Jon Lester turned in seven strong innings and Coco Crisp scored the go-ahead run in the eighth on a wild pitch, lifting the A’s to a 2-1 victory and into a tie atop the AL West with the Angels.

When Marlins manager Mike Redmond saw the ball come off Justin Morneau’s bat, all he could think was “this thing is over.” As his brain swirled to process what seemed destined to be a walk-off single, Redmond hardly had a chance to focus on the gravity-bending play that was unfolding in front of him. But as soon as shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria came down with the grab in no-man’s land, Redmond remembered who he was dealing with.

Corey Dickerson’s habit of hitting the ball hard won a game for the Rockies on Saturday night. Dickerson, who tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a third-deck homer, singled in the bottom of the 13th to give the Rox a 5-4 victory over the Marlins in front of 31,109.

It wasn’t classic Justin Verlander, but with 5 2/3 innings, it was enough for the Tigers to get to rookie Twins starter Trevor May, add on against Minnesota’s bullpen and salvage a split of their day-night doubleheader with an 8-6 win Saturday night at Target Field.

Protecting a one-run lead Saturday night in the ninth, Sean Doolittle felt a sudden pain in his right side, near his back. However, the A’s closer said he was confident that it was nothing serious after completing a series of twisting and stretching exercises with the training staff.

With the rotation in a jam, Zack Greinke stepped up Saturday night and battled through seven innings as the Dodgers beat the Mets, 7-4, thanks in large part to a homer and five RBIs from Adrian Gonzalez.

Road trip. Sounds like fun. And, on this particular occasion, that’s what it has been for the Royals, who continued their journey with a 6-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night. That gave the Kansas City tourists a 6-2 record on their trip with one game remaining.

Right-hander Mike Leake delivered Saturday night, working 6 2/3 shutout innings and scoring the game’s only run as Cincinnati edged Atlanta, 1-0, at Great American Ball Park. The Reds snapped a seven-game losing streak with the win.

Clint Hurdle firmly believes that his Pittsburgh Pirates can reach the postseason for the second straight year. The way the Pirates have played the last two nights against division-leading Milwaukee, there was no reason at all to dispute Hurdle’s position.

It wasn’t pretty, but all that mattered is, in the end, the Cardinals’ effort on Saturday night was effective. The Cardinals beat the Phillies, 6-5, in a 12-inning marathon on a damp night at Citizens Bank Park.

The fathers of Pirates players had heard all about the difficulty their sons have here, so they came to Miller Park to see for themselves. They think they’ve been put on, after seeing the boys put it to the Brewers for the second straight night. Saturday’s 10-2 romp gave the Pirates eight wins in their last 15 games in Miller Park — following a 7-46 skid here. This latest victory also moved the Bucs within four games of the National League Central-leading Brewers.

Rookie Tyler Holt scored the decisive run on fellow rookie Jose Ramirez’s slapped single to left field, delivering a 3-2 victory over the Astros at Progressive Field Saturday night.

After losing an early lead, the D-backs clinched their series with the Padres with a 5-2 win on Saturday night at Chase Field thanks to a late home run by Didi Gregorius.

The Mariners didn’t wait til the last minute on Saturday, instead dropping the hammer on Boston with a seven-run fourth inning en route to a 7-3 victory at Fenway Park that keeps Seattle in position as the final Wild Card team in the American League.

Major League Baseball’s players may be many years removed from their days of playing Little League ball, but they haven’t forgotten their roots. Led by Colorado’s LaTroy Hawkins, many donated funds to send Little Leaguers’ families to the LLWS championship.

A shutout performance by the bullpen and a four-spot in the second inning led the Cubs to a 7-2 win over the Orioles on a rainy Saturday at Wrigley Field. The victory gave Chicago its third series victory of August.

Maybe Saturday was the start of a new winning streak for the Nationals. A day after watching their 10-game winning streak come to an end, the Nationals came back and downed the Giants, 6-2, at Nationals Park.