LDN - Sports

Highlights of Sunday's MLB games

[September 26, 2016] Sept 25 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Major League Baseball games on Sunday:

Cubs 3, Cardinals 1

Jon Lester allowed three hits in 6-2/3 innings and the Chicago Cubs set a franchise record for victories at Wrigley Field in a season as they beat the St. Louis Cardinals.

Lester earned his league-leading 19th victory and retiring catcher David Ross homered as the National League Central champions went 57-24 at home this season.

Chicago won 56 games at the ballpark in 1933 and 1935.

The Cubs also reached 99 victories, which they last accomplished in 1935.

Lester (19-4) struck out seven while lowering his ERA to 2.28, second lowest in the majors behind his teammate Kyle Hendricks (2.06), another candidate for the NL Cy Young Award.

Lester exited with two on in the seventh. Carl Edwards Jr. struck out Randal Grichuk to stop the rally.

Aroldis Chapman earned his 16th save.

Dodgers 4, Rockies 3 (10 inings)

Charlie Culberson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers the National League West championship with a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Reliever Joe Blanton (7-2) earned the victory that gave the Dodgers their fourth successive division title.

With two out in the bottom of the 10th, Culberson hit a 91-mph fastball from Boone Logan (2-5) into the stands down the left-field line for his first home run of the season and the sixth career.

Padres 4, Giants 3

Wil Myers' RBI single in the seventh inning lifted the San Diego Padres past the San Francisco Giants, who were eliminated from the National League West race after the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies minutes before.

San Francisco (82-74) are tied with St. Louis for the second National League wild card pending the result of the Cardinals' late game against the Chicago Cubs.

The New York Mets are a game ahead of the Giants and Cardinals in the first wild-card position.

Blue Jays 4, Yankees 3

Edwin Encarnacion hit an infield single to second base to score the winning run as the Toronto Blue Jays came back with two runs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the New York Yankees.

The Blue Jays (86-69) entered the game occupying the first American League wild-card spot, 1-1/2 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees (79-76) were 4-1/2 games out of a wild-card spot.

Jose Bautista homered for the Blue Jays. Didi Gregorius homered for the Yankees.

Red Sox 3, Rays 2 (10 innings)

Veteran designated hitter David Ortiz went 3-for-5 with a double in his final game at Tropicana Field, lifting the Boston Red Sox to their 11th straight win with a 3-2 victory in 10 innings over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Boston (92-64) completed the three-game sweep of the Rays to inch closer to an AL East title. The Red Sox are 5-1/2 games ahead of the second-place Toronto Blue Jays.

Ortiz hit a double in the 10th inning off reliever Eddie Gamboa. Dustin Pedroia scored from first when Tampa Bay catcher Luke Maile dropped the ball after applying for the tag.

White Sox 3, Indians 0

Carlos Rodon pitched eight innings, allowed two hits, striking out 11, as Chicago beat Cleveland and ruined their chance to clinch the Central Division title at home.

The Indians' magic number for clinching the division is at one.

Rodon walked three and threw 108 pitches while David Robertson pitched the ninth to earn his 36th save. Rodon and Robertson struck out eight of the last nine Indians hitters to end the game.

Royals 12, Tigers 9

Salvador Perez, Cheslor Cuthbert, Raul Mondesi and Alex Gordon each hit a home run and the Kansas City Royals pounded out 19 hits in a 12-9 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

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The Tigers made it interesting as the game wound down, rallying for two runs off Kevin Herrera in the eighth inning. A sacrifice fly by J.D. Martinez made it 11-8 and the Royals' setup man's wild pitch plated another run before getting Erick Aybar on a groundout to strand a runner at third.

Royals closer Wade Davis notched his 26th save, although he had to strand runners at first and third with one out to do it.

Mets 17, Phillies 0

Rookie Robert Gsellman threw a career-high seven scoreless innings to lead the New York Mets to a 17-0 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The National League wild-card leading Mets (83-73) capped their final homestand of the regular season with the most lopsided shutout win in the franchise's 55-season history.

Gsellman, who began the season with Double-A Binghamton, allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out a career-high eight.

Orioles 2, Diamondbacks 1

Hyun Soo Kim hit an early two-run homer and the Baltimore Orioles finished a three-game sweep of Arizona that let the Orioles (85-71) hold on to the second wild-card spot.

Baltimore starter Dylan Bundy gave up one run in five innings. Bundy (10-7) allowed that only run in the fourth inning before the Orioles went to the bullpen in the sixth.

Nationals 10, Pirates 7

Jayson Werth smacked a pinch-hit, two-run homer to highlight a five-run eighth inning as Washington pulled out a win over Pittsburgh.

The four-hour game featured a combined 21 hits, four ties, 45 players used (tied the National League record), 17 pitchers (one shy of the major league record), a benches-clearing incident and two ejections.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper also left in the third inning with an apparent left thumb injury. There was no immediate word on the exact nature of the injury or a prognosis.

Reds 4, Brewers 2

Brandon Finnegan threw five shutout innings and Scott Schebler had two hits with a pair of RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers.

Finnegan (10-11) struck out four batters and scattered three hits without walking a batter.

Astros 4, Angels 1

Joe Musgrove worked seven strong innings and the Houston Astros belted three solo home runs to offer support in their 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Musgrove (4-4) He allowed one run on seven hits while recording four strikeouts. He did not walk a batter for the first time in six starts.

The Astros (82-74) snapped their three-game skid and kept their slim American League wild card hopes alive. With six games remaining Houston trail Detroit, Seattle and Baltimore in the chase for the final wild card spot behind the Blue Jays.

Mariners 4, Twins 3

Nelson Cruz hit two solo home runs and Jesus Sucre continued his hot hitting since his recall from Triple-A with a two-run homer as Seattle held on for a win over Minnesota.

The Mariners remained 2-1/2 games behind Baltimore for the second wild card.

Taijuan Walker pitched 5-1/3 innings for the Mariners, allowing three runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out seven. Edwin Diaz finished with his 17th save in 19 chances.

Athletics 7, Rangers 1

Rookie right-hander Jharel Cotton limited Texas to one run in seven innings in a victory over the American League West champions.

Ryon Healy smacked a two-run home run among three hits, and Stephen Vogt ignited a seven-run second inning with a three-run double.

The Rangers fell into a tie with the Boston Red Sox for the best record in the AL heading into the final week of the regular season. The Indians are also still in the chase for the home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs.

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