Jake Burger hits an RBI single in the ninth inning to give the Marlins a come-from-behind, 8-7 win over the Yankees on Sunday in Miami. Marta Lavandier/Associated Press
MIAMI — Jake Burger’s game-ending single capped a five-run, ninth-inning comeback against Clay Holmes and Tommy Kahnle, giving the Miami Marlins an 8-7 win Sunday over the struggling New York Yankees.
New York, which led 7-1 in the sixth inning behind ace Gerrit Cole, dropped five games back of the AL’s last wild-card berth and is on track to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Yankees lost when leading by four runs in the ninth inning for the first time since July 11, 2021. New York is 3-8-1 in its last 12 series and has lost six straight rubber games of three-game series.
Burger, who had three hits, cut the deficit to 7-2 with an RBI single in the sixth off Cole. Wandy Peralta walked Josh Bell leading off the eighth and Bryan De La Cruz hit an RBI double off Kenyan Middleton.
Holmes (4-3), who had given up three runs in 35 games since May 6, allowed Yuli Gurriel’s double leading off the ninth. Nick Fortes singled on a ball up the middle that rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe couldn’t come up with.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked and Bell hit a one-hopper that bounced off Holmes’ glove and went to the third-base side. The reliever gloved the ball and rushed a throw past first for an error as Gurriel and Fortes scored.
Luis Arraez, hitting a major league-leading .367, grounded a triple down the right-field line for his third hit, tying the score.
Kahnle relieved and walked De La Cruz, who advanced on defensive indifference. With Oswaldo Cabrera part of a five-man infield, Burger lined a single to left for his seventh hit in 12 at-bats during the series.
BLUE JAYS 11, CUBS 4: Daulton Varsho homered and had five RBI, Hyun Jin Ryu pitched five innings to win for the first time since returning from elbow surgery, and Toronto avoided a three-game sweep by winning at home.
Whit Merrifield had four hits, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two hits and two RBI and Brandon Belt reached base four times as the Blue Jays used 14 hits to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Cubs lost for the seventh time in 25 games. Chicago is 19-10 since the All-Star break and 8-4 in August.
Ryu (1-1) allowed two runs, none earned, and two hits in his third start since returning Aug. 1 against Baltimore. The left-hander walked two and struck out three for his first big league victory since a road win against the Angels on May 26, 2022. Ryu had Tommy John surgery less than a month later.
GIANTS 3, RANGERS 2: Patrick Bailey hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning and San Francisco overcame a blown save by All-Star closer Camilo Doval to win at home and stop a four-game losing streak.
San Francisco, which struck out a season-high 17 times, had lost six of its previous seven games. Texas had won 10 of 11.
TWINS 3, PHILLIES 0: Sonny Gray tossed two-hit ball over six shutout innings, reliever Caleb Thielbar pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and Jordan Luplow homered to lead Minnesota to a win in Philadelphia.
The AL Central leaders bounced back from a 13-2 loss in the series opener to win the last two games. Gray (6-5) struck out seven and pitched into the sixth inning in his eighth straight start.
BREWERS 7, WHITE SOX 3: Carlos Santana hit a three-run homer and Freddy Peralta pitched six scoreless innings to help Milwaukee win in Chicago and complete a three-game sweep.
Christian Yelich added a two-run single for Milwaukee, which pushed its NL Central lead to 3 1/2 games after the Chicago Cubs fell at Toronto.
NATIONALS 8, ATHLETICS 7: Jeter Downs capped a six-run ninth with an RBI single, and Washington rallied past visiting Oakland, completing a three-game sweep of the majors-worst Athletics.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ANGELS 2, ASTROS 1: Shohei Ohtani hit his AL-leading 41st homer, and Los Angeles won in Houston to avoid a three-game sweep.
Ohtani’s first home run since Aug. 3 put the Angels up 2-0 in the sixth inning. Houston cut it to 2-1 in the bottom half, but the Angels finally got some help from their pitching staff after losing each of the first two games of the series 11-3. Their bullpen pitched three scoreless innings to secure the win.
Ohtani’s big hit came after the Angels announced the two-way star would skip his next scheduled mound start Wednesday at Texas after telling manager Phil Nevin he was feeling arm fatigue.
GUARDIANS 9, RAYS 2: Tanner Bibee won his seventh consecutive decision and Cleveland beat AL wild-card-leading Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Florida, to avoid a three-game sweep.
Bibee (9-2) gave up two runs, seven hits and struck out five in seven innings.
Andrés Giménez and Gabriel Arias homered for the Guardians, who had 15 hits. Five starters finished with two or more hits as the Cleveland won for the fifth time in 16 games.
Rays starter Zach Eflin (12-7), seeking to become the AL’s first 13-game winner, allowed a season-high six runs and nine hits over three innings in an 82-pitch outing.
ORIOLES 5, MARINERS 3: Cedric Mullins robbed Ty France of a homer in the ninth inning and hit a two-run homer in the 10th, and AL-best Baltimore won in Seattle in extra innings for the second straight day.
Mullins, who entered in the sixth as a defensive replacement, leaped and reached over the wall in center field to snag France’s deep drive off Mike Baumann. Mullins fell face-first to the warning track with the ball in his glove and pumped his fist as he jumped to his feet.
Two pitches later, Dominic Canzone hit a 96 mph fastball from Baumann 402 feet to right and flipped his bat as he admired the homer that tied the game at 3-all.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
REDS, PIRATES SPLIT: Stuart Fairchild drove in the tying run in the eighth inning and the go-ahead run in the 10th, helping Cincinnati overcome a two-run deficit and gain a doubleheader split in Pittsburgh with a 6-5 victory.
Jared Triolo hit his first major league home run in the opener, a three-run drive as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning that lifted the Pirates to a 4-2 win.
DODGERS 8, ROCKIES 3: Julio Urías matched his career high with 12 strikeouts over seven innings of four-hit ball, and Miguel Rojas homered and drove in four runs as host Los Angeles won its eighth straight game.
Mookie Betts broke it open with a two-run double in the sixth for the Dodgers, who have won 12 of 13 to surge 8 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco in the race for their 10th NL West title in 11 seasons. Rojas matched his season high in RBIs by driving in one run in each of his four plate appearances.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, PADRES 4: Alek Thomas hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a game-tying, two-run homer in the seventh and Arizona rallied for a win over sinking San Diego in Phoenix.
The D-backs took two of three games from the Padres with both teams hanging around the fringe of the National League wild-card race. Arizona pushed back to .500 at 59-59 while San Diego fell to 56-62.
The Padres have lost six of their last seven.
METS 7, BRAVES 6: Rafael Ortega had two hits during a six-run fifth inning, leading New York to a win at home over Atlanta and preventing New York from falling into last place in the NL East.
The Mets, who were outscored 34-3 in the first three games of the series, moved a half-game ahead of the Washington Nationals. New York hasn’t been in the cellar this late in the season since 2005.
NOTES
RAYS: Major League Baseball is looking into social media posts involving Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco, the team said.
Franco did not play in Sunday’s 9-2 loss to Cleveland.
“During today’s game, we were made aware of the social media posts that are circulating regarding Wander Franco,” the Rays said in a statement. “We take the situation seriously and are in close contact with Major League Baseball as it conducts its due diligence.”
Tampa Bay did not detail the nature of the social media posts.
MARINERS: Left-hander Marco Gonzales will undergo nerve surgery and will miss the rest of the season.
Gonzales will have surgery Aug. 22 to decompress the anterior interosseous nerve in his left forearm. The 31-year-old hopes to recover by spring training.
Gonzales was 4-1 with a 5.22 ERA in 10 starts. He hasn’t pitched since May 28, when he felt discomfort in the forearm after throwing 5 2/3 innings against Pittsburgh.
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