Orioles pull even with Blue Jays

NEW YORK — Ubaldo Jimenez allowed one hit in 6-2/3 scoreless innings and the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Blue Jays 4-0 to tie Toronto for the first American League wild-card spot Thursday. The Orioles (87-72) victory eliminated Houston and the New York Yankees from wild-card contention. Jimenez (8-12) walked three and struck out five, while Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman (9-10) allowed nine hits, two walks and four runs in seven-plus innings. He struck out three in losing his fifth straight decision. Yankees 5, Red Sox 1: CC Sabathia pitched 7-1/3 effective innings, but despite victory over Boston, New York was eliminated from postseason contention. Sabathia finished his eighth season with the Yankees by allowing one run and four hits. He struck out the first four hitters, eight overall and threw 105 pitches. Starlin Castro, Jacoby Ellsbury and Aaron Hicks had RBI doubles for the Yankees. Rookie Tyler Austin had a bases-loaded walk and Chase Headley scored on a wild pitch. Xander Bogaerts homered for the Red Sox, who dropped their third straight following an 11-game winning streak. Mariners 3, Athletics 2: Mike Zunino broke a tie with a leadoff homer in the seventh inning as the Seattle Mariners held off a ninth-inning Oakland rally to keep their slim postseason chances alive. Zunino took Oakland reliever Liam Hendriks (0-4) deep in the seventh, and Ketel Marte added an RBI single in the eighth. The Mariners (85-74) stayed within two games of co-leaders Toronto and Baltimore in the American League wild-card standings. The Detroit Tigers (85-73) are 1-1/2 games out in the wild-card race after their scheduled game against the Cleveland Indians was rained out. Toronto, Baltimore and Seattle have three games remaining. Detroit has four to go, including a potential makeup game. Cubs 1, Pirates 1 (6 innings): The Cubs and Pittsburgh were tied 1-1 when rain washed out the rest of the game and will go down as the first tie in Major League Baseball since the Houston Astros and Reds played to a 2-2 tie in Cincinnati on June 30, 2005. The game, which counts toward player stats, would have been official if either team had been in the lead at the time play was called. Cubs rookie left-hander Rob Zastryzny pitched 3-1/3 innings in his first career start. Nationals 5, Diamondbacks 3: A patchwork lineup made up of young players and veterans trying to prove themselves for a postseason roster spot led the National League East division champion Washington Nationals to a 5-3 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That trimmed Washington’s magic number to two to clinch the homefield edge over the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NLDS that begins Oct. 7. Wilmer Difo hit the first homer of his career, Pedro Severino clubbed his second and Michael A. Taylor had three hits and two RBIs for the Nationals. Elsewhere it was: Dodgers 9, Padres 4; Indians-Tigers (postponed); Cardinals 4, Reds 3; Giants 7, Rockies 2; Braves 5, Phillies 2; Twins 7, Royals 6; Rays 5, White Sox 3. — Agencies