WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Kazuma Okamoto and Josh Smith hit home runs, José Soriano worked seven innings of two-run ball, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Athletics 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Toronto (73-73) sits a game behind the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final AL wild-card spot.
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Athletics' Carlos Cortes jogs around the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Andrés Giménez fields a ground ball off the bat of Athletics' Alika Williams, not shown, before throwing to first base for the out during the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
Toronto Blue Jays' Josh Smith grounds into a double play that resulting in an RBI during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
Toronto Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto hits a single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
Smith, who was traded from the Texas Rangers on Aug. 3, opened the scoring in the second inning with a 360-foot shot to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. In his 20 games with the Blue Jays, he has five homers.
Okamoto followed in the next at-bat with the 30th home run of his rookie season. He joins White Sox rookie first baseman Munetaka Murakami as the only other Japanese-born player to accomplish the feat in his rookie campaign.
The milestone also marked the first time in major league history that three rookies have hit 30 or more home runs in the same season. Cincinnati's Sal Stewart is the other.
Alejandro Kirk hit an RBI single, and Smith capped the scoring by grounding into a one-run double play.
Soriano (12-7), who was traded from the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 3 as well, struck out three and gave up six hits. Spencer Miles worked two hitless innings for his second save of the season.
Carlos Cortes and Donovan Walton each had home runs for the Athletics.
Athletics starting pitcher Jack Perkins (3-11) allowed all four runs on seven hits while fanning three.
Athletics’ LHP Brady Basso (1-2, 4.32 ERA) takes the mound while the Blue Jays have yet to announce a starter for the series finale on Wednesday.
This story has been updated to correct Toronto’s record and wild-card situation.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Athletics' Carlos Cortes jogs around the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Andrés Giménez fields a ground ball off the bat of Athletics' Alika Williams, not shown, before throwing to first base for the out during the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
Toronto Blue Jays' Josh Smith grounds into a double play that resulting in an RBI during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
Toronto Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto hits a single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Republican John E. Sununu and Democrat Chris Pappas will compete for an open U.S. Senate seat in New Hampshire in a race that has emerged as one of a handful around the country that could determine control of the chamber in November.
Sununu, a former U.S. senator, and Pappas, a member of the U.S. House, are vying to replace U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, whose decision not to seek reelection created a cascade of competitive races. Both entered their respective party primaries as strong front-runners and now have just eight weeks to make their case to general election voters.
Republicans view the seat as an opportunity to regain a foothold in a region long dominated by Democrats in Congress. Democrats, meanwhile, need a net gain of four seats to retake the chamber, and keeping New Hampshire in their column is a critical part of that effort.
In other top races, Stefany Shaheen, Shaheen's daughter, won a close primary and will face Republican Anthony DiLorenzo in the race to fill Pappas' open seat in the 1st Congressional District. The 2nd Congressional District will feature a matchup between U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat seeking her second term, and Republican Lily Tang Williams.
Pappas, who is giving up his seat in the 1st Congressional District after four terms, defeated four other candidates, including democratic socialist Karishma Manzur, who had been gaining on him in recent weeks.
Speaking to supporters at his family's restaurant in Manchester, he quickly sought to link Sununu to President Donald Trump, who endorsed Sununu even though Sununu called him “a loser” during the 2024 presidential campaign.
“While New Hampshire families are struggling to make ends meet, John Sununu has thrown his lot in with Donald Trump and supports the policies that cater to big corporations and billionaires while they make life harder for Granite Staters,” said Pappas, whose campaign also quickly posted a negative ad on social media calling Sununu “a sequel we can't afford.”
“We've got to turn the page on Donald Trump's reckless leadership, on corruption, on the rigged economy and on costs, and this is not the time to turn it back to a failed politician from the past," he said at his victory party.
Sununu, who spent six years in the U.S. House and one term in the Senate before being ousted by Shaheen in 2008, called Pappas a career politician who has held office for virtually his entire adult life.
“He’s not an independent voice for New Hampshire,” Sununu said at his victory party at a Manchester ski area. “Chris Pappas has three main qualities: ineffective, partisan and out of touch with New Hampshire.”
Sununu defeated seven other Republicans to win the primary, including former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who accused him of coasting on his name. Sununu's father and younger brother are both former governors.
Jim Loomis, 83, of Bow, said he backed Brown in 2014 but not on Tuesday because “he never got traction back again.” He acknowledged Sununu had been out of politics for even longer but still voted for him.
“I think what he’s done for work over the years has kept him close enough to what’s going on, and then with his family ties, I just think he’s got a more stable base,” Loomis said.
Stefany Shaheen and Maura Sullivan were the leading candidates among seven seeking the Democratic nomination in the 1st District.
Shaheen is a former city councilor in Portsmouth. She founded a business to help people with chronic medical conditions after one of her daughters was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. She also is part of a bio-tech initiative in New Hampshire to advance regenerative medicine.
Speaking to her supporters Tuesday night before the race was called, Shaheen said she was campaigning to “take on Donald Trump and his disastrous corruption, his endless war, his attacks on small business with these disastrous tariffs, the skyrocketing costs families are facing in New Hampshire and across the country.” But she also said running against the president wouldn’t be enough, that she would give voters a reason to turn out for the general election.
“We can bring the real change that’s needed, starting with healthcare, starting with Medicare for all,” she said.
Sullivan is a retired Marine and Iraq War veteran who served as an assistant secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs under President Barack Obama. A vice chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, Sullivan ran for the 1st District seat in 2018, losing in an 11-candidate primary to Pappas in his first congressional bid.
Her campaign did not immediately return a call and email seeking a response after Shaheen won. Earlier in the night, Sullivan addressed her supporters and thanked them for their hard work during the campaign.
"What we are doing right now is send such an incredible message for change, and that politics as usual is not, is not going to get us where we need to go," she said.
On the Republican side, political newcomer DiLorenzo, who owns a chain of car dealerships and has been endorsed by Trump, won the Republican primary. He defeated three other candidates, including Hollie Noveletsky, a veteran and nurse practitioner who runs a steel fabrication company and ran for the same seat two years ago.
“Our campaign is about prosperity,” DiLorenzo told supporters. “I believe that Washington, D.C., needs more pragmatic businesspeople.”
In the 2nd District, first-term incumbent Goodlander overcame a primary challenge from Paige Beauchemin, a progressive state lawmaker and nurse. Tang Williams, who was the nominee two years ago and was making her third attempt at the seat, won the Republican primary.
In contrast to the all-Democratic congressional delegation, Republicans dominate state government.
Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte defeated two little-known opponents in her primary as she seeks a second two-year term. Cinde Warmington, a healthcare attorney, was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
Voters also were nominating candidates for the entire state Legislature, where Republicans hold a roughly 40-vote majority in the 400-member House and outnumber Democrats in the Senate 16-8.
Accustomed to going first when it comes to presidential primaries, New Hampshire is among the last states to hold state-level primary elections. But legislation passed this year moves future state primaries to the second Tuesday in June.
Camille Coulborn of Chesterfield, N.H., fills out her ballot inside a voting booth in Chesterfield during the New Hampshire State Primaries on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)
Republican U.S. Senate nominee John E. Sununu gesturing while addressing supporters in Manchester, N.H., on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, shortly after winning his party's primary election. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)
Republican U.S. Senate nominee John E. Sununu gesturing while addressing supporters in Manchester, N.H., on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, shortly after winning his party's primary election. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)
Karishma Manzur, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, talks with a group of potential voters outside Brothers Cortado in Bicentennial Square in Concord, N.H., Friday, July 24, 2026. (Geoff Forester/The Concord Monitor via AP)
Former Sen. John E. Sununu, who is seeking the GOP nomination for his old seat, takes a selfie with supporter Sudie Francouer, in Berlin, N.H., Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Holly Ramer)
Former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, a Republican who previously represented Massachusetts and is making his second run for Senate in New Hampshire, addresses voters at an American Legion hall in Londonderry, New Hampshire, on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Holly Ramer)
FILE - Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, April 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)
Former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown listens to a voter in Londonderry, New Hampshire, on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, as he campaigns for the GOP nomination for the state’s open Senate seat. (AP Photo/Holly Ramer)
Former Sen. John E. Sununu, who is running for his old seat nearly 18 years after being ousted, mingles with voters at the Coos County Republican Committee BBQ in Berlin, N.H., Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Holly Ramer)
