By Field Level Media
Sep 24 (Field Level Media) - Manny Machado homered and drove in three runs as the San Diego Padres moved to the brink of their third consecutive playoff appearance with a 5-1 road victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.
Fernando Tatis Jr. had three hits as the Padres reduced their magic number for clinching a National League wild-card spot to one. San Diego sits in the top NL wild-card position, one game ahead of both the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies.
San
Diego won for the 14th time in its past 16 games while coming out on top for just the fourth time in 12 games against Los Angeles this season. The Padres have never reached the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.
In his return to the roster after recovering from knee and biceps injuries, Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a walk as the Dodgers saw their 11-game home winning streak end. Andy Pages and Teoscar Hernandez each had three hits while Los Angeles ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-9) gave up four runs (two earned) on five hits over six innings.
Brewers 4, Phillies 1
Brice Turang and Christian Yelich hit early home runs as visiting Milwaukee topped Philadelphia.
William Contreras knocked in two runs for the Brewers, who extended their franchise-record win total. Milwaukee needs to capture one of its final four games to reach 100 victories for the first time in team history. Logan Henderson (11-3) allowed one run in five innings.
Philadelphia starter Aaron Nola (7-11) permitted four runs and four hits in six innings. Bryson Stott doubled twice for the Phillies, who have a magic number of two to clinch a playoff berth.
Marlins 3, Cubs 2
Esteury Ruiz's hustle enabled visiting Miami to score the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, leading to a win over Chicago.
After a video review, Ruiz was declared safe at second base on what was originally ruled an inning-ending double play, with Agustin Ramirez scoring to break a 2-2 tie. Cade Gibson (6-2) threw one perfect inning, and ace Sandy Alcantara recorded his second save.
Cubs starter Kevin Gausman allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings, exiting after hurting his left shoulder while diving to make a tag at third base. Dansby Swanson hit a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth after Kyle Stowers socked a two-run homer in the top of the frame.
Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 3
Tim Tawa homered, Gabriel Moreno had three hits and Arizona continued its drive for a postseason berth with a win over Colorado in Denver.
The Diamondbacks have won four straight to move within three games of the Phillies and the Cubs in the chase for the last two NL wild-card positions with four games to play. Arizona starter Merrill Kelly (10-14) allowed two runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Ezequiel Tovar homered and finished with two hits for the Rockies, who lost for the 14th time in 16 games. Rookie Mason Adams (0-2) struck out a career- high eight over a career-best six innings. He yielded four runs, all unearned, on five hits.
Mariners 6, Astros 5 (10 innings)
Josh Naylor lined a one-out single to center field with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning to score the deciding run as Seattle kept its slim playoff hopes alive with a victory against visiting Houston.
Dominic Canzone drove in three runs for the Mariners, whose only chance to make the postseason is to finish in a three-way tie with Houston and Texas, who are tied atop the American League West. Julio Rodriguez's bases-loaded walk tied the game before Naylor's winning hit.
Yainer Diaz hit a tiebreaking triple in the top of the 10th inning after earlier belting a two-run homer for the Astros. Houston closer Josh Hader (4-2) took the loss.
Mets 7, Rangers 2
Marcus Semien damaged his former team's playoff hopes when he hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth inning to help New York prevail in Arlington, Texas.
Juan Soto socked a two-run homer in the third and Brett Baty added insurance with a pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth for the Mets. New York starter Nolan McLean (12-10) gave up two runs in seven innings.
The Rangers managed just four hits while losing their third game in a row. Jacob Latz (3-4) served up Semien's homer.
Red Sox 1, Guardians 0
Andruw Monasterio's sixth-inning RBI single and Sonny Gray's six shutout innings propelled Boston past visiting Cleveland.
The Red Sox managed the lone run on 12 hits, all singles. They went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base through five innings before Monasterio's run-scoring single broke the deadlock. Gray (18-5), who allowed four hits, increased his AL-leading win total.
Cleveland starter Foster Griffin (15-6) worked six frames, allowing one run on 10 hits. The Guardians remained tied with the White Sox atop the AL Central.
Royals 5, White Sox 4
Maikel Garcia's tiebreaking double in the seventh inning capped a three-hit, three-RBI night as Kansas City beat visiting Chicago.
While the Royals snapped a five-game skid, the White Sox missed a chance to regain control of the AL Central and clinch a playoff berth.
Connor Thomas (2-1) tossed two shutout innings for the win, and Steven Cruz recorded his eighth save. Kansas City's Carter Jensen and Chicago's Braden Montgomery each had three hits and a run.
Braves 3, Reds 2 (10 innings)
Mauricio Dubon's infield chopper to the mound in the 10th inning gave host Atlanta a walk-off victory over Cincinnati.
Braves starter Chris Sale pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed one run while striking out 10, reaching 200 strikeouts for the ninth time in his career. Matt Olson and Austin Riley homered for Atlanta, and Brent Suter (3-2) tossed a perfect top of the 10th.
Juan Brito led off the game with a home run, and he and Matt McLain each had two hits for the Reds. Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott fired a season-high seven innings and allowed two runs.
Orioles 4, Blue Jays 2 (Game 1)
Baltimore's Pete Alonso hit another home run and the Orioles eliminated visiting Toronto from playoff contention by winning in the first game of a doubleheader.
The Blue Jays were the reigning American League champions, but they won't have a chance to return to the World Series.
Chris Bassitt (9-5) pitched five-plus innings to notch a victory in his third consecutive start. He gave up two runs on seven hits. Max Scherzer (3-9) surrendered four runs and four hits in five innings.
Orioles 4, Blue Jays 2 (Game 2)
Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered and drove in three runs and Trey Gibson took a shutout into the seventh inning as Baltimore completed a doubleheader sweep of visiting Toronto to stay in playoff contention.
Baltimore must win its remaining three games and have the White Sox lose their remaining four in order to have a chance for an AL wild-card spot. Gibson (2-3), a rookie who hadn't pitched in the major leagues since June 30, gave up three hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Davis Schneider hit a two-run ninth-inning homer off Felix Bautista in the nightcap for the Blue Jays. Toronto rookie starter CJ Van Eyk (0-2) allowed four runs on four hits in five innings.
Yankees 9, Rays 2
Ryan McMahon hit a third-inning grand slam and tied a career high with five RBIs while Ben Rice hit a pair of solo homers as host New York rolled past Tampa Bay.
McMahon drove in five runs for the fourth time in his career. Rice homered on the first pitch of the contest to become the 13th Yankee with 40 homers in a season. He later hit his 41st. Gerrit Cole (10-9) allowed two runs on three hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Jonny DeLuca hit an RBI double and Cedric Mullins homered for the Rays. Mason Englert (0-4) allowed eight runs on nine hits over 3 2/3 innings.
Nationals 4, Tigers 2
Yohandy Morales hit a two-run homer and visiting Washington held on for a victory over Detroit as the Nationals won the three-game series 2-1.
Brady House had two hits and scored a run while CJ Abrams, who homered twice on Tuesday, reached base three times and knocked in a run for Washington. Will Dion (2-2) tossed two innings of one-run relief, and Yovanny Cruz got four outs for his first career save.
Detroit starter Framber Valdez (10-12) gave up two runs and four hits over 5 1/3 innings. Ben Malgeri homered and drove in both of the Tigers' runs, and Kevin McGonigle added three hits.
Twins 4, Giants 2
Pinch hitter Walker Jenkins broke a seventh-inning tie with an RBI single as Minnesota completed a 4-3 road trip with a win over San Francisco.
Luke Keaschall drove in two runs with a homer and a sacrifice fly while Josh Bell added an RBI single for the Twins. Yoendrys Gomez (3-4) threw 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, and Andrew Morris escaped a ninth-inning jam for his fifth save.
Shay Whitcomb had two hits for the Giants, who have lost five out of six. Reliever Dylan Smith (0-6) yielded two runs while getting just two outs.
Cardinals 5, Pirates 1
Matthew Liberatore struck out six over 5 2/3 innings and JJ Wetherholt had three hits and an RBI to lead St. Louis to a victory at Pittsburgh.
Liberatore (6-14) allowed only one run -- on a solo homer by Brandon Lowe -- as the Cardinals snapped the Pirates' season-high-tying five-game winning streak. St. Louis' Jose Fermin went 2-for-4.
Lowe had two hits and Ryan O'Hearn added two doubles for Pittsburgh. Pirates reliever Brandon Eisert (3-3) gave up three runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Athletics 7, Angels 3
Rookie Henry Bolte recorded the first four-hit game of his career and Donovan Walton hit a three-run homer to help the Athletics top Los Angeles in West Sacramento, Calif.
Shea Langeliers had a two-run double and Bolte scored twice, had two doubles and drove in one run for the A's, who assured they will avoid a 100-loss season. Geoff Hartlieb (2-1) threw 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Mike Trout and Vaughn Grissom homered for the Angels, who are two losses shy of the first 100-loss season in franchise history. Walbert Urena (9-11) allowed five runs and seven hits over four innings.
(--Field Level Media)
