Highlights of Tuesday's MLB games

Blue Jays 5, Orioles 1

Aaron Sanchez struck out 10 in six innings, Josh Donaldson and Ezequiel Carrera homered and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Baltimore Orioles.

Carrera and Donaldson each had two RBIs for the Blue Jays (87-70) who have moved two games ahead of the Orioles (85-72) in the race for the first wild-card spot in the American League.

Sanchez (14-2) allowed five hits, three walks and one run to end a string of three straight no-decisions outings.

Nationals 4, Diamondbacks 2

Anthony Rendon hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning and Max Scherzer won his 19th game as the Washington Nationals came back to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2 despite getting just three hits.

Scherzer (19-7) gave up six hits and two runs with two walks and 10 strikeouts.

Yankees 6, Red Sox 4

Rookie Tyler Austin hit a tiebreaking two-run home run with none out in the bottom of the seventh inning, lifting the New York Yankees to a 6-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox and preventing their rivals from clinching the AL East title.

Austin gave the Yankees a 6-4 lead when he lifted a 1-1 pitch from David Price (17-9) into the right field seats.

Austin's homer prevented the Red Sox from clinching their eighth division title and ended their 11-game winning streak.

The Red Sox (92-65) need one win or a Toronto loss to clinch. The Blue Jays kept the celebration on hold by getting a 5-1 win over Baltimore.

The Yankees (81-76) remained mathematically alive in the wild card race and are four games behind Baltimore with five to play.

Rangers 6, Brewers 4

The Texas Rangers regained the best record in the American League by rallying past the Milwaukee Brewers.

Texas (93-65) moved a half-game ahead of Boston (92-65) in the race for home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs.

Jonathan Lucroy, acquired from Milwaukee at the trade deadline, lined a two-run double in the sixth for the go-ahead runs.

Cubs 6, Pirates 4

Chris Coghlan gave Chicago an early lead with a three-run triple in the second inning and the Cubs built on what was already the majors' best record with a 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Chicago are 101-56, the most wins by the franchise since the 1910 Cubs won 104 games.

Tigers 12, Indians 0

Miguel Cabrera drove in five runs with a homer and double to surpass 100 RBIs for the 12th time while Justin Verlander dominated the Cleveland Indians' reserve-laden lineup with 7-2/3 innings to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 12-0 victory.

The win pulled Detroit to within one game of Baltimore for the second American League wild-card spot with five games to play.

Justin Upton added a three-run homer and Andrew Romine hit a two-run shot for the Tigers.

Verlander (16-8) struck out 12 and walked one.

Mets 12, Marlins 1

Jay Bruce and Yoenis Cespedes hit their 31st homers of the season to lead the New York Mets to a 12-1 win over the Miami Marlins.

Bruce hit a two-run homer in the second, and Cespedes matched him in the third as the Mets (84-74) kept their narrow lead over the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL wild-card race.

New York broke the game open with a five-run eighth inning, getting a two-run single by Curtis Granderson and a three-run double by Lucas Duda.

Royals 4, Twins 3 (11 innings)

Raul Mondesi scored on Billy Burns' sacrifice fly in the 11th inning as the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins.

Mondesi opened the inning by drawing a walk from Tommy Milone, the ninth Twins pitcher. He stole second and Jarrod Dyson advanced him to third on a bunt.

After Whit Merrifield and Eric Hosmer were walked intentionally, Burns delivered the game-winning sacrifice fly to center.

Astros 8, Mariners 4

Rookie Alex Bregman delivered a game-tying pinch-hit with two outs in the sixth inning to ignite a six-run frame that pushed the Astros to a 8-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Bregman dumped an RBI single into center field off Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez (11-7) to even the score at 4-4 before George Springer and Marwin Gonzalez drove in two runs each to chase Hernandez and complete the onslaught.

The Astros (83-75) pulled within 2-1/2 games of the second American League wild card spot with the win.

White Sox 13, Rays 6

Chris Sale tied a career high by earning his 17th victory in the Chicago White Sox's 13-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Sale (17-9) allowed three runs on eight hits in seven innings, struck out seven and walked none in his 31st start, which possibly could be his last for the White Sox.

The ace left-hander, who is scheduled to start again on Sunday, has been the subject of trade rumors since the All-Star break and might be dealt in the offseason if the White Sox decide the price is right.

Cardinals 12, Reds 5

Aledmys Diaz, playing his first game since close friend Jose Fernandez died, belted a grand slam in St. Louis' rout of Cincinnati.

The Cardinals cracked five homers -- including a pair in the sixth when Matt Adams lined his 16th to center, followed by Randal Grichuk's 24th two batters later.

St. Louis stayed within 1-1/2 games of the New York Mets for the National League's first wild-card spot.