Francisco Alvarez's solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the New York Mets to a dramatic 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles in Monday's opener of an important three-game series for both teams.

With one out and the game tied at 3-3, Alvarez crushed a 3-0 fastball from Seranthony Dominguez well clear of the wall in left center field to allow the Mets to close the gap in the National League wild card race and knock the Orioles out of first place in the American League East.

J.D. Martinez had a two-run homer in the first inning for New York, which moved within 1 1/2 games of the Atlanta Braves for the NL's final wild card spot with its third win in four games.

The Orioles have now lost three of four and dropped a half-game back of the idle New York Yankees for the AL's top spot.

Baltimore made it interesting, however, by scoring twice in the seventh inning to erase a 3-1 deficit.

Ryan Mountcastle began the rally with a lead-off double and took third on a groundout before being forced home when Mets starter David Peterson was called for a balk. Ramon Urias then followed with a solo home run to knot the score at 3-3.

Peterson had been cruising up until that point and departed after allowing three runs - two earned - while striking out eight through seven innings.

Martinez followed a first-inning single by Mark Vientos with his 13th homer of the season to give the Mets an early advantage. They increased the margin to 3-0 in the fourth when Pete Alonso doubled and later crossed the plate on Tyrone Taylor's two-out single.

The Orioles answered in the fifth with the help of an error by Peterson, who threw errantly on a pickoff attempt to send Urias to third after the infielder reached on a double. Urias would then score on a groundout by Jackson Holliday.

Urias and Mountcastle each finished with two hits for the Orioles, while Baltimore starter Trevor Rogers struck out five while permitting three runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Diaz's homer in ninth caps rally, keeps Astros hot

The Houston Astros also earned a key win via a walk-off home run, as Yainer Diaz's ninth-inning blast gave the AL West leaders a 5-4 comeback victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Houston scored once in each of the final two innings to rally for its 11th win in 12 games, with Diaz delivering the final blow by launching Kenley Jansen's pitch well over the left field wall with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

The Astros tied the game at 4-4 with a two-out rally an inning earlier, as Chas McCormick singled off reliever Lucas Sims and stole second before racing home on Mauricio Dubon's clutch single.

Yordan Alvarez and Victor Caratini each collected three hits to help Houston increase its lead over the second-place Seattle Mariners to five games in the division.

The slumping Red Sox lost for the eighth time in 12 games despite taking a 4-2 lead on Masataka Yoshida's pinch-hit two-run homer off reliever Tayler Scott in the top of the sixth inning. Romy Gonzalez was aboard for the blast after reaching on an error by Houston second baseman Jose Altuve, one of a season-high four miscues for the Astros.

Houston got closer in its half of the sixth, however. Back-to-back singles by Jeremy Pena and Caratini put runners on first and third for Jon Singleton, who drove in Pena with a sacrifice fly to trim the lead to 4-3. 

Astros starter Yusei Kikuchi struck out seven over 5 2/3 innings while allowing three runs, one earned, though his night began ominously when Boston's Jarren Duran connected on his 16th homer of the season on the game's first pitch.

Rob Refsnyder and Rafael Devers each singled later in the first inning before another Houston error - a misplay by rookie third baseman Shay Whitcomb - enabled another run to score.

The Astros were held scoreless by Tanner Houck through the first three innings before breaking through in the bottom of the fourth, which Alvarez began with a double and Diaz followed with a single. Alvarez was later thrown out at home on a fielder's choice grounder, but Caratini singled in Diaz and Pena also scored on the play on an errant throw by Boston catcher Danny Jansen.

Houck worked six innings and struck out eight while surrendering three runs - two earned.

Stone, Muncy propel Dodgers over Mariners in Turner's Los Angeles return

Gavin Stone racked up a career-high 10 strikeouts in seven innings, Max Muncy homered in his first game back from the injured list, and the Los Angeles Dodgers spoiled Justin Tuner's return to Dodger Stadium with a 3-0 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Muncy, sidelined since May 16 by a right oblique strain, came through with a two-run homer in the seventh inning to back Stone's superb start and help the Dodgers win the opener of this three-game series between playoff hopefuls.

Gavin Lux homered earlier in the seventh to break a scoreless deadlock and a terrific pitching duel between Stone and Bryan Woo, who had allowed just one hit until Lux drove a pitch over the wall in center field.

Woo (5-2) then hit Will Smith with a pitch and was removed in favour of Yimi Garcia, who was greeted by Muncy's towering drive to right that quickly made the lead 3-0.

Stone (11-5) yielded just two hits and two walks before departing, with Joe Kelly pitching a scoreless eighth before Evan Phillips retired the side in order in the ninth to notch his 16th save.

Woo was charged with two runs in 6 1/3 innings in slumping Seattle's sixth loss in seven games. The defeat dropped the Mariners five games back of first-place Houston in the AL West.

Turner went 1 for 3 in his first appearance at Dodger Stadium in nearly two years. The 39-year-old infielder made two NL All-Star teams during a successful nine-year tenure with the Dodgers from 2014-22. 

Chris Sale pitched six strong innings to become the second 11-game winner in the majors and Austin Riley had a two-run double to lift the Atlanta Braves to a 3-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night.

Sale allowed three hits and struck out nine with two walks to join Kansas City’s Seth Lugo as 11-game winners.

The veteran left-hander needed only six pitchers to retire the Giants in order in the first and struck out the side in the third. He added two more strikeouts to open the fifth before Curt Casali lined a single to center for San Francisco’s first hit.

Three relievers finished the four-hitter with Raisel Iglesias working the ninth for his 21st save.

Atlanta had three straight hits to open the second and took a 1-0 lead on Adam Duvall’s run-scoring double off Jordan Hicks.

Riley’s two-run double off the right-field wall in the fifth made it 3-0.

Kremer, O’Hearn lift Orioles

Dean Kremer pitched five scoreless innings in his return and Ryan O’Hearn homered and drove in three runs to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 4-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Kremer was excellent in his first start since May 20 due to a triceps strain. He yielded just two hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.

Craig Kimbrel struck out two in the ninth for his 21st save of the season and 438th of his career, which moved him into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time list.

O’Hearn delivered a two-out, two-run double in a three-run third against Logan Gilbert and added a solo home run in the fifth.

Baltimore won for the sixth time in seven games and sent Seattle to its 10th loss in 13 contests. The Mariners’ lead in the AL West has been cut to two games over Houston.

Alvarez homers again as Astros roll

Yordan Alvarez homered for the third straight game and Jose Altuve delivered a tiebreaking single during a four-run seventh inning as the surging Houston Astros rolled to a 9-2 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Yainer Diaz had three hits and three RBIs to help the Astros win for the 11th time in 13 games.

Alvarez doubled home a run in the third, led off the sixth with his 19th home run, scored after an intentional walk in the seventh and capped his night with an RBI double in the eighth.

Alvarez, who has seven home runs in 13 career games in Toronto, is 11 for 22 with three homers and eight RBIs in his last six games overall. 

Last-place Toronto (39-47) has lost 11 of 15 to match a season high at eight games under .500.

Corbin Carroll had a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and Slade Cecconi pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball as the Arizona Diamondbacks won their fourth straight, 5-4 over the reeling Cincinnati Reds.

Joc Pederson homered in the first inning and finished with three hits for Arizona, which got RBIs from five different players.

Spencer Steer’s two-run single in the seventh completed Cincinnati’s comeback from a 4-1 deficit, but the Reds lost their eighth in a row, a stretch during which they scored just 17 runs.

Cincinnati has lost 11 of 13 to drop a season-high five games under .500 (16-21).

Cecconi gave up three hits with two strikeouts before Logan Allen allowed three runs over the next 1 1/3 innings. Paul Seward struck out two in the ninth for his first save of the season.

Twins rough up Gilbert in rout of Mariners

Manny Margot highlighted a five-run first inning with a three-run double off Mariners ace Logan Gilbert and the Minnesota Twins rolled to an 11-1 win over Seattle.

Pablo Lopez struck out 10 and allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings to win his third straight start.

Ryan Jeffers and Max Kepler each homered and knocked in two runs for the Twins, who have won 15 of 17 to move a season-best seven games over .500 (22-15).

Minnesota has averaged 6.6 runs and 10.1 hits over that 17-game span.

Gilbert failed to pitch into the sixth for the first time in eight starts this season and surrendered eight runs on nine hits with two walks in five innings. His AL-leading 1.69 ERA increased to 2.94.

Astros avoid season sweep to Yankees

Yordan Alvarez and Jon Singleton homered in the first inning and the Houston Astros held on for a 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees.

Alvarez hit a two-out shot off Marcus Stroman and Singleton followed Jeremy Pena’s walk for a 3-0 lead.

Pena added a fifth-inning RBI single for the Astros, who were outscored 40-18 in the first six games this season – all losses – against the Yankees.

Ronel Blanco allowed two runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings and Josh Hader got the final four outs for his fourth save.

Anthony Volpe had a two-run homer and Aaron Judge belted a 473-foot shot in the eighth, but New York had a five-game winning streak snapped.

Yordan Alvarez and Martin Maldonado each had two-run singles and the Houston Astros roughed up Max Scherzer in an 8-5 victory on Wednesday to cut their deficit in the AL Championship Series to 2-1.

Jose Altuve homered and Maurico Dubon added three hits for Houston, which rebounded on the road after losing the first two games at home.

The defending World Series champion Astros will try to even the best-of-seven series in Game 4 on Thursday.

Josh Jung hit a pair of two-run homers, but Texas suffered its first postseason loss in eight games.

Scherzer, making his first start in more than a month, lasted only four innings after allowing five runs and five hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

Cristian Javier was far more effective, yielding two runs and three hits in 5 2/3 innings.

He extended his postseason scoreless streak to 20 1/3 innings before it ended in the fifth on Jung’s first home run.

Hector Neris surrendered Jung’s second home run before Bryan Abreu gave up a run in the eighth on Adolis Garcia’s RBI single.

Ryan Pressly pitched the ninth and got Jung to hit into a game-ending double play for his third save this postseason.

The Texas Rangers scored four first-inning runs before holding on for their seventh straight win to start this year's post-season, a 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros on Monday that gave them a 2-0 lead in the American League Championship Series.

Texas withstood two more home runs from Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez to move to 7-0 in these playoffs, one shy of a Major League record for the longest winning streak to begin a post-season set by the Kansas City Royals in 2014. Six of those victories have come on the road.

The Rangers can put the reigning World Series champion Astros within a game of elimination when they return home for Wednesday's Game 3 of this best-of-seven series. Texas will start Max Scherzer in the three-time Cy Young Award winner's first appearance since straining his shoulder in mid-September.

Scherzer will try to build off Monday's solid performance from teammate Nathan Eovaldi, who struck out nine while allowing three runs over six innings and worked his way out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fifth.

The Rangers gave Eovaldi a big early lead as their first five hitters reached base off Houston's Framber Valdez.

Marcus Semien and Corey Seager began the game with singles before Valdez threw wildly to first on a chopper to the mound off the bat of Robbie Grossman, allowing Semien to score the game's first run. Adolis Garcia and Mitch Garver followed with RBI singles and Nathaniel Lowe later plated Garcia with a base hit to push Texas' lead to 4-0.

The Astros got a run back in the second on Alvarez's first homer of the game, but Jonah Heim countered with a solo shot of his own in the third to restore the Rangers' four-run advantage.

Houston pulled within 5-2 on Alex Bregman's home run off the left-field foul pole in the fourth, then loaded the bases with no out in the fifth on two singles and an error. Eovaldi got through unscathed, however, by striking out Yainer Diaz and Jose Altuve and getting Bregman to ground out. 

Alvarez walked and scored on Michael Brantley's double in the sixth to cut Houston's deficit to two, then connected off Aroldis Chapman with two outs in the eighth for his sixth homer of the post-season as Texas' lead dwindled to 5-4.

Jose Leclerc then relieved Chapman and walked Jose Abreu and Brantley, but prevented further damage before retiring the Astros in order in the ninth for his second save of the series.

Valdez struck out six in just 2 2/3 innings, but permitted seven hits and all five Texas runs - four of which were earned. 

Houston, which won six of seven road meetings with the Rangers during the regular season, is scheduled to start Cristian Javier in Game 3. 

The Houston Astros will be without one of baseball's best hitters for the foreseeable future after placing slugger Yordan Alvarez on the 10-day injured list with right oblique discomfort.

The Astros announced the move on Friday and said Alvarez will head back to Houston for further evaluation.

A timetable for a return won't be made until after he's evaluated, though Astros second baseman Jose Altuve suffered a mild oblique injury while swinging a bat on June 2 and ended up missing only four games.

It's possible Houston believes Alvarez's injury is more serious, however, seeing as the team already placed him on the injured list. The recovery time for oblique strains is typically four-to-six weeks.

Alvarez exited Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays after experiencing discomfort in his right oblique during his at-bat in the first inning.

He said he initially felt soreness in the oblique on his final swing in the batting cage before the game.

Alvarez ended up grounding out on his first-inning at-bat, ending a 19-game on-base streak in which he slashed .246/.383/.646 with eight home runs, 16 RBIs and 18 runs.

Alvarez leads the majors with 55 RBIs and his 17 home runs trail only New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge's 19 for the most in the AL.

Since the start of the 2021 season, Alvarez's 87 home runs are seventh in MLB.

The 25-year-old won the AL Rookie of the Year in 2019 and made his first All-Star Game last season after hitting 37 home runs - the most ever by a left-handed hitter in Houston franchise history.

Thursday's setback was the third straight loss for the Astros, dropping them to 36-27 - five games behind the first-place Texas Rangers in the AL West.