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First Posted: 8/15/2014

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Alex Cobb pitched neatly into the eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays became just the fourth team in major league history to reach .500 after falling 18 games under in the same season, beating the New York Yankees 5-0 Friday night.

The Rays won their third in a row and sent New York to its fifth straight loss.

Tampa Bay also accomplished the comeback feat in 2004 when known as the Devil Rays. The 1899 Louisville Colonels and 2006 Florida Marlins have also done it.

The Rays, now 61-61, were 24-42 on June 10. They are trying to become the first club to finish with a winning record after being 18 games under.

Cobb (8-6) gave up six hits in 7 1-3 innings. After giving up a single to Derek Jeter that loaded the bases, Brad Boxberger struck Jacoby Ellsbury and Mark Teixeira.

Brandon McCarthy (4-2) took the loss.

Mariners 7, Tigers 2

DETROIT — Robinson Cano homered, James Paxton won his sixth consecutive decision to start his career and surging Seattle beat Detroit in a matchup of American League playoff contenders.

Paxton (3-0) pitched six innings, allowing one run and five hits, to help Seattle win its fifth straight and ninth in 11 games. Cano and Logan Morrison each scored twice for the Mariners, who jumped a half-game ahead of Detroit in the race for the second AL wild card.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Nationals 5, Pirates 4

WASHINGTON — Bryce Harper and Adam LaRoche each drove in two runs, leading Washington over Pittsburgh for a fourth straight win.

Denard Span added three hits as the NL-East leading Nationals opened a 10-game homestand. Tanner Roark (12-7) gave up three runs on five hits over 5 2-3 innings. He struck out four and walked two. Rafael Soriano allowed three hits in the ninth, including Pedro Alvarez’s RBI single, but held on for his 29th save.

Starling Marte hit a two-run homer and singled for the Pirates, who have lost three straight.

Mets 3, Cubs 2

NEW YORK — Zack Wheeler struck out 10 in a gritty performance, Eric Campbell hit a three-run homer and New York beat free-swinging Chicago.

Wheeler (8-8) threw a career-high 120 pitches in 6 2-3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits. He walked four and hit a batter but overpowered the Cubs in improving to 5-0 in his last nine starts.

The Cubs entered having struck out 77 times in their previous seven games, including 16 on Thursday in a loss to Milwaukee. Five of their first six outs Friday came by the K, and they fanned 14 times overall.

Jenrry Mejia fanned one in a perfect ninth for his 18th save.

Travis Wood (7-10) gave up three runs and four hits in 5 1-3 innings to drop to 0-5 in his last 11 starts.

Diamondbacks 3, Marlins 2

MIAMI — Aaron Hill and Cliff Pennington hit home runs in the first inning and Arizona held on to beat Miami.

Trevor Cahill (3-8) pitched 6 2-3 innings allowing two runs and six hits for the Diamondbacks. Addison Reed worked the ninth for his 29th save in 34 chances.

Marlins starter Brad Hand (2-5) allowed three runs in seven innings.

The Marlins threatened in the eighth, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia bounced into an inning-ending double play, one of four turned by the Diamondbacks. Pennington hit his first homer since May 1, 2013, against San Francisco, and Hill added a two-run shot, his 10th of the season.

The Marlins responded with two runs in the bottom half on RBI singles by Giancarlo Stanton and Garrett Jones.

INTERLEAGUE

Braves 7, Athletics 2

ATLANTA — Freddie Freeman hit a three-run homer, one of four for Atlanta in a win over Oakland in the opening game of the interleague series.

Justin Upton and Evan Gattis hit homers off Jason Hammel (1-5) in the second inning. Rookie Phil Gosselin hit a two-run homer, the first of his career, off Jesse Chavez in the sixth.

It was a rare power surge for the Braves, who had not scored more than four runs in any of their past six games. The Braves entered the game having lost 12 of 15.

Alex Wood (9-9) allowed only two runs in six innings — a two-run homer by Nate Freiman in the fourth. The A’s have lost three straight and five of six.