MLB: Pirates in wildcard hunt, Nationals lose

The Pittsburgh Pirates continued their push for an MLB playoff spot, while the Washington Nationals were beaten.

The Pirates made it three straight wins and are just a game and a half outside the wildcard in the National League (NL) after a 9-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Josh Harrison went three-for-five for the Pirates, who had to rally from 5-1 down.

The Nationals went down to the Colorado Rockies through 11 innings, losing 9-4.

There were shut-out wins for the Cincinnati Reds (13-0 over the Arizona Diamondbacks), Texas Rangers (7-0 over the Cleveland Indians) and San Diego Padres (1-0 over the Miami Marlins).

The Toronto Blue Jays rallied past the Minnesota Twins 8-7 and Gary Sanchez homered once more in the New York Yankees' 13-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

The Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 3-1, the Oakland Athletics edged the St Louis Cardinals 3-2 and the Houston Astros overcame the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2.

The Chicago White Sox had 15 hits in a 9-3 win over the Seattle Mariners and the New York Mets thrashed the Philadelphia Phillies 12-1.

The Los Angeles Angels got past the Detroit Tigers 3-2, the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 8-3 and the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Chicago Cubs 3-2.

BLACKMON HOMERS TWICE

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon belted two home runs. He finished the game with three hits, three runs scored and three RBIs. Blackmon's two-run homer in the top of the 11th inning paved the way for the Rockies' victory.

STRANGE WIN FOR JAYS

Blue Jays outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. hit an unusual inside-the-park home run.

SANCHEZ KEEPS DELIVERING

Yankees rookie Sanchez became the first player in MLB history with 11 home runs in his first 23 games when he blasted a bomb in the fourth inning against the Orioles.

DODGERS LOOK FOR SERIES WIN

The Dodgers claimed a big win over the Cubs on Saturday as they try to beat the Giants in the NL West. They will try to win the series with Brock Stewart (0-2, 11.25 ERA) taking the mound to take on Jon Lester (14-4, 2.81 ERA).