PHILADELPHIA-Jay Bruce homered for the third straight game and drove in three runs, Robert Gsellman threw six sharp innings and the New York Mets moved closer to securing a wild-card berth with a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.
The defending NL champions reduced their magic number to one. The Mets began the night atop the wild-card race, with San Francisco one game back and St. Louis two behind.
Gsellman (4-2) scattered seven hits and struck out seven in another strong performance. The rookie right-hander has allowed only three earned runs in his last four starts.
More Mets fans were inside a half-empty ballpark on a wet, chilly night when Ryan Howard began his final series in front of the home crowd. The blue-and-orange faithful screamed "Let's Go Mets" and their "Bruuuuuce" chants drowned out boos from Phillies fans.
Philadelphia starter Alec Asher (2-1) retired the first 11 batters before he ran into trouble.
Cubs 7, Reds 3
CINCINNATI-Ben Zobrist homered twice and drove in three runs, helping Chicago beat Cincinnati.
Jake Buchanan (1-0) pitched five shutout innings as Chicago improved to 14-3 against Cincinnati this season with two games to play. The right-hander allowed two hits in his first start since 2014 with Houston.
Anthony Rizzo also drove in two runs for the NL Central champions, who were coming off a rare tie in Pittsburgh due to rain.
Joey Votto hit a two-run homer in the ninth for last-place Cincinnati, which announced before the game that manager Bryan Price would return next season.
Tigers 6, Braves 2
ATLANTA-Miguel Cabrera hit two home runs, Ian Kinsler and Justin Upton also connected and Detroit moved up in the playoff race.
The Tigers won their third straight and pulled within a half-game of Toronto for the second AL wild-card spot. The Blue Jays lost at Boston 5-3.
The regular season is scheduled to end Sunday, but the Tigers might need to play beyond that. They were rained out against Cleveland this week and would have to make up that game if it impacts their playoff chances.
Daniel Norris (4-2) gave up one run, five hits, two walks and struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings.
The Braves, playing their final series at Turner Field before moving north to the suburbs next year, had won 10 of 11. Matt Wisler (7-13) was chased in the fifth when James McCann's RBI single made it 5-0.
Rockies 4, Brewers 1
DENVER-Nolan Arenado hit his NL-leading 41st homer, Chad Bettis pitched effectively into the seventh inning and Colorado beat Milwaukee.
Bettis (14-8) allowed one run and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings while extending a career high in wins this season. He struck out five in Colorado's first win in four games against Milwaukee this season.
Carlos Estevez got four outs before Adam Ottavino worked the ninth for his seventh save.
Chris Carter connected in the fourth inning, becoming the sixth player in Brewers history to reach 40 home runs in a season.
Orioles 8, Yankees 1
NEW YORK-Mark Trumbo hit his major league-leading 47th home run, Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones also went deep in a six-run fifth inning and Baltimore beat New York in steady rain to maintain their AL wild-card lead.
Baltimore began the night tied with Toronto for the AL's two wild cards at 87-72, with Detroit 1 1/2 games back and Seattle trailing the Tigers by a half-game.
Trumbo and Jones homered off Michael Pineda (6-12), who started with 3 2/3 hitless innings and suddenly became ineffective.
Schoop tied his career high with five RBIs, hitting a go-ahead, two-run double in the fourth and adding a three-run homer in the fifth against James Pazos-Baltimore's big league-high 250th home run this season.
Yovani Gallardo (6-8) won for just the second time in nine starts since Aug. 5, allowing two hits, three walks and Mark Teixeira's sacrifice fly in six innings.
Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 3
BOSTON-Opening his final weekend with yet another game-winning homer, David Ortiz lined a two-run shot into the right-field stands to break a seventh-inning tie and help Boston beat Toronto.
The AL East champion Red Sox snapped a three-game losing streak and stayed one game ahead of Cleveland in the race for home-field advantage for the playoffs.
The Blue Jays fell one game behind Baltimore in the wild-card race and are now within range of Detroit and Seattle in the fight for the AL's final postseason berth.
Indians 7, Royals 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Ryan Merritt retired the final 13 batters he faced in five strong innings in his first big league start, Francisco Lindor hit a three-run homer as Cleveland defeated Kansas City.
Merritt (1-0) gave up a run on three hits in the first, but nothing after that. Merritt, who had made three relief appearances after being promoted Sept. 11 from Triple-A Columbus, threw 62 pitches, striking out four and walking none.
Lindor, who snapped an 0-for-29 drought with a double in a four-run third, homered off the left-field foul pole with pinch runner Michael Martinez and Carlos Santana aboard in the seventh.
Santana, who had three hits, tripled in two runs in the fourth and scored on Jason Kipnis' sacrifice fly. Jose Ramirez singled with two outs to score Lindor.
Yordano Ventura (11-12) gave up four runs and six hits with three walks while striking out eight in six innings.