Eric Cole shot 7-under-par 63 for the best score in the third round of the Charles Schwab Challenge, taking the lead Saturday at Fort Worth, Texas.

Cole, aiming for his first victory on the PGA Tour, goes to Sunday’s final round at 12-under 198, holding a one-stroke edge on Ryan Gerard.

Gerard birdied the last two holes of the third round to post 68. Mac Meissner (67 on Saturday) and J.J. Spaun (68) are two shots off the lead on the Colonial Country Club layout.

Cole has never had a top-five finish on the PGA Tour, but he had back-to-back outings this spring when he tied for sixth place (Zurich Classic of New Orleans and Myrtle Beach Classic). Meissner is also without a top-five result.

Cole played the first 11 holes Saturday in 6 under and later followed his lone bogey on No. 15 with a birdie on the next hole. Meissner finished his first 11 holes at 5 under for the round.

Alex Smalley (69), Russell Henley (69) and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (70) are tied for fifth place at 9 under.

There’s an eighth-place tie at 8 under with Michael Thorbjornsen (71), Michael Brennan (69), Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes (69) and Colombia’s Nico Echavarria (65).

Second-round leader Jordan Smith of England shot 74 to plummet to a tie for 19th place at 6 under. He didn’t have a birdie and he was dinged with three consecutive bogeys on the front side.

Defending champion Ben Griffin shot 68 to pull to 6 under for the tournament.

–Field Level Media

Luis Garcia Jr. hit a two-run single to highlight a six-run seventh inning as the Nationals rallied past the San Diego Padres for a 9-4 win Saturday in Washington.

Garcia had two hits and Drew Millas homered for the Nationals, who had lost two straight.

Washington trailed 3-1 entering the seventh when CJ Abrams led off with a single off Michael King. Jose Tena then reached on a fielder’s choice, moving Abrams to second. Jorbit Vivas walked to load the bases and Dylan Crews was hit by a pitch, forcing home a run.

Reliever Bradgley Rodriguez came on and Millas grounded to second baseman Tatis, but Crews was called safe at second with shortstop Xander Bogaerts’ foot not touching the base, and a run scored. Padres manager Craig Stammen argued the call and was ejected.

Mead walked to force in Washington’s fourth run and, after James Wood struck out, Garcia singled up the middle, scoring two more runs. The final run scored when Daylen Lile beat out a potential double-play grounder as Mead scored.

In the San Diego eighth, Miguel Andujar walked and scored on a double by Manny Machado. Two more walks by Gus Varland loaded the bases, but Clayton Beeter came on to retire Ty France.

Mead doubled home two runs in the bottom half to push the lead to 9-4.

Brad Lord (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win and Beeter picked up his third save.

Bogaerts, Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. homered for the Padres, who have lost five of their past six games.

King (4-4) allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits in six-plus innings.

Bogaerts homered to center with one out in the second inning to give the Padres a 1-0 lead.

Millas tied it 1-1 in the bottom of the third with a shot to right.

San Diego regained the lead in the fourth on Machado’s home run.

Tatis made it 3-1 in the fifth when he connected for his first home run of the season.

Foster Griffin allowed three runs on five hits – three of them home runs — over five innings for Washington.

–Field Level Media

Pete Alonso capped Baltimore’s five-run ninth inning with a walk-off single as in the Orioles stunned the visiting Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Saturday.

The Orioles rallied with four hits, three walks and a hit batter in the ninth to end a two-game skid. Baltimore was held to three singles through eight innings.

Toronto’s Kazuma Okamoto doubled in two runs in the eighth, but Toronto’s winning streak was halted at four games. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. racked up four hits, including a double, and scored twice, while Ernie Clement had two singles as part of the Blue Jays’ 11-hit attack.

The Blue Jays pulled off four double plays, ending the second, third and fourth innings, and squashing a rally in the sixth. Those defensive plays helped to compensate — for a while — for the 11 walks drawn by the Orioles, who dropped the first two games of the series by one-run margins.

Yariel Rodriguez, Tyler Rogers and Louis Varland all logged one scoreless inning out of the Toronto bullpen. Jeff Hoffman (4-4) gave up ninth-inning runs on Leody Taveras’ triple, Baltimore’s first extra-base hit of the game, and Jackson Holliday’s single.

Then Colton Cowser doubled and Taylor Ward walked to put the potential winning run at second base with one out. Gunnar Henderson walked to force in a run, causing Hoffman’s exit and bringing on Connor Seabold. Adley Rutschman drew a walk on a full-count pitch to tie the score before Alonso delivered.

The Blue Jays are losers for just the third time in their last 11 games.

Toronto starter Trey Yesavage, in his first matchup with Baltimore, held the Orioles to one run and two hits in five innings despite issuing seven walks while striking out four.

Orioles starter Brandon Young lasted 6 2/3 innings and was charged with two runs on seven hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Anthony Nunez was dinged with two eighth-inning runs, though Keegan Akin surrendered Okamoto’s double. Albert Suarez (2-0) pitched the ninth for the victory.

The Orioles scored first on Henderson’s third-inning single.

Toronto went on top in the fourth, with Jesus Sanchez doubling in the tying run with two outs and then scoring on Clement’s single.

After extending the advantage in the eighth, the Blue Jays tacked on an insurance run in the ninth aided by right fielder Cowser’s error.

–Field Level Media