AL wild-card roundup: Blue Jays, Orioles lone teams in hunt to win

It was a good day for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles in the American League wild-card picture.

Toronto and Baltimore were the lone clubs chasing the third wild-card spot to secure victories on Friday, as the Blue Jays won big at home over the Seattle Mariners and the Orioles secured an extra-inning triumph over the Athletics.

The wins allowed the AL East rivals to gain ground on the Cleveland Guardians, who saw their seven-game win streak end against the Kansas City Royals.

Friday's action also saw the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers lose to National League competition.

The Houston Astros, meanwhile, also benefited from the down day across the junior circuit, extending their lead atop the AL West.

Toronto: vs. Seattle, 3:07 p.m. (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+) Houston: at New York Mets, 4:10 p.m. New York Yankees: vs. Boston (Game 1), 1:05 p.m. (Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+) New York Yankees: vs. Boston (Game 1), 7:15 p.m. (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+) Baltimore: at Athletics, 10:05 p.m. (Sportsnet+) Boston: at New York Yankees (Game 1), 1:05 p.m. (Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+) Boston: at New York Yankees (Game 2), 7:15 p.m. (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+) Texas: at Milwaukee, 7:15 p.m. Cleveland: vs. Kansas City, 4:10 p.m. Minnesota: vs. Chicago White Sox, 2:10 p.m. Seattle: at Toronto, 3:07 p.m. Detroit: vs. L.A. Dodgers, 1:10 p.m. (Sportsnet+)

TORONTO — Dylan Cease struck out eight in six innings, George Springer was 4 for 4 with a home run, and Toronto beat Seattle.

Cease (9-5), who gave up four hits, one run and a walk, now has 217 strikeouts to lead the AL. The only pitcher in the majors with more is Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski with 222.

Cease is 5-1 with a 1.48 ERA in his past 10 starts, including two wins over the Mariners.

Springer, who scored three runs, singled in the first inning, doubled in the third, hit his 14th homer in the fifth and singled in the seventh. Springer hit a memorable homer the last time Toronto hosted Seattle, a three-run shot to put the Blue Jays ahead in Game 7 of the 2025 ALCS.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Coby Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand had two-out RBI singles in the 10th inning and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Athletics 4-3 on Friday night.

The Orioles pulled within two games of Cleveland for the final AL wild card.

Automatic runner Carlos Narváez started the 10th on second base and rookie Brady Basso (0-1) intentionally walked Pete Alonso with one out. Jackson Holliday struck out after Gunnar Henderson came in to pinch run for Alonso, and Mayo and Encarnacion-Strand each drove in a run for a 4-2 lead.

Brandon Young pitched seven innings and allowed a run on five hits and a walk in a start for Baltimore, leaving with a 2-1 lead. Andrew Kittredge (3-3) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win and rookie Alex Hoppe allowed an RBI single by Zack Gelof before closing out the 10th for his first save.