Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko thrilled the home folks in attendance from Morgantown, W.Va., with a three-run home run that helped power the Padres to a 5-2 win over the Pirates on Tuesday night at PNC Park.

Koji Uehara had been perfect for weeks and impenetrable for months, but the Red Sox’s closer finally had an off-night on Tuesday, and it happened to come with the game on the line in a 3-2 loss to the Orioles at Fenway Park.

Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson hurled a 92-mph fastball to leadoff man Ian Kinsler, who took it for a ride to left field, the first run in a 7-1 runaway win for the Rangers, who pulled into a tie with the Rays for the top spot in the AL Wild Card race.

Ian Kinsler hit the first pitch of the game from Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson over the left-field wall for a home run. That put the Rangers out front, Alexi Ogando kept them there until they added four more in the third and the seven-game losing streak came to an end with a 7-1 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night.

Roy Halladay will head home Tuesday night with some encouraging results for a change. He allowed four hits and one run in six innings in a 6-4 victory over the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park, and he was backed by Chase Utley’s four RBIs.

It may have taken all season, but R.A. Dickey seems to have figured out the Rogers Centre. Dickey had an ERA almost two full runs higher at home entering Tuesday’s contest with the Yankees, but was basically flawless over seven strong innings in the Blue Jays’ 2-0 win.

Freddy Garcia gave the Braves exactly what they wanted as he produced seven strong innings in Tuesday’s nightcap. But the veteran hurler’s effort went unrewarded as the Braves were once again baffled by Tanner Roark in a 4-0 loss to the Nationals.

Denver couple Thijs and Evelyn Storms used the Double Down feature Tuesday night and got singles from the Yanks’ Robinson Cano and the Phillies’ Carlos Ruiz to up their Beat the Streak run to 44 consecutive games.

The Nationals are doing everything they can to stay in the Wild Card race. In the second game of a day-night doubleheader, right-hander Tanner Roark pitched a gem as Washington defeated the Braves, 4-0, at Nationals Park on Tuesday night, completing a twin-bill sweep.

Chris Davis set a new Orioles franchise record in the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Red Sox when he belted his 51st home run, a deep shot to center field off Boston starter Ryan Dempster.

Theo Epstein said Tuesday that the Cubs were “nowhere close to where we want to be offensively,” and two players who have struggled in that regard are Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro.

After selling out the first two levels for potential games in the American League Division Series in two hours on Tuesday morning, the A’s made the decision to remove the upper-level tarps to bring in an additional 12,000-plus fans.

Nationals outfielder Denard Span extended his hitting streak to 28 games on Tuesday night against the Braves, bypassing Colorado’s Michael Cuddyer for the longest hitting streak in the Major Leagues this season.

The A’s were relieved on Tuesday to find Yoenis Cespedes’ MRI results revealed there was no tear, only tendinitis, in the outfielder’s right shoulder. Cespedes will continue to play “as tolerated,” said manager Bob Melvin.

Mets pitcher Matt Harvey will attempt to rehab his right elbow for a month or two rather than undergo Tommy John surgery.

Hanley Ramirez and Matt Kemp returned to the Dodgers’ lineup Tuesday night, the former expected by manager Don Mattingly, the latter not so much.

While the National League East has not been as exciting as expected, the Braves and Nationals have certainly staged a number of thrilling battles against each other this year. But there has not been an inning that provided more unexpected events than the one that concluded the thrilling 6-5 win the Nationals claimed over the Braves in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader at Nationals Park.