HOUSTON-Jose Altuve homered, Joe Musgrove and three relievers combined on a four-hitter and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 6-0 on Monday night.
Musgrove (2-2) struck out seven, walked three and allowed three hits over 5 1/3 innings, and then Luke Gregerson, Pat Neshek and Brad Peacock closed things out. Musgrove had allowed 13 runs over his last two starts.
Houston closed within two games of the second AL wild card with the win and Baltimore's loss.
A's starter Sean Manaea (5-9) left after 3 1/3 innings with a right rhomboid strain.
Altuve hit his second homer in two games to lead off the sixth and extend Houston's lead to 3-0.
Alex Bregman hit a two-run single and Carlos Correa had an RBI single as part of a three-run seventh.
Cardinals 6, Brewers 5
MILWAUKEE-Stephen Piscotty scored on a throwing error in the ninth inning after Carlos Martinez struck out a career-high 13, leading St. Louis over Milwaukee.
With two on and nobody out in the ninth, Yadier Molina dropped down a bunt. Reliever Tyler Thornburg (5-5) threw to third base for a force out, but Jonathan Villar's throw to first was wild, allowing Piscotty to score.
After Martinez held Milwaukee to one run over six innings, the Brewers scored four runs in the seventh to take a 5-3 lead. St. Louis tied it in the eighth on a two-run homer by Randal Grichuk off Corey Knebel.
Seung Hwan Oh pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save. Miguel Socolovich (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up his first win.
Mets 2, Marlins 1, 10 innings
NEW YORK-Yoenis Cespedes homered with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to give New York a victory over Miami in the first game of a pivotal series between National League playoff contenders.
Jose Reyes dashed home to score the tying run in the eighth on a dangerous collision at the plate, and the Mets pulled even with Miami for second place in the NL East. With its seventh victory in nine games, New York remained 2 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the league's second wild card.
It was an exhilarating win for the Mets, who appeared to be at a major disadvantage on the mound in the opener of a four-game set. New York was shut out for six innings by Marlins ace Jose Fernandez, but Mets starter Rafael Montero also put up zeros in his first major league start since April 2015.
Tigers 4, White Sox 3
DETROIT-Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift Detroit to a victory over Chicago.
Justin Upton also went deep for the Tigers, who pulled within a game of Baltimore for the American League's second wild card.
Detroit trailed 3-2 after a solo homer in the seventh by Chicago's Tyler Saladino, but Saltalamacchia's towering drive to right-center off Nate Jones (5-3) put the Tigers ahead.
Justin Wilson (4-4) got the win in relief, and Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth for his 37th save in 40 chances.
Saladino drove in all three Chicago runs. James Shields allowed two runs and six hits in six innings, ending an awful August on a decent note, but the White Sox couldn't hold a one-run lead for him.
Indians 1, Twins 0, 10 Innings
CLEVELAND-Jason Kipnis' 10th-inning single scored Chris Gimenez and gave Cleveland a victory over Minnesota, its 11th straight loss.
Kipnis lined a 1-0 pitch from Brandon Kintzler (0-1) with one out to left-center to finally break up the scoreless game.
Abraham Almonte pushed a bunt past Kintzler and beat the throw to first to start the inning. Gimenez fouled off two bunt attempts before poking a single through the right side with Almonte moving to second.
Third baseman Miguel Sano fielded Rajai Davis' slow roller. Third base umpire Ron Kupla ruled Sano tagged Almonte and the call was upheld after a Cleveland challenge.
Kipnis then hit the second pitch from Kinztler for the game-winner.
Zach McAllister (3-2) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the 10th, retiring Max Kepler on a fly ball to end the inning.
The losing streak is Minnesota's longest since Sept. 9-21, 2011.
Red Sox 9, Rays 4
BOSTON-Rick Porcello became the majors' first 18-game winner and the first Red Sox pitcher in 70 years to open a season 13-0 in Fenway Park, going seven solid innings in Boston's victory over Tampa Bay.
Mookie Betts hit his 30th homer, a solo shot, and drove in two runs for the Red Sox, who hold the AL's first wild-card spot but had lost four of five.
Brock Holt had three hits and drove in two runs, Travis Shaw had three hits and Chris Young added a tiebreaking two-run double for Boston.
The Rays, buried in last in the AL East, have lost three of four.
Porcello (18-3) allowed three runs and six hits, striking out seven without issuing a walk to become the first Boston pitcher since Dave "Boo" Ferriss finished 13-0 at home in 1946 to start a season by winning his initial 13 decisions in Fenway.