PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Wright became the first 20-game winner in the majors this season and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 on Saturday to stop a three-game losing streak.
William Contreras and rookie Michael Harris II each homered and had three hits for the Braves (94-58), who moved within 1 1/2 games of the first-place Mets in the NL East. New York lost 10-4 at Oakland.
The Mets and Braves play three games in Atlanta next weekend.
Bryce Harper hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning for Philadelphia (83-68), which began the day a half-game ahead of San Diego for the second NL wild card and 2 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee for the final spot.
The 26-year-old Wright went 5 1/3 innings and became the first Braves pitcher to win 20 games since Russ Ortiz won 21 in 2003. Wright is the seventh 20-game winner for the Braves since they moved to Atlanta in 1966, also joining Denny Neagle and four Hall of Famers: John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Phil Niekro and Tom Glavine.
MARLINS 4, NATIONALS 1: Sandy Alcantara struck out 11 in eight dominant innings and Miami won at home.
Bryan De La Cruz homered, doubled twice and singled for Miami.
The 27-year-old Alcantara (14-8) allowed Joey Meneses’ home run in the first and little else.
In his 13th start of at least eight innings this season, the All-Star righty gave up three hits, walked one and hit a batter.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 3, RAYS 1: Alek Manoah pitched seven shutout innings, Whit Merrifield hit a three-run homer and Toronto regained the top AL wild-card spot with a victory over Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Blue Jays lead Tampa Bay by one game. The top wild card finisher will host all games in their best-of-three opening-round series, while the other two wild cards play strictly on the road.
Manoah (15-7) scattered four hits, walked two and struck out eight while throwing a season-high 113 pitches. The righty worked out of a two-on, one-out jam in the sixth by striking out Randy Arozarena and getting a flyout from David Peralta.
INTERLEAGUE
ATHLETICS 10, METS 4: Jacob deGrom got hit around and lasted a season-low four innings, and New York lost in Oakland, California to miss a chance to create some distance in the NL East race.
DeGrom (5-3) was tagged for five runs and four walks – the worst start for the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner since 2019. The right-hander had never faced the A’s before.
In his last three starts, deGrom has allowed 11 earned runs in 15 innings. The four walks doubled his previous season total.
NOTES
WHITE SOX: Manager Tony La Russa will not return to the dugout this season.
La Russa, who turns 78 on Oct. 4, had “additional testing and medical procedures over the past week,” the team said, and doctors have directed the Hall of Famer to stay away from managing for the rest of the season.
Bench coach Miguel Cairo will continue to serve as acting White Sox manager.
La Russa left the White Sox before an Aug. 30 game against Kansas City to deal with a heart issue. He rejoined the club in Oakland on Sept. 11 and flew back to Chicago for a two-game series against Colorado.
La Russa was waiting for clearance to return to the dugout and managing during games. But Chicago had just 11 games left heading into Saturday night’s matchup with Detroit.
RAYS: Tampa Bay second baseman Brandon Lowe and right-hander Shane Baz are done for the season due to injuries, while one-time ace Tyler Glasnow is expected back next week following Tommy John surgery in August 2021.
Rays Manager Kevin Cash said that Lowe’s bad lower back has not responded to treatment, while Baz will have Tommy John surgery.
Glasnow struck out six and walked one over 2 2/3 hitless innings in his fourth start for Triple-A Durham on Friday night, and could pitch Wednesday against Cleveland.
MARINERS: Seattle locked up another ace for its pitching staff, agreeing to a five-year contract with right-hander Luis Castillo.
Castillo was the big trade deadline acquisition for the Mariners when they acquired him from Cincinnati. The hope was Castillo would be the difference in Seattle’s push to end the longest playoff drought in baseball and that the Mariners could convince him to stick around longer.
They’ve succeeded in locking up Castillo. And Seattle entered Saturday with a three-game lead over Baltimore for the final AL wild card.
Castillo’s contract is reportedly worth $108 million and will begin with the 2023 season, his final season of arbitration eligibility. It runs through 2027 and includes a mutual option for 2028.
The 29-year-old Castillo is 7-6 with a 2.85 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 23 starts between Seattle and Cincinnati. Since joining the Mariners, he is 3-2 with a 2.83 ERA and 64 strikeouts in nine starts.
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