MLB Roundup: Tanaka, Yanks Roll

New York — Masahiro Tanaka struck out 15 over seven innings, his highest total since coming to the major leagues, and the playoff-bound New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0, on Friday to remain on the edge of contention in the AL East.

Already assured no worse than hosting a wild-card game against Minnesota, New York began the day three games behind AL East-leading Boston with three games left, The Yankees could take the division only by beating the Blue Jays both Saturday and Sunday, having Boston lose three in a row to Houston and then defeating the Red Sox in a tiebreaker game Monday at Yankee Stadium.

Tanaka (13-12) retired his first 14 batters before Ezequiel Carerra reached on an infield single up the middle just past Tanaka’s glove. Second baseman Starlin Castro made a backhand stop with a dive and threw off-balance from his knees, but Carerra easily beat a one-hop throw.

Indians 10, White Sox 1

Cleveland — Edwin Encarnacion had a three-run double, and Jay Bruce and Jose Ramirez drove in two runs apiece, leading the AL Central champion Indians over Chicago.

Cleveland maintained its one-game lead — and owns the tiebreaker — over Houston for the best record in the AL with two games remaining. The top seed will play the winner of the wild-card game between the Yankees or Red Sox and Twins in the Division Series.

Brewers 5, Cardinals 3

St. Louis — Stephen Vogt homered and drove in three runs, Chase Anderson allowed one run over seven innings, and the Brewers kept their playoff hopes alive.

The Brewers entered Friday two games behind the Colorado Rockies for the second wild card spot in the National League. Milwaukee has won four of its last six games.

Royals 2, Diamondbacks 1

Kansas City, Mo. — Ian Kennedy picked up his first home victory in more than a year as Kansas City defeated Arizona.

Marlins 6, Braves 5

Miami — Giancarlo Stanton went 2-for-4 with a single and a double and the Miami slugger remained at 59 home runs as Atlanta beat the Marlins.

Nationals 6, Pirates 1

Washington — Stephen Strasburg pitched 7⅔ shutout innings and Ryan Zimmerman homered twice to help Washington beat Pittsburgh.

Rays 7, Orioles 0

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Evan Longoria and Logan Morrison homered Friday night and Tampa Bay clinched third place in the AL East.

Cubs 5, Reds 4

Chicago — Ian Happ hit a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning, and the Cubs won for the 14th time in 17 games.

Phillies 6, Mets 2

Philadelphia — Maikel Franco, Jorge Alfaro and Cesar Hernandez all homered to support six strong innings from starter Ben Lively as Philadelphia defeated New York.

Rangers 5, Athletics 3

Arlington, Texas — Shin-Soo Choo tied a career high with his 22nd home run as Texas beat Oakland.

Rockies’ Blackmon Sets RBI Mark

Denver — Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon set a major league record for most RBIs in a season by a leadoff man.

Blackmon hit a two-run homer in the second inning on Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving him 101 RBIs from the top spot in the lineup. The player with the mullet and bushy beard has one more RBI this year while batting third.

World Series MVP Award Named For Mays

New York — Major League Baseball has named its World Series Most Valuable Player award after Willie Mays.

The decision was announced on Friday, the 63rd anniversary of Mays’ back-to-the-plate catch in deep center field at the Polo Grounds for the New York Giants against Cleveland’s Vic Wertz in the World Series opener.

The Giants went on to sweep the Indians.

The Series MVP award began the following year, when it was won by Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Johnny Podres.

Now 86, Mays played in 24 All-Star Games during a 22-year-career with the New York and San Francisco Giants, and the New York Mets.