TORONTO: Troy Tulowitzki drove in the tying and go-ahead runs with a bases-loaded single in the eighth inning as the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 5-4 in Major League Baseball on Thursday for their season-best sixth straight victory.
Tulowitzki finished 2 for 4 with a walk and three RBIs. He is batting .338 (22 for 65) with 20 RBIs in 17 games since coming off the disabled list on June 18.
Jason Grilli (3-2) pitched one inning for the win. Roberto Osuna worked the ninth for his 18th save.
The Blue Jays pulled to within two games of first-place Baltimore Orioles in the American League East division.
Elsewhere, Nick Markakis homered twice, including a tying solo shot in the ninth inning, and Tyler Flowers’ two-out single in the 11th inning gave Atlanta a 4-3 win over the slumping Chicago Cubs.
Willson Contreras hit a two-run triple in a three-run eighth inning to put the Cubs up 3-2. But closer Hector Rondon blew his fourth save when he gave up the second homer to Markakis to lead off the ninth, Atlanta’s first hit since the second inning.
Flowers singled to right off Spencer Patton (1-1) and Freddie Freeman, who walked, barely beat Ben Zobrist’s throw home.
After starting 25-6, the Cubs have gone 27-27. They have lost seven of their last eight games to drop a game behind San Francisco for the best record in MLB.
In Kansas City, Missouri, Salvador Perez ripped a double off the wall in the ninth inning, scoring Whit Merrifield and Jarrod Dyson, as the Royals beat Seattle 4-3.
Merrifield doubled off Steve Cishek (2-5) to lead off the inning, followed by Perez’s shot off the wall in center — his second career game-ending hit.
Brooks Pounders (1-0) tossed a scoreless inning for his first MLB win.
In New York, Wilmer Flores hit a go-ahead, three-run homer and the Mets rallied to beat Washington 9-7 in the opener of a pivotal four-game series between the top teams in the NL East.
Travis d’Arnaud, Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera also went deep for New York in a slugfest that featured eight home runs — the most in the eight-year history of Citi Field.
Hansel Robles (3-3) retired Anthony Rendon with the bases loaded to end the fifth and worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The New York Yankees, meanwhile, got a 5-4 win over Cleveland, led by Didi Gregorius, who had two hits, including a solo homer.
Cleveland, which leads the AL Central division, lost its second straight home game after 13 wins in a row at Progressive Field. It had the potential winning run on base with two outs in the ninth, but Tyler Naquin was thrown out on a close play at first.
In St. Louis, Stephen Piscotty hit a three-run home run and Randal Grichuk also went deep to help the Cardinals beat Pittsburgh 5-1, ending the Pirates’ season-best seven-game winning streak.
Adam Wainwright (8-5) worked seven effective innings for St. Louis, which reclaimed second place in the NL Central division by a half-game over Pittsburgh.
San Diego’s Drew Pomeranz tossed two-hit ball over seven innings and Melvin Upton Jr. homered leading off the game as the Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 in a tough return for starter Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Ryu (0-1) gave up six runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings with four strikeouts and two walks. The South Korean left-hander was reinstated earlier Thursday from the 60-day disabled list to make his first MLB start since Sept. 12, 2014. He missed all of last season following shoulder surgery.
In Houston, Yonder Alonso doubled and drove in two runs and Rich Hill tied a season high with 10 strikeouts in six innings as Oakland defeated the Astros 3-1.
Minnesota’s Max Kepler drove in three runs with a homer and a short sacrifice fly and Tyler Duffey matched a career high with nine strikeouts as the last-place Twins again beat American League-leading Texas 10-1.
Colorado’s Trevor Story tied a National League rookie record for most home runs before the MLB All-Star break, homering twice and boosting his total to 21 as the Rockies beat Philadelphia 11-2.
And Albert Pujols and C.J. Cron drove in runs to back starter Hector Santiago and lead the Los Angeles Angels past Tampa Bay 5-1.
Blue Jays beat Tigers 5-4 for 6th straight MLB victory
Blue Jays beat Tigers 5-4 for 6th straight MLB victory
