Nick Kurtz and Brent Rooker each homered and drove in a pair of runs on Sunday to help the Athletics post a 7-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in West Sacramento, Calif.

Jacob Wilson and Colby Thomas also homered for the A’s (70-80), who swept the Reds and won their fourth straight game. Luis Morales (4-1) threw five innings of three-run, four-hit ball, while striking out two and walking two. Michael Kelly threw a perfect ninth, securing the win while recording his first career save.

Nick Lodolo (8-8) allowed five runs on eight hits across 5 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking none for the Reds (74-75), who fell 2 1/2 games behind the New York Mets for the National League’s final wild-card spot. Will Benson homered and drove in two for Cincinnati, which was swept after winning four of its previous five games.

The Reds struck first two batters into the game when Noelvi Marte hit his 13th homer of the season to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead.

In the second, Gavin Lux led off with a walk before Benson hit his 12th homer of the season to push the lead to 3-0.

The A’s cut into the lead in the fourth, as Wilson began the scoring with his 13th homer of the season — a 379-foot solo shot. Three batters later, Thomas pulled the Athletics within one as the rookie drilled his sixth home run of the year.

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Lodolo hit Wilson with a pitch before surrendering Kurtz’s 32nd homer of the year to give the A’s a 4-3 edge.

In relief of Morales, Brady Basso retired Lux and walked Austin Hays, before getting Ke’Bryan Hayes to pop out. Basso was then replaced by Tyler Ferguson, who allowed Jose Trevino’s single before Matt McLain’s flyout ended the inning.

After Thomas’ leadoff single in the sixth, Brett Harris followed a sac bunt with an RBI double, giving the A’s a 5-3 lead and chasing Lodolo from the game.

The Athletics doubled their lead in the seventh, as Kurtz’s walk was followed with Rooker’s 29th homer of the year, extending the margin to four off reliever Zach Maxwell.

The Reds cut their deficit to three in the eighth on the third homer of Sal Stewart’s rookie season.

–Field Level Media

Seattle Mariners star Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 54th home run in the first inning of Sunday’s 11-2 rout of the visiting Los Angeles Angels, tying Mickey Mantle’s single-season record for most by a switch hitter that he set in 1961.

Raleigh was batting left-handed when he hit a two-run shot off Kyle Hendricks 409 feet into the Mariners’ bullpen in left-center field.

Mantle topped 50 twice in his career, also hitting 52 in 1956. When Mantle set the mark in 1961, he and New York Yankees teammate Roger Maris spent the summer chasing Babe Ruth’s MLB-record 60 home runs. Maris finished with 61.

Raleigh has 12 games to break the tie with Mantle.

Raleigh told reporters afterward that he remembers being a seventh-grader when he went to a New York Yankees game at the old Yankee Stadium with his father.

“I remember him talking about him like he was a god — which he was,” Raleigh said of his dad’s words about Mantle.

Raleigh’s homer helped Seattle (82-68) win its ninth straight game. The Mariners moved into sole possession of the American League West.

Raleigh has two more homers than Philadelphia Phillies star Kyle Schwarber, who hit his 52nd on Sunday.

Raleigh also sits two homers shy of Seattle’s franchise record owned by Hall of Fame center fielder Ken Griffey Jr., who set the mark in 1997 and equaled it in 1998 when the Mariners played at the Kingdome.

–Field Level Media

Nico Hoerner doubled in two runs with two outs in the seventh inning to lift the host Chicago Cubs to a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.

The Cubs (85-64) won their 29th series of the season and still hold the top wild-card spot in the National League after winning for the fourth time in their past five games.

Javier Assad (3-1) picked up the win in relief, and Andrew Kittredge pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

Edwin Uceta (9-3) took the loss for the Rays (73-76), who fell for fourth time in five games.

Uceta gave up a leadoff single to Willi Castro in the seventh, and Matt Shaw singled with one out. Michael Busch struck out for the second out, but Hoerner capped a three-RBI day with his double down the left field line to provide the winning margin.

The Rays wasted little time in taking the lead as Yandy Diaz and Junior Caminero started the game with back-to-back home runs.

The Cubs cut the lead to one in their half of the first when Busch led off with an opposite-field double and Hoerner lined the first pitch he saw up the middle to score him.

The Rays got the run back in the third. Nick Fortes hit a two-run double, sending Brandon Lowe to third. Josh Lowe laid down a bunt back to Imanaga, but he missed the ball and Brandon Lowe scored to give the Rays a two-run lead.

Ian Happ cut the Rays’ lead to one in the sixth when he hit his 22nd home run of the season.

The Rays blew a chance to extend their lead in the seventh when Brandon Lowe failed to slide on a play at second. Christopher Morel had reached first well before the play at second, but the umpires ruled Morel out when Lowe did not slide. Caminero had scored, but his run did not count, and Tampa Bay’s lead stayed at 3-2.

Neither starting pitcher figured in the decision.

Cubs starter Shota Imanaga went five innings, giving up seven hits and three runs. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out nine.

Rays starter Adrian Houser pitched six innings, permitting seven hits and two runs. He walked one and struck out two.

–Field Level Media

James McCann went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs, and the Arizona Diamondbacks held on for a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

Alek Thomas went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and an RBI for Arizona (75-75), which won the rubber match of the three-game series. Tim Tawa also drove in a run.

Matt Wallner and Mickey Gasper each hit a solo home run for Minnesota (65-84).

Diamondbacks right-hander Nabil Crismatt (3-0) allowed two runs (none earned) in five innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out four.

Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (5-8) surrendered four runs on four hits in six innings. He walked none and whiffed nine.

Diamondbacks reliever Kyle Backhus escaped a jam in the ninth for his second career save.

Arizona struck first in the top of the second inning. Thomas hit a two-out double to center, and he scored moments later on McCann’s single to left.

The Twins answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame. Eduoard Julien hit an RBI single to left to tie it at 1, and Gasper scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error by Diamondbacks third baseman Jordan Lawlar.

The Diamondbacks regained a 4-2 lead in the fourth. McCann stepped to the plate with runners on second and third and two out, and he delivered with a three-run homer over the wall in left-center field.

The blast marked McCann’s fourth homer in 35 games this season.

A solo homer by Wallner cut the Twins’ deficit to 4-3 in the sixth.

Tawa increased Arizona’s lead to 5-3 in the seventh. His RBI single scored Thomas, who led off with a single and stole second.

Minnesota battled back once more. Gasper led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run, his second, to trim the Diamondbacks’ lead to 5-4.

Arizona regained a two-run lead on Thomas’ sacrifice fly in the eighth.

The Twins loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. Diamondbacks left-hander Jalen Beeks quelled the scoring opportunity by getting Carson McCusker to ground out to shortstop to end the inning.

Backhus inherited one runner, Austin Martin (single), when he entered with two outs in the ninth in relief of Ryan Thompson. Backhus walked Kody Clemens and hit Luke Keaschall with a pitch to load the bases before coaxing Wallner to fly out to right to end the game.

–Field Level Media

Miles Mikolas allowed two runs in five innings and the visiting St. Louis Cardinals held on for a 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday to avoid a sweep in the three-game series.

Milwaukee (91-59), which clinched a playoff berth Saturday and owns the best overall record in the majors, saw its National League Central lead trimmed to 5 1/2 games over the Cubs after their win over Tampa Bay.

St Louis (73-77), which snapped a five-game losing streak, is four games back in the chase for the final NL wild-card spot.

Mikolas (8-10) allowed two runs on a pair of solo homers, scattering five hits with five strikeouts and no walks. John King, Jorge Alcala and JoJo Romero combined for three scoreless innings. Riley O’Brien fanned two in the ninth to claim his fourth save in seven opportunities.

The Cardinals tagged Jose Quintana (11-7) for three runs in the second. Thomas Saggese singled to open the inning and Nolan Gorman doubled. Saggese scored on Pedro Pages’ sacrifice fly. Jordan Walker walked and Jose Fermin followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0. After Walker and Fermin executed a double steal, Nathan Church delivered a run-scoring single.

Caleb Durbin put the Brewers on the board in the fourth with his 11th homer, a two-out solo shot to left.

Danny Jansen opened the fifth with his 12th homer, which marked his first in 18 games with Milwaukee since being acquired from Tampa Bay in late July.

The Brewers had two aboard with one out in the sixth, but failed to capitalize.

Quintana allowed three runs on four hits in four innings, striking out two and walking two. The veteran lefty exited after the fourth with a calf strain that occurred when he covered first base on the final out of the inning. He was in a walking boot and will undergo an MRI, Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy told reporters after the game.

–Field Level Media

Pete Alonso hit a walk-off three-run homer with nobody out in the 10th inning as the New York Mets ended a season-worst eight-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the visiting Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon.

The Mets (77-73) avoided their first nine-game skid since an 11-game slide in 2004 when Alonso came through following an intentional walk to Juan Soto by rookie Luis Curvelo (1-1).

Alonso won it when he hit a 1-1 sinker over the right field fence. He flipped his helmet in the air and ripped off his jersey as his teammates awaited him at the plate.

It was Alonso’s fifth career walk-off homer and first since May 17, 2023, against Tampa Bay’s Pete Fairbanks.

Alonso’s clutch homer allowed the Mets to remain in the NL’s third wild-card spot. New York leads the San Francisco Giants by 1 1/2 games, the Arizona Diamondbacks by two games and the Cincinnati Reds by 2 1/2 games. The Diamondbacks won while both the Giants and Reds lost their games on Sunday.

The Mets escaped trouble in the final two innings to set the stage for Alonso’s heroics.

Ryne Stanek (4-6) struck out Adolis Garcia and retired Rowdy Tellez with two on to end the top of the 10th. Francisco Lindor started a double play on a lineout to end the Texas ninth for New York reliever Edwin Diaz.

The Mets needed Alonso’s homer after relievers Brooks Raley and Reed Garrett combined to blow a two-run lead in the seventh. Garrett allowed a two-run single to Joc Pederson after walking Wyatt Langford to put two on.

Francisco Alvarez accounted for New York’s first run in the fifth when he doubled and used a head-first slide to beat Tellez’s throw from first on a grounder by Soto. The Mets added their second run in the sixth when Brandon Nimmo homered to center off Cole Winn.

Texas (79-71) saw its six-game winning streak stopped. The Rangers trail the Houston Astros by two games for the third wild-card spot in the American League.

New York rookie Nolan McLean allowed five hits in six scoreless innings. The right-hander struck out seven and walked two.

Texas starter Jacob Latz escaped early trouble and allowed one run on two hits in 4 2/3 innings. Latz struck out four and walked four.

–Field Level Media

The first-place Detroit Tigers capitalized on three errors — all on the same play — to defeat the host Miami Marlins 2-0 on Sunday afternoon.

Detroit, which lowered its magic number to clinch the American League Central to seven, snapped a three-game losing streak and avoided a Marlins sweep. The Tigers (85-65) need any combination of seven wins and/or Cleveland Guardians losses to clinch the division title.

Tigers right-hander Keider Montero (5-3) earned the win as he allowed three hits, no walks and no runs in five innings. He also struck out five batters in his best start since pitching five scoreless innings on May 26.

The Tigers got excellent relief pitching from Jose Urquidy, Tommy Kahnle and Will Vest (21st save).

For the Marlins (70-80), right-hander Adam Mazur (0-4) took a tough-luck loss. He matched his career high by lasting six innings while giving up just one hit, two walks and two unearned runs. It was the first time in Mazur’s 13-start MLB career that he lasted at least five innings and allowed no earned runs.

Detroit opened and closed the scoring in the second inning as Spencer Torkelson drew a four-pitch walk and scored on a bizarre three-error play with two outs.

The play started when Colt Keith reached on first baseman Eric Wagaman’s fielding error. Second baseman Maximo Acosta backed up the play, but he threw wildly to third in an attempt to cut down Torkelson, who scored on that second error. Left fielder Troy Johnston completed the sequence when he mishandled the ball, allowing Keith to reach third.

On the next pitch, Dillon Dingler singled to center to drive in Keith for a 2-0 lead that stood up.

Miami didn’t advance a runner to second base until the seventh inning. That’s when Wagaman singled and pinch-hitter Heriberto Hernandez drew a one-out walk on four pitches off Urquidy. Kahnle came in and got Victor Mesa Jr. on a lineout and Javier Sanoja on a groundout.

In the ninth, the Marlins threatened as Johnston drew a one-out walk and Hernandez followed with a single. But Vest got pinch-hitter Joey Wiemer on a fly out and Sanoja was caught looking on a low 97-mph fastball that tickled the outside corner.

Despite allowing just four hits, Miami’s win streak ended at four games.

–Field Level Media

Bo Naylor hit a go-ahead solo home run in the seventh inning and drove in all three Cleveland runs as the Guardians completed a three-game sweep of the visiting Chicago White Sox with a 3-2 victory on Sunday.

Naylor also had a two-run double for Cleveland (78-71), which has won four straight and nine of its last 10 games to remain in the American League wild-card chase.

The White Sox (57-93) were held to five hits and lost for the 11th time in 13 meetings with the Guardians this season. Chase Meidroth extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a solo homer.

Naylor put the Guardians ahead with one out in the seventh inning when he deposited the first offering from Brandon Eisert (3-6) just over the glove of right fielder Mike Tauchman for his 12th homer of the season.

Matt Festa (5-3) struck out the side in the seventh inning for the win. Hunter Gaddis followed with a scoreless eighth inning before Cade Smith worked out of a jam in the ninth for his 15th save in 20 opportunities.

With runners on the corners and two outs in the ninth, Cleveland secured the victory when second baseman Brayan Rocchio made a diving stop on Andrew Benintendi’s grounder and threw him out at first.

Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Miguel Vargas capped a nine-pitch at-bat against Slade Cecconi with a run-scoring double to center field.

The Guardians moved ahead in the bottom half of the fourth against Yoendrys Gomez on Naylor’s two-out, two-run double.

Gomez pitched five innings, giving up two runs on two hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

Meidroth tied the game with a solo homer in the fifth inning. The 371-foot shot was Meidroth’s fifth homer of the season.

Cecconi allowed two runs on three hits with one walk and four strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in his first start since coming within six outs of throwing a no-hitter.

–Field Level Media

Shane Bieber pitched six effective innings, George Springer had a homer and two doubles, and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting Baltimore Orioles 11-2 on Sunday afternoon.

Bieber (3-1) allowed one run, four hits and one walk with five strikeouts to help the American League East-leading Blue Jays (87-62) complete a three-game sweep. Alejandro Kirk had three hits and Addison Barger collected three RBIs as Toronto took the season series 7-6.

Coby Mayo and Colton Cowser hit solo home runs for the Orioles (69-80).

Mayo homered for the second consecutive at-bat when he slugged an 0-1 fastball from Bieber to center with one out in the second inning. He also homered in the ninth inning on Saturday.

Toronto’s first hit against starter Albert Suarez on Sunday was Andres Gimenez’s one-out double to left in the third. On the next pitch, Springer doubled off the wall in right-center to tie the game.

Suarez allowed one run, two hits and one walk with five strikeouts in three innings. It was first start and fifth outing of the season that was interrupted by a long stint on the injured list.

Toronto scored twice against Grant Wolfram (3-1) in the fourth. Kirk and Daulton Varsho had infield hits with one out, and both scored when Ernie Clement grounded a double that bounced off the third base bag into the corner.

Baltimore’s Carson Ragsdale came out in the fifth to make his major league debut and yielded a homer to his first batter when Springer smashed a 3-1 fastball to left-center.

Kirk led off the home sixth with a single, was forced at second on Clement’s grounder, and Joey Loperfido stroked an RBI double to left-center.

Cowser homered to left-center against Louis Varland with two outs in the seventh.

Springer led off the bottom of the seventh with a double against Ragsdale. Nathan Lukes singled, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked, and Barger hit a three-run double to the left-field corner to make the score 8-2. Kirk blooped an RBI single to right. Varsho doubled, Clement chopped an RBI infield single, and Loperfido’s fielder’s-choice choice grounder scored another run.

Baltimore infielder Luis Vazquez pitched a perfect eighth.

–Field Level Media

Salvador Perez homered and drove in five runs as the Kansas City Royals topped the host Philadelphia Phillies 10-3 on Sunday to salvage the finale of their weekend series.

After homering twice in Saturday’s defeat, Perez lifted his team to victory in this one with plenty of help from Noah Cameron (8-7). The rookie left-hander allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out seven.

Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone also homered for Kansas City (75-75), which had lost six of its last seven games. Vinnie Pasquantino doubled twice and singled and scored three times for the Royals.

Kyle Schwarber hit his 52nd home run for Philadelphia (89-61), which squandered a chance to clinch the National League East. They still clinched a playoff spot when the San Francisco Giants lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers later in the day.

J.T. Realmuto and Bryson Stott also homered for the hosts. Aaron Nola (4-9) surrendered six runs and six hits in six innings as the Phillies’ six-game winning streak came to an end.

After falling behind in the first inning in each of the first two games of the series, Philadelphia took an early lead in this one. Schwarber and Realmuto each homered off Cameron as the hosts jumped out in front 2-0 in the opening frame.

Nola retired the first nine batters he faced and then escaped a threat in the fourth. However, he gave up Caglianone’s sixth homer of the season — a two-run shot in the fifth — before surrendering four more runs in the sixth.

In the decisive sixth inning, Kansas City’s first four batters hit for the cycle. Witt started the rally with a triple to right and then came in to score on Pasquantino’s double. Maikel Garcia followed with a single to put runners on the corners, and everyone came around on Perez’s 28th home run.

Perez added a two-run single in the seventh inning and Witt homered in the ninth as the Royals pulled away.

–Field Level Media