ST. LOUIS • Victor Caratini hit a threerun homer and Blake Perkins added a solo shot, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday in the final game of a four-game series.

The Brewers’ magic number to clinch their second National League Central title in three years fell to three with nine games to play.

Milwaukee (87-66) could wrap up the division title as soon as Friday in Miami with another victory along with two Chicago Cubs losses.

The Brewers have won eight of their last 11 and 22 of their last 31 games.

Rays 5, Angels 4

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. • Manuel Margot flared a run-scoring single to right field to complete a two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning and playoff-bound Tampa Bay beat Los Angeles.

Tampa Bay, which holds the top AL wild card, started the day 2 1/2 games behind AL East-leading Baltimore, which holds the tiebreaker.

Pinch-hitter Harold Ramírez and Yandy Díaz started the ninth with singles off Angels closer Carlos Estévez (5-5). Ramírez went to third on Curtis Mead’s fly ball and scored to tie it at 4 on Isaac Paredes RBI single.

After Randy Arozarena struck out and Josh Lowe walked to load the bases, Margot delievered his opposite-field game-winning hit that handed Estévez his fourth blown save in 34 chances.

Braves 10, Nationals 3

WASHINGTON • Ronald Acuña Jr. scored his 140th run of 2023 — the most in the majors in 16 years — after tripling, Matt Olson hit his 53rd homer and Ozzie Albies went deep for one of his four hits, lifting NL East champion Atlanta past last-place Washington.

The Braves out-hit the Nationals 18-8, and every member of Atlanta’s daunting starting lineup reached base at least once. Olson raised his RBI total to 132, equaling Gary Sheffield in 2003 for the most by a Braves player since the club moved to Atlanta. Albies went 4 for 6, including his 32nd homer, with four RBIs to top 100 in a season for the second time in his career.

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3

NEW YORK • Gerrit Cole retired the first 16 hitters and pitched eight outstanding innings to strengthen his Cy Young Award credentials as New York moved back over .500 with a victory over Toronto.

Cole (14-4) allowed a run and two hits in his longest outing since pitching a two-hit shutout against Minnesota on April 16. He struck out nine, walked none and permitted two baserunners while lowering his AL-best ERA to 2.75.

Guardians 5, Orioles 2

CLEVELAND • Ramón Laureano drew a bases-loaded walk off Jacob Webb for the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, sending Cleveland past AL East-leading Baltimore.

The Guardians scored three times in the bottom of the eighth — all charged to Cionel Pérez (4-2) — immediately after the Orioles tied the game with two in the top half. Bo Naylor’s run-scoring single and Gabriel Arias’ RBI grounder followed Laureano’s walk that plated Josh Naylor.

Pirates 8, Cubs 6

CHICAGO • Miguel Andújar had thee hits and drove in three runs, Joshua Palacios hit a pinch-hit three-run homer in the ninth inning, and Pittsburgh held off a late rally by slumping Chicago.

The loss was the 10th in the last 13 games for the Cubs, who fell into a tie with Miami for the final NL wild-card spot.

Phillies 5, Mets 4

PHILADELPHIA • Nick Castellanos homered and drove in four runs to reach a career-best 103 RBIs in a season, and Philadelphia maintained its hold on the top NL wild-card spot by beating New York.

Alec Bohm also went deep and Bryce Harper added a pair of hits for the defending NL champion Phillies, who opened a seven-game homestand with their fifth win in their last seven games.

Dodgers 7, Giants 2

LOS ANGELES • J.D. Martinez’s sacrifice fly drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers capitalized on two physical and one mental blunder by the San Francisco Giants to win 7-2.

The Giants have dropped six of seven to fall further out of the NL wild-card race.

Tigers 7, Athletics 3

OAKLAND, CALIF. • Tarik Skubal had a season-high 10 strikeouts in seven strong innings for his fourth consecutive win, and Detroit handed Oakland its eighth consecutive loss.