David Price pitched seven shutout innings, while Jose Bautista had two hits as the Toronto Blue Jays used a three-run first inning to beat the New York Yankees 4-2 on Monday night.
Toronto stretched their lead in the AL East division to 3.5 games in the opener of a three-game showdown between the division’s top teams.
Facing the Yankees for the fourth time since joining the Blue Jays in a July 30 trade, Price (17-5) improved to 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA against New York with Toronto.
Photo: USA Today
Roberto Osuna overcame Greg Bird’s two-out solo homer in the ninth to earn his 17th save.
Toronto jumped on Adam Warren (6-7) with a three-run first.
METS 4, BRAVES 0
Photo: AFP
In New York, Jonathon Niese won for the first time in a month, while Michael Conforto homered as the Mets moved closer to an NL East title with their victory over the Braves.
Daniel Murphy lined a two-run double, Yoenis Cespedes had three hits and the Mets handed hard-luck Shelby Miller (5-16) his 15th straight defeat. New York stretched its lead to 6.5 games over the second-place Nationals with 12 to play and lowered its magic number for clinching the division to seven.
Niese (9-10) tossed three-hit ball for six innings, keeping the ball down during an encouraging outing and getting 13 of his 18 outs on the ground.
Miller lost his seventh straight start. He threw a season-high 113 pitches in six innings, allowing two runs and seven hits — including Conforto’s homer. The right-hander is winless in his last 23 outings, the longest drought for a starter in Atlanta history, since coming within one out of a no-hitter in a 6-0 win May 17 at Miami.
ASTROS 6, ANGELS 3
In Houston, Evan Gattis and Carlos Correa hit two-run homers as the Astros beat the Angels in a matchup of American League wild-card playoff contenders.
Dallas Keuchel (18-8) pitched 7-2/3 solid innings to remain undefeated at home this season. More importantly, the All-Star left-hander helped Houston keep momentum by winning their third straight.
The Astros (80-71) lead the Minnesota Twins by three games and the Angels by 3.5 for the AL’s second wild-card spot. The victory put the Astros within a game of first-place Texas in the AL West.
Right-hander Jered Weaver (7-12) lasted 5-2/3 innings for the Angels, giving up five runs and nine hits, including the two homers.
PIRATES 9, ROCKIES 3
In Denver, Colorado, Starling Marte homered among his four hits and came within a triple of the cycle, and Pittsburgh beat the Rockies.
Aramis Ramirez went deep and Jody Mercer had four hits for the Pirates, who reduced their magic number for clinching a postseason berth to two. A win yesterday and a San Francisco loss would clinch at least a wild card for the third straight season.
Mercer hit doubles in the second and fourth innings to drive in Francisco Cervelli, who had three hits, as the Pirates built a 5-0 lead on Jon Gray (0-2).
Pittsburgh starter A.J. Burnett (9-5) cruised through the first four innings before an error in the fifth preceded Tom Murphy’s three-run homer that made it 5-3.
In other MLB action, it was:
‧ Diamondbacks 8, Dodgers 4
‧ Cubs 9, Brewers 5
‧ Red Sox 8, Rays 7
‧ Cardinals 2, Reds 1
‧ White Sox 2, Tigers 0
‧ White Sox 3, Tigers 2
‧ Orioles-Nationals: postponed
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