BOSTON (AP) — One night after being embarrassed in the series opener, Baltimore overpowered Boston this time and preserved the jumble of teams contending for the AL East.
J.J. Hardy hit a three-run homer and Nolan Reimold added a two-run shot later in the second as Baltimore beat Boston 6-3 Tuesday night and pulled within two games of the division-leading Red Sox.
Jonathan Schoop added a solo homer in the ninth for the Orioles, who evened the series after getting rocked 12-2 Monday in the opener. With Toronto’s 6-2 loss to Tampa Bay, the Orioles pulled even with the Blue Jays for second in the division and tied for the two AL wild-card berths.
“We get a chance to win another series on the road, which is something we knew we were going to have to do,” manager Buck Showalter said.
Orioles rookie Dylan Bundy (9-5) survived a rocky second inning and pitched into the sixth, holding Boston to three runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings.
“The second inning was probably one of the keys to the game,” Showalter said. “He didn’t let it get away from him.”
Zach Britton pitched a scoreless ninth for his 42nd save.
Xander Bogaerts homered for Boston, which had won five of six and missed a chance to gain a little space in the crowded field of division leaders with just 18 games remaining.
The Red Sox had as many hits as the Orioles, both finishing with nine, but Boston was woeful with runners on base. The Red Sox were 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.
“Five runs in Fenway Park is nothing. We didn’t think that was going to be enough to win tonight,” said Travis Shaw, who was 3 for 4 and scored a run for Boston. “Unfortunately offensively, there was a couple times we had guys in scoring position and we just didn’t come up with the hits.”
Drew Pomeranz (10-12) gave up five runs and four hits in two-plus innings, his shortest outing of the season. He continued to struggle since a July trade from San Diego, falling to 2-5 with Boston.
Pomeranz was pulled with nobody out in the third after Manny Machado’s leadoff single to left. After needing just 11 pitches to set down the Orioles in order in the first, Pomeranz labored through 45 pitches in the second.
“The lack of consistent command was the difference in this one,” Boston manager John Farrell said.
Mark Trumbo led off the second with a single and Chris Davis walked, then with one out Hardy broke the scoreless tie with a towering homer that bounced off one of the signs above the Green Monster in left field. The Orioles weren’t done yet with Pomeranz, who walked Drew Stubbs after Hardy’s homer and Reimold followed with a line drive homer to left.
“I just got in some tight spots and didn’t make pitches when I needed to. That’s about how it went,” Pomeranz said. “It’s pretty frustrating. I was trying to get in on some of those guys and the ball was just shooting back over toward the middle of the plate.”
Bundy unraveled slightly in the bottom of the second, walking Ryan Hanigan and Dustin Pedroia with the bases loaded for Boston’s first two runs. Despite walking three and allowing two hits during the inning, Bundy limited the damage to just the pair of runs.
Boston didn’t score again until Bogaerts led off the fifth with his 19th homer of the season, pulling the Red Sox within 5-3.
The three-game series wraps up Wednesday. The Red Sox and Orioles meet again next week for four games in Baltimore.
CARDINALS 4, CUBS 2
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brandon Moss broke out of a lengthy slump with a tiebreaking home run and Aledmys Diaz connected in his return to the starting lineup, leading St. Louis over Chicago.
The Cardinals ensured that the runaway Cubs won’t clinch the NL Central at Busch Stadium. Chicago’s magic number is three, and the series in St. Louis wraps up Wednesday.
St. Louis remained a half-game behind the New York Mets for the second wild-card spot.
Moss began the day mired in a 1-for-41 skid. He hit a two-run homer in the sixth off Jason Hammel (14-9).
Alex Reyes (2-1) pitched 4 1-3 innings of scoreless relief. Kevin Siegrist got his second save.
MARINERS 8, ANGELS 0
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Taijuan Walker pitched a three-hitter for his first career shutout as Seattle won its season-high seventh straight.
Walker (6-10) was perfect through 5 2/3 innings before Kaleb Cowart reached o throwing error by shortstop Ketel Marte. Kole Calhoun ended Walker’s no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the seventh inning. Walker matched a career high with 11 strikeouts in his first complete game since July 31, 2015.
Nelson Cruz and Norichika Aoki hit home runs and Seth Smith hit a grand slam to close the scoring.
Angels rookie Alex Meyer (0-3) gave up four earned runs and five hits over four innings in his fourth major league appearance.
YANKEES 3, DODGERS 0
NEW YORK (AP) — Jacoby Ellsbury and Didi Gregorius came off the bench and hit back-to-back homers in the seventh inning, sending the Yankees over the NL West leaders.
Gary Sanchez added a leadoff home run in the eighth as New York stayed two games behind in the AL wild-card race.
Adam Warren (3-1) retired both batters he faced, and Dellin Betances got four outs for his 11th save.
Ross Stripling (4-7) gave up homers on consecutive pitches.
RANGERS 3, ASTROS 2
HOUSTON (AP) — Jurickson Profar hit a tiebreaking single and AL West-leading Texas rallied for two runs in the ninth inning.
The Rangers improved to 15-3 against Houston this year. The Astros are 4 1/2 games back in the wild-card chase.
Rougned Odor fanned with one out in the ninth but reached on a wild pitch. He later scored on Elvis Andrus’ two-out triple against Ken Giles (2-4), and Profar singled.
Alex Claudio (4-1) pitched the eighth and Tanner Scheppers worked a perfect ninth for his first save.
RAYS 6, BLUE JAYS 2
TORONTO (AP) — Drew Smyly pitched 5 2/3 innings to remain unbeaten at Rogers Centre, Alexei Ramirez and Steven Souza Jr. hit home runs and Tampa Bay stopped Toronto.
The Blue Jays are tied with Baltimore for the AL wild-card spots. Toronto is 3-8 in September.
Ramirez hit a three-run homer off Marcus Stroman (9-8) in the fifth.
Smyly (7-11) is 4-0 at Toronto.
METS 4, NATIONALS 3, 10 INNINGS
WASHINGTON (AP) — T.J. Rivera hit his first major league home run, connecting for the Mets in the 10th off Washington closer Mark Melancon.
New York has won eight of 10 and is a half-game ahead of St. Louis for the second NL wild card.
Rivera drove in three runs. His shot off Melancon (2-2) helped snap the Nationals’ four-game winning streak.
Jeurys Familia (3-3) got the win despite allowing two runs in the ninth for his fourth blown save. Jerry Blevins struck out Daniel Murphy for the final out to earn his first save.
TWINS 8, TIGERS 1
DETROIT (AP) — Jorge Polanco homered and drove in four runs and Brian Dozier added three more hits to his torrid second half for Minnesota.
The Tigers lost for the third time in 14 games against Minnesota, costing them precious ground in a crowded race for the second AL wild card.
Kyle Gibson (6-9) dominated, allowing one run and five hits in eight innings.
Matt Boyd (5-4) took the loss in his worst outing since June. He gave up seven runs, eight hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings.
ATHLETICS 5, ROYALS 4
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Pinch hitter Yonder Alonso delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning to rally Oakland.
Defending World Series champion Kansas City dropped five games out of the wild-card race with only 18 games left.
Rookie Matthew Strahm (2-1) took the loss.
John Axford (6-4) pitched one inning. Ryan Madson closed for his 30th save in 36 tries.
WHITE SOX 8, INDIANS 1
CHICAGO (AP) — Todd Frazier and Carlos Sanchez each drove in two runs in a seven-run sixth inning and Chicago handed AL Central-leading Cleveland its second straight lopsided loss.
The Indians, who have allowed 19 runs in two games, maintained a six-game lead over Detroit.
Jose Quintana (12-10) held Cleveland to five hits over eight innings.
Trevor Bauer (11-7) took the loss.
MARLINS 7, BRAVES 5
ATLANTA (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki scored two runs and drove in another in the 900th multihit game of his career and Miami boosted its fading wild-card hopes.
Miami is five games out of a playoff spot.
Justin Nicolino (3-6) earned the win with two hitless innings. A.J. Ramos worked a perfect ninth for his 35th save.
Matt Wisler (6-12) got the loss.
Freddie Freeman hit his career-high 30th homer for Atlanta. Matt Kemp also homered.
PIRATES 5, PHILLIES 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sean Rodriguez had a pinch-hit three-run homer in the ninth inning to lift Pittsburgh.
The Pirates remained six games behind the Mets for the second NL wild card.
Rodriguez hit for pitcher Felipe Rivero (1-5) with two on and one out and connected off Jeanmar Gomez (3-4).
Tony Watson struck out two in the ninth for his 12th save.
REDS 6, BREWERS 4
CINCINNATI (AP) — Joey Votto homered and drove in two runs, Dan Straily pitched a career-high eight innings and Cincinnati took advantage of some sloppy Milwaukee fielding for its fifth straight win.
Straily (12-8) pitched around solo home runs by Keon Broxton and Jonathan Villar to improve to 8-2 since the All-Star break.
Matt Garza (5-7) allowed five runs, only one earned, in five innings.
DIAMONDBACKS 11, ROCKIES 4
PHOENIX (AP) — Jean Segura homered twice and Brandon Drury added his second homer in two nights to lead Arizona.
Segura hit solo shots off starter Jorge De La Rosa (8-8) in the first and fourth innings, setting a career high with his 13th and 14th homers. Drury homered in the fifth to give the Diamondbacks a 7-4 lead, and Paul Goldschmidt had three hits, scored three runs and stole his 25th base in support of winning pitcher Robbie Ray (8-13).
The Rockies dropped to 7 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second NL wild card.
Matt Koch gave up two hits and struck out four over four innings for his first save.
PADRES 6, GIANTS 4
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Ryan Schimpf hit a go-ahead three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning for the San Diego Padres as the Giants’ bullpen gave up a lead and chance to gain ground on the division-leading Dodgers.
Hunter Strickland (3-3) started the ninth and allowed two runs, three singles and a bases-loaded walk to Wil Myers, then Steven Okert entered to try to get the final out. Schimpf clobbered the fourth offering and sent it into the center-field bleachers for his 19th homer.
Jake Smith (1-0) pitched the eighth for his first career victory after San Diego claimed him from the Giants in July, then Kevin Quackenbush finished for his second save as some Giants fans booed.