ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Randy Arozarena homered leading off ninth inning to give the major league-best Tampa Bay Rays a 2-1 victory over the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.

After Minnesota tied it in the top of the inning, Arozarena sent an 0-1 pitch from Jhoan Duran (1-2) to the opposite field into the stands in right-center field.

Jason Adam (1-2) blew his fourth save opportunity in 13 chances when the Twins rallied in the ninth.

Adam hit Donovan Solano with one out and walked Max Kepler after pinch-runner Michael A. Taylor stole second. Taylor then swiped third before Royce Lewis tied it with an RBI single.

Minnesota loaded the bases when Will Castro was hit by a pinch, but third baseman Isaac Paredes started a nifty double play with a tumbling throw to second on Ryan Jeffers’ grounder.

Paredes also homered, and six Rays pitchers combined on a three-hitter.

BLUE JAYS 3, ASTROS 2: Pinch-hitter Alejandro Kirk singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, Bo Bichette and Brandon Belt hit solo home runs and Toronto beat visiting Houston.

Chris Bassitt (7-4) gave up two runs and four hits with five strikeouts and no walks over eight innings in winning consecutive starts. Jordan Romano earned his 16th save in 19 chances for the Blue Jays, who have won 9 of 12.

INTERLEAGUE

ATHLETICS 9, PIRATES 5: Oakland won back-to-back games for just the third time season as Ryan Noda homered and reached base four times in a win at Pittsburgh.

Oakland’s first seven batters reached against Roansy Contreras (3-5). All seven scored to give Oakland its second road victory in less than 24 hours following a 15-game slide away from home.

Seth Brown had three of the A’s season-high tying 17 hits. Jace Peterson followed up a five-hit night with two more hits, including a two-run double that helped break things open in the first.

Hogan Harris (1-0) worked five innings to pick up his first major league victory after making a handful of appearances in relief. The 26-year-old allowed three runs on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts as an Oakland starter won for just the fourth time this season. Trevor May got two outs for his first save this season.

Rodolfo Castro homered and drove in three runs for Pittsburgh, which followed up a three-game sweep of NL Central rival St. Louis by becoming just the third team this season to lose a series to the major league-worst A’s, who at 14-50 are on pace to finish 35-127.

MARLINS 6, ROYALS 1: Luis Arraez singled twice and raised his major league-leading average to .403 as Miami won at home.

Jesús Sánchez homered, singled twice and had four RBI for the Marlins, who won their sixth straight. The consecutive three-game series sweeps over the Royals and Oakland A’s are the first by the Marlins at home since winning six straight against Washington and Houston in 2008.

BREWERS 10, ORIOLES 2: Joey Wiemer homered twice, Willy Adames also went deep in his return from the concussion list and Corbin Burnes pitched eight shutout innings in Milwaukee home win.

Wiemer went 4 for 4 with a pair of two-run shots, a double and a career-high five RBI. This marked the first time the rookie center fielder had more than two hits in a game.

CARDINALS 1, RANGERS 0: Alec Burleson pulled a first-pitch homer to right field in the eighth inning and visiting St. Louis beat Texas, ending Rangers infielder Marcus Semien’s hitting streak at 25 games.

Semien was 0 for 4 to stop the longest streak in the major leagues this season and the longest of his career. The streak tied for the second longest in club history, behind Gabe Kapler’s 28-gamer in 2000.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

PADRES 10, MARINERS 3: Juan Soto had a career-high five hits with four RBI, Gary Sánchez hit his fourth home in nine games since joining the Padres and San Diego routed visiting Seattle.

Soto had four singles and a double, raising his average to .265 with 10 homers and 31 RBI as the Padres tied their season high with 17 hits. Soto had an RBI single in the fourth, a two-run single in the three-run fifth and an RBI double that boosted the lead to 10-0 in the seventh. Every San Diego starter except Trint Grisham had a hit.

Matt Carpenter put San Diego ahead with a run-scoring single in the second, giving him 26 RBI, and Sánchez hit a three-run homer in the third off George Kirby (5-5).

Claimed off waivers from the New York Mets on May 29, Sánchez is batting .286 with 10 RBI. He has four homers in an eight-game span for the first time since 2021 and is the first San Diego player to achieve the feat since Jake Cronenworth, also in 2021.

DIAMONDBACKS 6, NATIONALS 2: Zach Davies earned his first victory in more than a year, Corbin Carroll homered and NL West-leading Arizona won at Washington.

The Diamondbacks have won 8 of 10, lead the National League with 37 victories and hold a two-game advantage over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the division.

Davies (1-1) had not earned a win since May 13, 2022, going 24 consecutive starts without one. But the 30-year-old right-hander was largely in control against the struggling Nationals, allowing only three runners to get into scoring position over 6 2/3 innings.

REDS 8, DODGERS 6: Elly De La Cruz hit a 458-foot drive for his first major league homer and Will Benson hit a game-ending home run in the ninth that lifted Cincinnati over visiting over Los Angeles, which lost its season-high fourth straight.

BRAVES 8, METS 6: Michael Harris II hit a two-run, tie-breaking homer off Adam Ottavino in the eighth inning and Atlanta rallied to beat visiting New York for its fourth straight victory.

The third-place Mets wasted a three-run lead for the second straight night. They have lost five straight for the first time since 2021 and at 30-32 dropped 7 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the NL East.

New York slugger Pete Alonso was hit on the left wrist by a 96 mph fastball from Charlie Morton in the first inning. The Mets said Alonso, who leads the major leagues with 22 homers, has a bruise and will get a CT scan on Thursday.

NOTES

POSTPONEMENTS: Major League Baseball postponed games in New York and Philadelphia because of poor air quality caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires.

The New York Yankees’ game against the Chicago White Sox was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader starting at 4:05 p.m. on Thursday, and the Philadelphia Phillies’ game against the Detroit Tigers was reset for 6:05 p.m. on Thursday, originally a day off for both teams.

“These postponements were determined following conversations throughout the day with medical and weather experts and all of the impacted clubs regarding clearly hazardous air quality conditions in both cities,” MLB said in a statement.

The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert for New York City, saying: “the New York State Department of Health recommends that individuals consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects.” In Philadelphia, the NWS issued a Code Red.

The Yankees and White Sox played through a lesser haze on Tuesday night.

YANKEES: Aaron Judge is headed to the injured list for the second time this season after the New York Yankees’ star hurt his right toe making a spectacular catch at Dodger Stadium.

The reigning AL MVP missed his second consecutive game Tuesday night. He met with team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad and underwent testing that showed a bruise and a sprained ligament, Yankees Manager Aaron Boone said following his team’s 3-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

Boone said Judge will be placed on the IL but did not give a timeline for his return. The slugger received a platelet-rich plasma injection.

“The biggest thing now is trying to get the swelling out of there,” Boone said. “Had some improvements today, but now just see where we are in the coming weeks, or days and then a week.”

Boone said Judge’s toe is not fractured.

“I think it definitely could have been worse,” Boone said. “Hopefully it’s on the shorter side of things.”

Judge banged his right toe while making a running catch and crashing into the outfield fence during the eighth inning of Saturday’s 6-3 win over the Dodgers. He sat out Sunday’s 4-1 victory.

The right fielder knocked open the door of the visitors’ bullpen while making the grab on J.D. Martinez’s liner into the corner with Max Muncy on first base and nobody out.

Judge, who set an AL record with 62 home runs last year, is headed to the injured list for the eighth time since making his major league debut on Aug. 13, 2016. The 31-year-old missed 10 games this season with a strained right hip after getting injured on a headfirst slide attempting to steal third at Minnesota on April 26.

ATHLETICS: The Oakland Athletics’ search for a new home has drawn Nevada lawmakers into a special legislative session to weigh whether the state should cover $380 million of the $1.5 billion stadium planned for the Las Vegas Strip.

Representatives from the Oakland A’s and tourism officials, mirroring many of the talking points from a hearing just over a week ago, pitched the project as an economic success in a late afternoon presentation to senators, who have mostly kept quiet about how they will vote.

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