Kansas City Royals' John Rave (16) celebrates in the dugout after scoring on a single by Miakel Garcia during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — John Rave hit a tiebreaking, bases-clearing double during a seven-run eighth inning, and the Kansas City Royals rallied past the Athletics 9-7 on Wednesday night.

Rave entered the game in the fifth as a pinch-hitter for Jac Caglianone, who exited with right ankle soreness. In the eighth, he came up with the bases loaded and two outs after an intentional walk to Bobby Witt Jr. and hit a line drive to the corner in right off Drew Rom (1-1) to make it 8-5.

Kansas City trailed 5-2 entering the eighth. Maikel Garcia opened the inning with a triple off Hayden Juenger, who did not record an out. Vinnie Pasquantino followed with an RBI single.

Kyle Isbel’s run-scoring single off Rom got the Royals within 5-4, and Isaac Collins tied it with a sacrifice fly. Garcia made it 9-5 with his second hit of the inning.

Pasquantino homered in the sixth.

Craig Kimbrel (1-2) worked a scoreless eighth. Steven Cruz allowed a two-run homer to Max Muncy in the ninth.

Jeff McNeil and Zack Gelof each drove in two runs for the Athletics, who have lost the first three of their four-game series at Kansas City and 16 of 20 overall.

Royals starter Seth Lugo allowed five runs on nine hits in six innings. Jeffrey Springs worked 5 2/3 innings for the A’s and departed with a 5-2 lead.

METS 4, PADRES 2

NEW YORK — Carson Benge hitting a two-run homer to conclude an impressive series, helping the New York Mets beat the San Diego Padres 4-2.

The fourth-inning homer was the 15th of the season for Benge, who is the first Mets rookie with at least 15 homers and 15 steals since fellow right fielder Darryl Strawberry in 1983.

Benge threw out two runners at the plate in the first inning of Monday’s 2-1 win. He has nine assists this season, including five since Aug. 4 — a span in which the Mets are 11-4 despite a massive sell-off at the trade deadline.

Jared Young capped a two-run eighth with an RBI single.

Nate Lavender (1-0) was credited with the win after retiring all three batters he faced in the sixth. Lavender. Jefry Yan and Jonathan Pintaro all earned their first big league victories on the six-game homestand.

Kodai Senga allowed Gavin Sheets’ pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth before locking down his fourth save in four opportunities in place of the injured Devin Williams.

Mets starter Robert Stock allowed one run and struck out six in 4 1/3 innings. He didn’t allow a hit until Xander Bogaerts led off the fifth with a double.

Fernando Tatis Jr. had an RBI double for the Padres, who entered Wednesday with a two-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the race for the last National League playoff spot.

Michael King (8-9) gave up two runs and struck out four in 6 2/3 innings.

TWINS 6, BRAVES 4

MINNEAPOLIS — Kody Clemens and Brooks Lee had RBI singles in the seventh inning and the Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves 6-4 to sweep the three-game series.

Clemens drove in three runs and Kaelen Culpepper added three hits for Minnesota.

Yoendrys Gómez earned his third save in as many games and 20th of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth. A.J. Minter (2-2) got the last two outs of the seventh inning and Jeff Hoffman struck out three batters in the eighth.

With the game tied at 4, Josh Bell doubled off Victor Mederos (2-1) with one out in the seventh inning and Clemens followed with an RBI single against Dylan Lee. Brooks Lee singled two batters later to score Clemens.

Ronald Acuña Jr., Lane Thomas and Ozzie Albies had RBIs for Atlanta.

PIRATES 4, TIGERS 3

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Brandon Lowe homered off Detroit closer Kenley Jansen with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 victory.

Rafael Flores Jr. homered twice for Pittsburgh, including a tying shot off Jansen (3-5) with one out in the ninth. Lowe followed two batters later with a towering shot to right field that clanged high off the foul pole.

The homer was the 27th this season for Lowe, the most in club history by a second baseman. It was the 83rd this year by the Pirates at PNC Park, the most at the venue since it opened in 2001.

Mason Montgomery (5-3) pitched a scoreless top of the ninth as the Pirates went 4-2 during a six-game homestand against Boston and Detroit.

Pirates ace Paul Skenes, the reigning National League Cy Young winner, allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings with four walks and five strikeouts. The towering 6-foot-6 right-hander has a 5.05 ERA over his last 16 starts dating to May 17.

Kevin McGonigle drove in two runs for the Tigers, who have lost five of six.

WHITE SOX 3, CUBS 0

CHICAGO — José Urquidy pitched six innings of crisp, two-hit relief, rookie Braden Montgomery drove in two runs and the Chicago White Sox topped the crosstown Cubs 3-0 on Wednesday to salvage the finale of a three-game series at Wrigley Field.

Montgomery had two hits, including a two-run double off the glove of Cubs first baseman Michael Busch in the eighth. Andrew Benintendi broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the sixth as the White Sox rebounded from a pair of walk-off losses and ended an eight-game losing streak at the iconic North Side ballpark dating to August 2023.

The White Sox and Cubs split their 2026 series 3-3. The Cubs lead in the all-time interleague matchup 80-78.

Opener Sean Newcomb tossed two hitless innings. Urquidy (2-1) entered in the third and struck out eight without a walk. Grant Taylor pitched the ninth for his seventh save and completed a two-hitter.

Clay Holmes (5-6) was sharp in a second straight start and third overall for the Cubs since they acquired him at the trade deadline from the Mets. The right-hander allowed one run on six hits in 5 1/3 innings, walking two.

No. 9 hitter Tyrone Taylor, acquired from the Mets along with Holmes, had the Cubs’ only two hits.