Sep 19, 2018 5 min read

Tommy Pham homered twice while extending his on-base streak to 21 games and the late-surging Tampa Bay Rays completed a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 9-3 victory Wednesday.

The Rays (85-66), who have won 14 of their 17 games in September and have 11 remaining, entered the day 5½ games behind Oakland for the American League’s second wild card despite a record that would lead or share the lead in three divisions in baseball. But they are third in the AL East behind the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

Minnesota 8, Detroit 2: Stephen Gonsalves threw six scoreless innings, and Minnesota’s offense pounded Detroit’s pitching, helping the Twins beat the Tigers 8-2.

Gabriel Moya started for Minnesota, but was replaced by Gonsalves in the second inning, marking the sixth time this season the Twins used an “opening pitcher.” Gonsalves (1-2) allowed one hit and a walk while striking out four.

Baltimore 2, Toronto 1: Rookie DJ Stewart hit his first major league home run and the Baltimore Orioles used five pitchers to avoid a three-game sweep by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1.

The Orioles bounced back one night after taking their 108th loss of the season, the most since moving to Baltimore in 1954. They remained three away from the franchise mark set by the 1939 St. Louis Browns.

Jimmy Yacabonis started for Baltimore and threw four scoreless innings, followed by Mike Wright (4-2), who blanked the Blue Jays over two innings. Miguel Castro allowed a solo homer to Billy McKinney in the eighth that cut the lead to 2-1 before Tanner Scott managed the final out of the inning.

Mychal Givens picked up his eighth save for Baltimore.

Surgery for Kopech: Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Tuesday and will miss the 2019 season.

Kopech, the top pitching prospect in the organization, is expected to be ready for spring training in 2020. The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.

Kopech, 22, was 1-1 with a 5.02 ERA in four starts this season. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a torn elbow ligament Sept 8.

Kopech was acquired in the trade that sent star pitcher Chris Sale to Boston following the 2016 season. He was drafted by Boston in the first round in 2014.

National League

Atlanta 7, St. Louis 3: Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs, Touki Toussaint pitched into the sixth inning and the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves snapped a four-game skid with a 7-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

It was a big win for Atlanta, which began the day with a 5½-game lead over Philadelphia and opens a four-game home series against the Phillies on Thursday.

The Braves need any combination of six victories or Philadelphia losses to clinch their first division title since 2013.

Philadelphia 4, N.Y. Mets 0: Rhys Hoskins became the seventh-fastest player to hit 50 career home runs and the Philadelphia Phillies kept pace in the NL East race with a 4-0 victory over the New York Mets.

Zach Eflin and five relievers combined on a six-hitter and Odubel Herrera added two-run homer for the Phillies, who won consecutive series for the first time since July 25 and stayed 5½ games behind division-leading Atlanta.

Seven of Philadelphia’s final 11 games are against the Braves, including a four-game series beginning Thursday night in Atlanta.

Hoskins’ opposite-field solo shot against Noah Syndergaard in the first inning was his 32nd homer of the season and 50th in 192 career games. Only Rudy York (153), Mark McGwire (161), Gary Sanchez (161), Ryan Braun (171), Aaron Judge (174) and former Phillies slugger Ryan Howard (182) reached 50 quicker, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Mets shut down Wheeler: The New York Mets are shutting down right-hander Zack Wheeler for the rest of the season as a precaution, ending a career-best year in which he logged nearly 100 more innings than 2017.

Manager Mickey Callaway said before Wednesday night’s game at Philadelphia that they’d be “probably taking the best care of him” by holding him out of his final two starts.

“I feel like I had a good season,” Wheeler said. “I would have liked to have finished it out, but getting 100 more innings than last season without doing that much the past 2½ years, I think it makes sense to kind of shut it down and not really push it.”

Wheeler missed two full seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2015. He returned last season and was 3-7 with a 5.21 ERA in 17 starts. After beginning this season in Triple-A following a difficult spring training, Wheeler was called up in April and went 12-7 with a 3.31 ERA in 29 starts while throwing 182 1/3 innings.