MLB
Pinch-hitter Brock Holt belted a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh and the Red Sox became the first team to wrap up a playoff berth by rallying to beat the Blue Jays, 7-2.
Boston trailed 2-0 until Steve Pearce laced an RBI triple and Holt followed with a blast. Bosox ace Chris Sale pitched a scoreless first inning in his first start since going on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation, allowing one hit while striking out two.
Game two is Wednesday at 7:10 p.m.
Boston's magic number to win the AL East is down to nine with the Yankees' 10-5 loss at Minnesota. Joe Mauer's grand slam highlighted a six-run fifth that sent the Twins to just the fifth win in their last 25 meetings with New York.
Didi Gregorius belted a grand slam for the Yanks, who now lead the first AL wild-card berth by only two games over the Athletics.
The series concludes Wednesday at 8:10 p.m.
DBacks top Rox, Dodgers fall:
The Arizona Diamondbacks picked up a much-needed win to avoid dropping another game in the NL West standings.
Ketel Marte collected four RBIs, including a tiebreaking, two-run triple in the sixth inning of the Diamondbacks' 6-3 victory over the division-leading Rockies in Denver. Marte's major league-leading 11th triple was followed by a two-run single that capped the scoring in the eighth.
The Rockies put two runners on with nobody out in the ninth before Yoshihisa Hirano entered the game and retired the next three hitters. Hirano saved it for Zack Greinke, who allowed three runs over 6 2/3 innings for his 14th win.
The Diamondbacks are within 2 ½ games of Colorado. The Rockies still lead the division by 1 ½ games over Los Angeles.
The Dodgers fell to 0-6 versus the Reds this season as former Los Angeles prospects Brandon Dixon and Scott Schebler homered in a 3-1 win at Cincinnati. Jose Peraza had two hits against his old team and Luis Castillo struck out nine while limiting the Dodgers to four hits over 6 1/3 innings.
Checking out Tuesday's other major league action:
The Cubs' lead in the NL Central is back to two games over Milwaukee after Jose Quintana pitched three-hit ball into the seventh inning of Chicago's 3-0 shutout of the Brewers. Victor Caratini drove in two runs with a single and a double to help the Cubs win for the third time in eight games since Labor Day. Jhoulys Chacin pitched five innings of one-hit ball but made a critical throwing error in a two-run second that sent the Brewers to their second loss in nine games.
Rookie Tyler O'Neill hit a three-run homer during a six-run eighth that pushed the Cardinals past the Pirates, 11-5. Marcell Ozuna drove in three and Miles Mikolas held Pittsburgh to a run and five hits over seven frames to move to 15-5. The Cardinals are back within 1 ½ games of Milwaukee for the first NL wild card.
Mike Foltynewicz tossed a six-hitter and the NL East-leading Braves moved 6 1/2 games in front of Philadelphia by downing the Giants, 4-1 in San Francisco. Foltynewicz retired 13 straight at one point and blanked the Giants until Brandon Crawford's RBI single with two out in the ninth. Charlie Culberson hit a two-run homer after entering the game for Johan Camargo, who left with a tight left groin.
Erick Fedde combined with four relievers on a five-hitter and Spencer Kieboom hit his first major league home run as the Nationals took the opener of their doubleheader with the Phillies, 3-1 at Philadelphia. Fedde struck out nine while limiting the Phillies to two hits over 5 2/3 innings. Kieboom had gone 115 big league plate appearances before smacking a solo shot in the fifth inning.
The Nationals completed a sweep of the doubleheader by erasing a 6-3 lead in the ninth before Juan Soto's second homer of the game gave Washington a 7-6, 10-inning win at Philly. Soto also hit a two-run shot and finished with four RBIs. The Phillies are 2-8 this month after entering September two games behind the NL East-leading Braves.
Oakland won its fifth in a row as Steven Piscotty went 3-for-4 and delivered an RBI single that capped the Athletics' three-run third in a 3-2 win at Baltimore. Mike Fiers allowed four hits over six innings and blanked the Orioles until Jonathan Villar homered in the sixth. Fiers is 5-0 with a 2.72 ERA in seven starts since being acquired from Detroit before the none-waiver trade deadline.
Jose Altuve homered on the opening pitch before Tony Kemp and Tyler White added two-run homers to give the Astros a 5-0 lead by the fourth inning of a 5-4 win at Detroit. Houston's bullpen came through with five shutout innings after Freddy Valdez was reached for four runs in the fourth, including a three-run blast by JaCoby Jones. The Astros continue to lead the AL West by three games over the Athletics.
The Indians earned a 2-0 shutout of the Rays as Shane Bieber fanned 11 while allowing three hits over 6 2/3 innings. Yan Gomes and Edwin Encarnacion hit solo shots for the AL Central leaders, with Encarnacion reaching 30 home runs for the seventh straight year. The Rays ended a team-record 12-game home winning streak and lost for only the fourth time in 21 games overall.
Major League saves leader Edwin Diaz surrendered an RBI single to Wil Myers in the ninth inning of the Padres' 2-1 verdict over Seattle. Robinson Cano's solo home run in the third was the Mariners' only scoring as they fell 8 ½ games behind Oakland for the second AL wild card.
The Angels' bullpen flirted with a combined no-hitter until Blake Parker gave up Isiah Kiner-Falefa's single with one out in the eighth inning of a 1-0 shutout of the Rangers. Jose Fernandez hit his first career home run for Los Angeles in the second inning.
Lewis Brinson hit a two-run double off Jacob deGrom and J.T. Riddle homered in the Marlins' 5-3 victory against the Mets. DeGrom has a major league-leading 1.71 ERA but is just 8-9 after yielding just two runs and three hits with nine strikeouts over seven innings. De Grom set a major league record with his 26th consecutive start of allowing three runs or fewer. The Mets are making up Monday night’s game against the Marlins Wednesday at 4:10 p.m. the pair will then face off in game three of four at 7:10 p.m.
The Royals doubled up the White Sox, 6-3 as Brad Keller limited Chicago to one run and four hits over seven innings. Whit Merrifield had two hits, two RBIs, two stolen bases and scored two runs for Kansas City.
Elsewhere around the majors:
Athletics left-hander Sean Manaea will have season-ending surgery on his left shoulder next week. Manaea has been on the disabled list since Aug. 26 after going 12-9 with one no-hitter, a 3.59 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 160 2/3 innings this year. The A's are three games behind the AL West-leading Houston Astros and three behind the New York Yankees for the first wild-card berth.
David Wright took live batting practice Tuesday as the Mets captain tries to complete his comeback from a string of debilitating injuries. The third baseman originally was scheduled to play defense in a simulated game as well, but those plans were scrapped on a drizzly afternoon. Wright hasn't played in the major leagues since May 2016 due to neck, back and shoulder injuries that required surgery.
NFL
The Carolina Panthers will be without three-time Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen and second-team All-Pro Bowl right tackle Daryl Williams for the foreseeable future.
The team announced Tuesday that Olsen re-fractured the same right foot that kept him out of nine games last season. Williams suffered an undisclosed knee injury and will need surgery. Both were injured in Sunday's season-opening win over the Cowboys.
In other NFL news:
The Atlanta Falcons have placed linebacker Deion Jones on injured reserve because of a foot injury suffered in Thursday's loss at Philadelphia. Head coach Dan Quinn say Jones will require surgery, but is expected to return this season. He's the Falcons' second Pro Bowl defensive player to land on injured reserve, joining safety Keanu Neal.
The Seattle Seahawks are likely to be without wide receiver Doug Baldwin for at least next week's game at Chicago and possibly longer due to an MCL injury to his right knee. Coach Pete Carroll indicated it would be difficult for Baldwin to make it back to face the Bears and that it could be a couple of weeks. Baldwin was injured in the first quarter of Sunday's 27-24 loss to Denver.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, cornerback Joe Haden and guard David DeCastro could all miss practice time after getting dinged up in a season-opening tie in Cleveland. Roethlisberger is dealing with a throwing elbow issue, Haden has a hamstring problem and DeCastro fractured one of his hands during the four-hour marathon in a monsoon.
The Packers have placed receiver and return man Trevor Davis on injured reserve and claimed cornerback Deante Burton off waivers from the Falcons. Davis missed the season opener against Chicago after adding him to the injury report just a couple of hours before the game on Sunday.
MONITORING FLORENCE
Hurricane Florence has already caused the cancellation of three Top-25 games before touching down on the East Coast.
East Carolina told Virginia Tech officials that the Pirates won't travel to Blacksburg to face the 13th-ranked Hokies. North Carolina State's game against No. 14 West Virginia was wiped out, as was No. 18 UCF's game at North Carolina.
The decisions were made as Florence appears set to come ashore along the Carolinas' coastline late Thursday or early Friday with strong winds and heavy rain.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Georgia Tech running back KirVonte Benson will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. The junior rushed for 1,053 yards last season in his debut as the starting B-back. He was injured in last weekend's 49-38 loss to South Florida.
Texas A&M has supplanted Texas as America's most valuable college football program. Forbes magazine on Tuesday released its list of most valuable college football programs based on estimate averages for profits and revenue for the 2014, '15 and '16 seasons.Texas A&M brought in $148 million in revenue and made $107 million in profit, according to Forbes' estimates. Texas made $133 million in revenue and $87 million in profit, while Michigan was third at $127 million and $75 million. Alabama and Ohio State round out the top five.
NHL
Steve Yzerman says he's "100 percent committed" to the Tampa Bay Lightning this season after stepping down as general manager and moving to a senior adviser role.
Yzerman says he decided in late July not to sign another contract to be GM and that it took until now to formulate a plan on what's next for the front office. Longtime assistant Julien BriseBois takes over effective immediately, two days before the Lightning open training camp.
Asked about his future, Yzerman says he'll see how the season goes before making any other decisions
TENNIS
The chair umpire who penalized Serena Williams a game in the U.S. Open final has been assigned to officiate the Davis Cup semifinal matches between the United States and Croatia, The Associated Press has learned.
Carlos Ramos was in the chair last Saturday when Naomi Osaka won her first Grand Slam title by beating Williams 6-2, 6-4. That match descended into chaos after Williams confronted Ramos about his rulings code violations. Williams was fined $17,000.
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