Monday 8 September 2014 06:51, UK
The Seattle Mariners saw their five-game winning streak brought to an abrupt halt as they were beaten 1-0 by the Texas Rangers.
Derek Holland pitched seven scoreless innings and Andre Beltre contributed from the plate with a sacrifice fly as the Rangers put a minor dent in the Mariners' post-season hopes.
They were helped in that cause, though, by the Houston Astros who beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3 courtesy of a two-run ninth inning.
Five walks and a sacrifice fly from Jake Marisnick did the damage for the Astros as the Athletics stayed just two games clear of Seattle in the American League wild card race.
The Detroit Tigers are half a game back of the Mariners after a 6-1 win over the San Francisco Giants who occupy the top National League wild card spot.
The Pittsburgh Pirates moved into the second slot with a 10-4 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker combined for five runs as the Bucs registered 19 hits and four homers.
The Atlanta Braves are half-a-game back of the Pirates after a 4-0 loss to the Miami Marlins as are the Milwaukee Brewers who lost 9-1 to the St Louis Cardinals.
Adam Wainwright gave up a single hit as he pitched the whole game and helped condemn the Brewers to their 11th loss in 12 games.
The Cleveland Indians completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox with a 2-0 win while the Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Yankees by the same score and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-5.
The New York Mets were 4-3 winners over the Cincinnati Reds, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 3-1 and the Los Angeles Angels hammered the Minnesota Twins 14-4.
City neighbours the Dodgers were also victorious as they overcame the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2 while the Colorado Rockies blanked the San Diego Padres 6-0 and the Philadelphia Phillies lost 3-2 to the Washington Nationals.
