By Field Level Media
Sep 18 (Field Level Media) - Kyle Tucker hit a home run, went 4-for-5, drove in three runs and fell a triple shy of the cycle as the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their 13th National League West title in 14 seasons with an 8-2 road victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.
Los Angeles' Landon Knack (1-0), who was recalled earlier Thursday from Triple-A Oklahoma City, pitched four innings of scoreless relief.
Miguel Rojas homered and singled for the Dodgers, who won for the third
time in four games. Max Muncy produced two hits and two RBIs, and Freddie Freeman added two hits and an RBI.
Sal Stewart went deep for the Reds, who lost six of the seven games against the Dodgers this season. Cincinnati has dropped eight of its past 10 games. Brady Singer (6-15) was charged with seven runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings.
White Sox 3, Tigers 1
Munetaka Murakami went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer while three pitchers delivered 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief as Chicago defeated visiting Detroit to move into a tie with the Cleveland Guardians atop the American League Central.
Brenton Doyle singled twice for the White Sox, who were outhit 8-5. Chicago went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position compared to 0-for-9 for the Tigers.
Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez (10-11) gave up three runs and three hits in five innings.
Pirates 7, Brewers 4
Henry Davis hit a two-run home run, Oneil Cruz and Konnor Griffin each drove in two runs during a five-run second inning and Pittsburgh took down visiting Milwaukee.
Pirates right-hander Khristian Curtis (2-0) worked 3 1/3 innings, allowing one run on one hit during a bullpen game. Mason Montgomery went 1 1/3 innings to earn his 14th save.
Bo Naylor homered and Sal Frelick had two hits for the Brewers, who fell short in a bid for a three-game series sweep. Kyle Harrison (10-5) was tagged for five runs, four earned, on four hits in 1 2/3 innings.
Padres 9, Rockies 2
Xander Bogaerts homered and tripled in a seven-run second inning and finished a single shy of the cycle as surging San Diego beat Colorado in Denver.
Ty France and Dustin Harris also had three hits apiece and Jake Cronenworth and Samad Taylor each had two hits. The Padres have won 10 of 11 to increase their lead to four games over idle Arizona for the third NL wild-card berth. Michael King (12-9) allowed two runs on seven hits in six innings.
Mickey Moniak and Brett Sullivan had two hits each for the Rockies, who have dropped 10 of 11. Tanner Gordon (1-5) allowed seven runs on 10 hits in three innings.
Phillies 3, Mets 0
Aaron Nola allowed three hits over seven innings and visiting Philadelphia opened a four-game series against New York with a win.
Nola (7-10) walked three, struck out four and lowered his ERA to 2.10 over his past 10 starts. Bryce Harper had three hits for the Phillies, who are tied with the Chicago Cubs for the top NL wild-card spot.
New York was limited to four singles and lost its fifth straight game. Mets first baseman Jared Young was briefly unconscious before being taken off the field on a stretcher after being kneed in the head by Nolan McLean on a play at first base in the sixth inning. Young was later diagnosed with concussion symptoms.
Rays 10, Athletics 1
Chandler Simpson and Richie Palacios drove in two runs apiece in Tampa Bay's six-run fourth-inning eruption as the Rays beat the Athletics in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Rays improved to 6-0 on their nine-game homestand to extend the AL East lead over the idle New York Yankees to five games. Drew Rasmussen (15-5) delivered five innings of four-hit, shutout ball.
Lawrence Butler homered and singled for the A's, who have lost four of their past five. Jeffrey Springs (4-14) surrendered six runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Astros 6, Royals 2
Yordan Alvarez slugged his 40th home run while Jeremy Pena added his sixth leadoff blast of the season as Houston hit a season-high five homers en route to beating visiting Kansas City in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Daulton Varsho, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Taylor Trammell also homered for the Astros. Bryan King (3-5) tossed 1 1/3 shutout innings to log the win.
Royals starter Seth Lugo (7-9) allowed four runs on eight hits -- including four solo homers -- over five innings. Carter Jensen had two of Kansas City's three hits.
Red Sox 4, Rangers 3
Trevor Story hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning as Boston overcame a three-run deficit to defeat Texas in Arlington, Texas, and avert a three-game series sweep.
Story's blast came against Texas closer Jacob Latz (3-3) and erased a 3-1 deficit. Sonny Gray allowed three runs on three hits in 6 1/3 innings. Willson Contreras left the game after he was hit by a pitch on his right hand in the eighth inning.
Josh Jung hit a solo home run for the Rangers, who fell a game behind the Astros at the top of the American League West. Danny Jansen had two of Texas' four hits, including an RBI single.
Angels 5, Twins 4 (10 innings)
Wade Meckler singled to drive in Zach Neto with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning as Los Angeles rallied to defeat Minnesota in Anaheim, Calif.
Meckler lined the first pitch by Twins reliever Kody Funderburk into right field for his first career walk-off hit. Los Angeles tied it one batter earlier on an RBI single by Mike Trout off Yoendrys Gomez (2-4). Oswald Peraza and Meckler each had two hits and an RBI for the Angels, who won for the third time in four games.
Minnesota's Walker Jenkins ended a 1-for-34 slump with three hits, including a two-run game-tying home run in the ninth. Brooks Lee had two hits and two RBIs for the Twins, who have lost four out of five.
(--Field Level Media)
