Sogard’s 2-run 8th-inning homer lifts Red Sox past Orioles 6-5

BALTIMORE (AP) — Adley Rutschman homered twice in his return to Baltimore, and the Boston Red Sox rallied to beat the Orioles 6-5 on Thursday night.

Nick Sogard’s two-run shot in the eighth broke a 3-all tie. Baltimore led 3-1 after consecutive fourth-inning homers by Luis Robert Jr. and Pete Alonso, but the Orioles had just two hits after that.

Luis De León (0-2) took the loss. One of Baltimore’s top pitching prospects, he was called up earlier in the week, and both his appearances have been in the late innings with the game tied. He lost each time.

After a leadoff single by pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones, Rutschman hit a grounder to third. Jones slid hard into to second to break up a double play, and after De León struck out Wilyer Abreu, Yennier Cano came on.

Sogard hit a drive to right-center field for just his fourth homer of the year and only the second allowed by Cano in 61 appearances.

Roman Anthony added a solo homer in the ninth to make it 6-3.

Erik Miller (4-0) won in relief, and Aroldis Chapman held on for his 31st save in 33 chances despite allowing a two-run homer to Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the ninth.

ASTROS 6, WHITE SOX 2

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer and Daulton Varsho drove in two runs with a triple to lead Houston to a victory over the Chicago White Sox.

The Astros lead the AL West by 2 1/2 games over the second-place Rangers after winning three of four games in this series against the AL Central leaders.

The game was tied and the Astros had runners on first and second with one out in the third after Luis Castillo hit Yordan Alvarez on the shoulder with a pitch.

Isaac Paredes smashed an RBI double off the left-field wall to put the Astros on top. There were two outs in the inning when Varsho’s triple scored two more and push the lead to 5-2.

An RBI single by Christian Walker made it 6-2.

BLUE JAYS 6, GUARDIANS 3

CLEVELAND (AP) — Brett Bateman had three hits, Nathan Lukes lined a two-run double with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and Toronto moved within striking distance of the third AL wild-card spot with a victory over Cleveland.

Toronto (70-71) has won five of six and is a half-game behind Cleveland (70-70) after taking two of three in the series. The Blue Jays also won four of six in the season series.

Tanner Bibee took a major league-leading 15th loss for the Guardians. Austin Hedges had a two-run, bases-loaded single in the fifth inning to get Cleveland within 5-3.

Angel Genao came up as the potential tying run with runners on first and second and two outs in the ninth, but Louis Varland struck him out to pick up his 32nd save in 33 opportunities. Spencer Miles (6-2) got the win.

The game was tied at 1 before Toronto sent 10 to the plate in its four-run fifth.

PIRATES 5, GIANTS 2

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Six relievers combined on a two-hitter to lift the Pittsburgh to a win over San Francisco.

Rookie Khristian Curtis (1-0) earned the victory by working three-plus innings. The 24-year-old right-hander gave up the first two runs of his career in the seventh after 11 straight scoreless innings. Yohan Ramirez came on to limit the damage. Mason Montgomery worked the ninth for his 8th save.

The Pirates managed just five hits of their own but took advantage of some early control issues by San Francisco’s Blade Tidwell (0-2) to win for the sixth time in their last nine games.

Oneil Cruz walked three times, including a first-inning bases-loaded free pass from Tidwell that drove in a run. Jake Mangum reached base four times and drove in a run when Tidwell hit him with a pitch in the first immediately following Cruz’s at-bat.

Nick Gonzales’ seventh-inning single pushed his season hit total to 153, the most by a Pirates right-handed hitter since Starling Marte’s 159 in 2019.

CUBS 2, BREWERS 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 39th homer, Kevin Gausman threw seven sharp innings and Chicago beat Milwaukee.

The Cubs salvaged a split of a four-game series with the NL-Central leading Brewers and are eight games behind in the division standings. Milwaukee, which leads the season series 4-6, will host the Cubs for three games next week.

Gausman (9-11) allowed one run on five hits in his sixth start with the Cubs since they acquired the veteran right-hander from Toronto at the trade deadline. He struck out nine and walked one.

Brewers rookie Logan Henderson (9-3) yielded two runs on three hits in seven innings, striking out seven and walking none. The 24-year-old right-hander’s three-game winning streak ended, even though he’s allowed just five runs and has a 1.67 ERA over his last four starts.

Henderson retired 14 straight after Crow Armstrong’s two-run drive in the third inning put the Cubs ahead and moved the All-Star center fielder to one behind Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber for the major league home run lead. Crow-Armstrong golfed Henderson’s low changeup 413 feet to the basket in center field.

RANGERS 6, RAYS 0

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Cal Quantrill allowed two singles and two walks in seven innings, and Corey Seager hit a two-run homer as Texas beat Tampa Bay.

Quantrill (7-5) has a 1.25 ERA over eight outings, including seven starts, since July 28 at Tampa Bay. His ERA in seven career starts against the Rays is 1.77.

Jakob Junis and Chase Silseth finished the combined three-hitter, Texas’ 13th shutout this season.

Seager’s blast to right field in the fifth inning followed Ezequiel Duran’s flare to right that scored Logan O’Hoppe. Seager previously hit balls to the warning track in left and center.

The Rangers (70-71) are one-half game behind Cleveland for the AL’s final wild-card spot and trail first-place Houston in the West by two games.

Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan (10-7) allowed four runs in five innings. McClanahan hasn’t made it through six innings since July 8.

ROYALS 7, MARLINS 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Carter Jensen finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle with a home run, triple and a double while driving in three runs and scoring three times as Kansas City defeated Miami to avoid a three-game sweep.

The game was played in front of just 10,803 with a game-time temperature of 97 degrees.

Jensen has three home runs in the last two games for the Royals, who are tied with the Colorado Rockies and the Athletics with 10 series in which they’ve been swept this season.

Michael Wacha (9-8) allowed three runs in six innings, walked two and struck out seven.

Sandy Alcantara (13-9) allowed four runs and six hits through six innings for the Marlins, who were attempting to earn their third sweep against an American League team this season.

Boston Red Sox' Adley Rutschman hits a home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, for his second of the game, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Eala and her fans are headed to the weekend at the U.S. Open, along with two-time champion Naomi Osaka and 2023 winner Coco Gauff.

So is Madison Keys — just barely — but not No. 3 Felix Auger-Aliassime, who became the highest-seeded player knocked out of the tournament thus far. No. 6 Alex de Minaur losing in straight sets to Botic van de Zandschulp made it four of the top-10 seeded men's players to get eliminated before the third round.

Osaka recovered after a mid-match lapse to advance to the third round with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 victory over Katerina Siniakova on Thursday, before Eala beat Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-4.

Doubles play also began, though Serena and Venus Williams won’t play their first-round match until Friday night against Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint, who beat Serena in singles play at Wimbledon this summer.

Eala, the No. 17 seed from the Philippines, gave her passionate backers reason to cheer immediately by winning the first nine points against her Ukrainian opponent, who had won their only previous meeting.

“I think everybody represents something in their own way; I’m Filipino and I proudly represent that,” Eala said. “And a lot of the crowd here today is Filipino and I’m sure they share in that sentiment.”

Osaka wore silver and white under her long white jacket with a white visor as she arrived for her match in Arthur Ashe Stadium, three days after she was dressed in black with her hair done in cornrows under a headband in a tribute to former NBA superstar Allen Iverson for her opener at night.

The No. 13 seed won the first set in 30 minutes and then opened a 4-2 lead in the second. But her level of play took a substantial dip, with 20 unforced errors in the set after only four in the first.

Osaka quickly regained control, breaking for a 2-0 lead in the third before finishing a 19-shot rally with a volley for a winner en route to taking the next game, appearing more relieved than excited by her nice touch.

“The match was definitely really tough and I don’t know, I just felt like I had to fight,” Osaka said. “I definitely had a couple opportunities in the second set and I think I was a little bit too hard on myself. So I took the bathroom break, regrouped a little, came back and just tried to have no regrets.”

Auger-Aliassime said he was feeling dizzy and seeing spots and couldn't recover, falling to Karen Khachanov 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

“Karen is a great player. Look, I cannot beat him or anybody in this draw feeling the way I felt today,” the Canadian said. “If I cannot move, we’re not talking about tennis here.”

The highest seed to fall so far had been No. 4 Novak Djokovic, who lost in the first round at the U.S. Open for the first time in the 24-time Grand Slam champion's career.

Keys, the 2017 runner-up, also was on the verge of an early exit before erasing five match points and edging Anna Bondar 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (10-5).

“That was something, huh? No stress, though, we all knew I had it right?” Keys joked to the fans afterward.

Other winners included 2022 champion Iga Swiatek and 2025 runner-up Amanda Anisimova. Taylor Fritz, the 2024 men's runner-up, eased to 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Mattia Bellucci, while fifth-seeded Flavio Cobolli defeated Tristan Schoolkate 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.

Gauff, who won her first major title at Flushing Meadows three years ago, moved on by beating Paula Badosa 6-4, 7-6 (5) under the lights on Ashe in just under two hours. Badosa was playing for a third consecutive day, forced to finish her first-round match Wednesday after play was suspended Tuesday because of rain that hampered the tournament for multiple days.

“Paula's a tough player,” Gauff said. “I don't think there was too much I did wrong. I feel like she really stepped it up.”

No. 1 Alexander Zverev faces Quentin Halys in the nightcap, hoping for an easier time after needing five sets to edge Lorenzo Sonego on Tuesday, barely avoiding becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose in the first round of a men's major since 2003.

Also in action Thursday night was Gael Monfils, who is planning to retire after this year but won Tuesday on his 40th birthday to prolong his Grand Slam career and advance to face No. 14 Learner Tien.

See AP’s full tennis coverage here

Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, returns the ball to Karen Khachanov, of Russia, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Coco Gauff, of the United States, celebrates during the second set of her match against Paula Badosa, of Spain, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Alexandra Eala, of the Philippines, gestures after she won her match against Oleksandra Oliynykova, of Ukraine, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, falls as he tries to return the ball to Rinky Hijikata, of Australia, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Madison Keys, of the United States, celebrates after she defeated Anna Bondar, of Hungary, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Naomi Osaka, of Japan, hands off her arrival outfit ahead of a match against Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Iga Swiatek, of Poland, returns the ball to Nadia Podoroska, of Argentina, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Naomi Osaka, of Japan, arrives ahead of a match against Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Naomi Osaka, of Japan, arrives ahead of a match against Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Naomi Osaka, of Japan, reacts during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)