Jon Lester, making his eighth start for Oakland, came to the rescue against the White Sox in an 11-2 victory on Tuesday night, allowing two runs on seven hits in eight innings and striking out eight.

Casey McGehee and Marcell Ozuna hit back-to-back homers with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Marlins a 6-3 victory over the reeling Brewers on Tuesday night and move Miami one game closer in the chase for the second National League Wild Card spot.

Closer Greg Holland was not going to be used on Tuesday night, manager Ned Yost said after the Royals’ 4-2 loss to the Tigers.

Mike Trout’s RBI triple sparked a big eighth inning, while Kole Calhoun’s homer in the first helped set the tone for the Angels’ 9-3 win over the Rangers on Tuesday night.

Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond left Tuesday’s 6-4 victory over the Braves in the sixth inning because of lower back tightness. The injury is not considered serious. In fact, Desmond indicated that he could play against Atlanta in the series finale Wednesday afternoon.

Aided by a three-hit night from Freddy Galvis, who also scored the game-winning run, the Phillies beat the postseason-hopeful Pirates, 4-3, on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park. The Pirates’ lead over the Brewers and Braves for the second NL Wild Card spot remains at 1 1/2 games as Milwaukee and Atlanta both lost on Tuesday.

Experiencing increased soreness in his left hand and wrist, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia could be shut down for the rest of the season, with surgery a definite possibility. Pedroia said a decision should come Wednesday, and if necessary, he’d have surgery as soon as possible.

The Nationals continue to roll and dropped their magic number to win the National League East race to 10 as they downed the Braves, 6-4, at Nationals Park on Tuesday night. The Nationals could win the East as early as next week in Atlanta.

Joe Nathan put his veteran savvy and athleticism on display Tuesday night, picking off pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson at second base to help secure the Tigers’ 4-2 win over the Royals at Comerica Park.

In Tuesday night’s 4-1 win over the Red Sox at Fenway, a new face put the first-place Orioles one step closer to October, with Alejandro De Aza homering twice to whittle Baltimore’s magic number to clinch the division to nine. The O’s maintained a 10-game lead in the American League East and are 33-19 against Boston since 2012.

Mets third baseman David Wright announced late Tuesday night that he will not play again out of concern for his balky left shoulder, which has bothered him to varying degrees since June.

Rusney Castillo took his final climb up the Minor League ladder on Tuesday night, when he arrived at Triple-A Pawtucket for Game 1 of the Governors Cup finals. In less than a week, the Cuban outfielder will probably be playing for the Red Sox.

The Yogi Berra Museum unveiled its new Lou Gehrig exhibit on Tuesday night, along with some equipment from Pete Frates, the former college baseball player who suffers from ALS and popularized the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

Matt Borelli, an 18-year-old from Connecticut, has his streak snapped at 38 consecutive correct picks Tuesday night on his thwarted trek toward a potential $5.6 million windfall.

Major League Baseball issued an illustrated memorandum to all teams Tuesday in an attempt to clear up any potential confusion about the rules governing collisions at home plate.

Angels cleanup hitter Josh Hamilton on Tuesday missed his fifth straight game with lingering stiffness near his right shoulder, an ailment that doesn’t seem to be getting any better as the regular season winds down.

Masahiro Tanaka is moving closer to game action. On the disabled list since July, the right-hander threw 45 pitches over three simulated innings on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium and said that he continues to feel improvement with his pitching elbow.