder to Amed Rosario. The shortstop tagged second base for the last out, then zipped a relay to first, as if to make sure the Mets really nailed it down.
REDS 8, PHILLIES 5
CINCINNATI (AP) — Relief pitcher Michael Lorenzen hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to lead Cincinnati over Philadelphia.
The Phillies had their three-game winning streak snapped and slipped three games behind the idle Cubs for the second NL wild card.
Joey Votto homered and had an RBI double off Aaron Nola as the Reds jumped ahead 5-0, but the Phillies’ resurgent offense caught up. Logan Morrison and J.T. Realmuto each hit a two-run homer off Trevor Bauer.
Jay Bruce tied it with his third career pinch-hit homer in the seventh off Lorenzen (1-4).
ROYALS 5, TIGERS 4
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jorge Soler extended his team record with his 40th homer, Hunter Dozier and Alex Gordon had three hits each, and Kansas City beat Detroit.
The Royals are the last team in major league history to have a player hit 40 home runs in a season. Previously, Mike Moustakas held the club record with 38 in 2017.
Jakob Junis (9-12) gave up four runs and seven hits over seven innings. Ian Kennedy pitched the ninth for his 26th save in 30 chances.
PIRATES 6, MARLINS 5
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bryan Reynolds’ two-run bloop single capped a three-run ninth inning as Pittsburgh rallied past Miami.
Elias Diaz started the winning rally with a leadoff homer against Jose Urena (4-8) that drew the Pirates within a run. Pinch-hitter Kevin Kramer walked and went to third on Adam Frazier’s double before Reynolds flared a single into left-center to give the Pirates their fifth win in six games.
Garrett Cooper’s two-run homer off Kyle Crick with two outs in the seventh put the Marlins ahead 5-3.
