Braves 9, Mets 6

New York: Ronald Acuña Jr. got four hits and robbed Pete Alonso of a two-run homer as Atlanta built a big early lead and beat the New York Mets.

Eddie Rosario hit a three-run homer in the first inning and an RBI double in the second to help the Braves open an 8-0 cushion. Rookie center fielder Michael Harris II also went deep and threw out a runner at the plate.

Astros 9, Guardians 3

Cleveland: Trey Mancini hit two home runs, including his first career grand slam, and drove in five runs, leading Houston over Cleveland.

Mancini, acquired from Baltimore on Monday to bolster Houston’s already dynamic lineup, hit a solo homer in the second and capped the Astros’ five-run third with a blast that cleared the 19-foot wall in left field and landed in the home run porch.

Twins 6, Blue Jays 5 (10 innings)

Minneapolis: Nick Gordon hit a three-run homer and scored in the 10th inning for Minnesota after a pair of miscues by Toronto catcher Danny Jansen.

Gordon, who had three hits in the game, was the automatic runner to start the bottom of the 10th. Gordon made it to third, then scored on a Tim Beckham grounder, beating a throw from Matt Chapman.

Cardinals 4, Yankees 3

St. Louis: Paul Dejong hit a tworun double with two outs in the eighth inning, lifting the Cardinals over the New York Yankees in Matt Carpenter’s return to St. Louis.

Carpenter drew a standing ovation in his first visit back to the city where he played 11 seasons, then had two hits. Aaron Judge and Josh Donaldson also had two hits each for the Yankees, and Donaldson drove in two.

Cubs 2, Marlins 1

Chicago: Willson Contreras hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning in his first home game since the trade deadline, Justin Steele matched a career high with 10 strikeouts and Chicago beat Miami.

The Cubs looked like they were on the way to their sixth straight loss before Contreras drove an 0-1 pitch from Dylan Floro to left-center with one out in the eighth for his 16th homer, waking up a sleepy crowd.

Chicago’s only hits prior to Contreras’ homer were singles by Nick Madrigal leading off the sixth and eighth.

Orioles 1, Pirates 0

Baltimore: Dean Kremer pitched impressively into the seventh inning and Félix Bautista held on through a dicey ninth to lift the Baltimore Orioles tover the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Ramón Urias singled home the game’s only run in the sixth after the Orioles squandered several chances earlier in the game. That was enough for a Baltimore team that has emerged as a surprising postseason contender recently.

Kremer allowed four hits and struck out two. He escaped a firstand-third, in the second.

Phillies 7, Nationals 2

Philadelphia: Kyle Gibson retired his first 18 batters and pitched one-run ball over eight innings, Kyle Schwarber hit his Nl-leading 34th homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals.

Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos and Darick Hall also homered for the Phillies, who have won eight of nine to solidify their standing in the race for the NL’S third and final wild-card position. The victory moved Philadelphia 10 games over .500 for the first time since June 8, 2019.

Rays 5, Tigers 3

Detroit: Brandon Lowe hit a goahead, two-run double in the eighth inning for the Tampa Bay Rays, who walked a franchise-record 13 times while rallying to beat Detroit Tigers.

Three of the walks came in Tampa Bay’s three-run eighth. The Rays trailed 3-0 after two innings before coming back to win their third straight game.

The Rays had walked 12 times in an 11-inning win over the Marlins on June 19, 2010.

The Tigers brought the winning run to the plate in the ninth before Riley Greene struck out.

White Sox 2, Rangers 1

Arlington, Texas: Dylan Cease pitched six strong innings, Eloy Jimenez hit a tiebreaking solo home run and the Chicago White Sox won.

The first start in August for Cease (12-4) resembled those of the past eight weeks, when he was selected the AL pitcher of the month for June and July. He gave up a run and two hits to lower his earned run average to 1.98, second in the AL, and won his fifth straight start.

Red Sox 7, Royals 4

Kansas City, Mo.: The Boston Red Sox pounded out 13 hits, drew five walks and took advantage of some shoddy Royals defense as the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals.

Royals starter Zack Greinke gave up four runs on seven hits with a pair of walks and two strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. The bullpen didn’t provide much relief on a day when there was a 100-degree heat index at first pitch.

Brewers 5, Reds 1

Milwaukee: Eric Lauer pitched seven strong innings, Rowdy Tellez and Tyrone Taylor homered, and the Milwaukee Brewers shook out of their post-trade deadline funk.

NL Central-leading Milwaukee had lost three straight since dealing Allstar closer Josh Hader to the Padres on Monday.

Tellez hit a two-run shot in the first inning off Robert Dugger, and Taylor followed with a three-run blast in the third.

Astros manager Baker tests postive for COVID-19

Cleveland: Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker tested positive for COVID-19 prior to Friday night’s game against the Cleveland Guardians.

Baker, 73, is in his third season as Houston’s manager. Bench coach Joe Espada filled in for Baker against Cleveland.