Chris Davis hit a two-out grounder that scooted through the infield to score two runs as the Orioles escaped with a 5-3 victory over the Red Sox on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.

Rookie Danny Salazar was tagged for four runs in six innings as the Indians stayed a half-game back in the Wild Card race with a 7-2 loss to the Royals in Wednesday night’s rubber game.

The Yankees’ offense woke up in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s contest against the Blue Jays, scoring four runs in the frame and holding on to snap a four-game losing skid and dropping Toronto, 4-3, at Rogers Centre. The win moved the Yankees to within 2 1/2 games of an AL Wild Card spot.

A’s closer Grant Balfour reverted to his recent struggles in Wednesday afternoon’s series finale against the Angels, surrendering a game-tying two-run home run to Josh Hamilton in the ninth. Oakland went on to lose the rubber game, 5-4, in 11, but the Rangers’ loss to the Rays lowered the A’s magic number to clinch the American League West to five.

After Wednesday night’s 5-2 loss to the Braves, Nationals manager Davey Johnson announced that Stephen Strasburg would have his scheduled start Thursday against the Marlins pushed back. Gio Gonzalez will start Thursday and Strasburg will return on Saturday, barring any further setbacks.

Charlie Morton pitched brilliantly and Andrew McCutchen hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh, but the Pirates lost their third straight to the Padres, who stunned Pittsburgh with two runs in the ninth, leaving the NL Central deficit at two games with 10 left in the season.

The longest hitting streak in the Major Leagues reached 29 games Wednesday night, when Denard Span singled in the seventh inning against the Braves. If he gets a hit Thursday, Span will match the longest hitting streak in Nationals history, set by Ryan Zimmerman in 2009.

Hanley Ramirez’s return to the Dodgers’ lineup lasted one game. On Wednesday night, he not only wasn’t in the starting lineup, he wasn’t even on the field for batting practice.

Though Jacoby Ellsbury is still waiting to be cleared to resume baseball activities, the center fielder is “very confident” he will be back in the lineup before the regular season ends on Sept. 29.

Reds rookie Billy Hamilton stole four bases in his first Major League start, and also notched three hits on Wednesday. Hamilton is the first player in the live ball era to steal four bases in his first career start.

Jason Heyward took another step toward returning to Atlanta’s lineup when he took live batting practice against Braves Minor League pitcher Mark Lamm on Wednesday afternoon at Nationals Park.

Veteran lefty Bruce Chen went five innings for the win and Alcides Escobar stole home during a rundown to help the Royals earn a 7-2 victory over the Indians on Wednesday night.

Andy Pettitte and the Yankees were hard-luck losers on Tuesday, dropping a pivotal series opener to the Blue Jays, 2-0, before a crowd of 24,894 at Rogers Centre. The loss was New York’s fourth in a row and, combined with the Rangers’ win over the Rays, leaves the Yankees trailing both clubs by 3 1/2 games for one of two American League Wild Card spots.

Jay Bruce drove in five, including a grand slam, in Mike Leake’s superb scoreless start as the Reds gained a game on the Pirates in the division with a 10-0 win over the Astros on Tuesday.

On Tuesday night, the Bucs were again shown up by the Padres, 5-2, while each of the three teams with which they are involved in a stretch scramble had won or were in position to win big.

Like a metronome, the Pulse of the Postseason has been ticking again today.

Danny Valencia led off the ninth inning against Red Sox closer and former Orioles reliever Koji Uehara, who had retired 37 consecutive batters, with a triple to deep center field. Matt Wieters cashed in on the run with a sacrifice fly to right field and the Orioles completed a thrilling 3-2 comeback win.