MLB
roundup: Red Sox clinch playoff spot
Send a link to a friend
[September 12, 2018]
The Red Sox became the first
team to clinch a postseason berth this season, with pinch hitter
Brock Holt's three-run home run in the seventh inning sending Boston
to a 7-2 win over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.
This is third consecutive trip to the playoffs for the Red Sox,
which ties the longest streak in franchise history.
Holt, batting for Sandy Leon in the seventh, hit his fourth homer of
the season. He has hit both of Boston's pinch-hit homers on the
year.
Chris Sale started the game for Boston, allowing one hit and hitting
a batter while striking out two in one inning. The short stint was
planned for his first start since Aug. 12. He went on the disabled
list six days later with mild inflammation in his left shoulder.
Braves 4, Giants 1
Mike Foltynewicz became just the seventh major-leaguer this season
to throw two complete games, limiting host San Francisco to six hits
in Atlanta's win.
Charlie Culberson hit a two-run home run in the fifth, helping the
Braves extend their lead in the National League East to a
season-best 6 1/2 games over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Foltynewicz (11-9) came within one out of becoming the first pitcher
to throw two shutouts this season. Foltynewicz, who shut out
Washington on June 1, walked one and struck out seven Tuesday.
Atlanta posted its fourth consecutive win while San Francisco lost
its 10th in a row.
Cubs 3, Brewers 0
Jose Quintana fanned seven batters in 6 2/3 scoreless innings, and
host Chicago held on for a shutout of Milwaukee.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Sep/12/images/ads/current/cca_laptop-sda021709.png)
Chicago increased its lead to two games over Milwaukee in the NL
Central with less than three weeks remaining in the regular season.
The St. Louis Cardinals also are in the mix as they remained 3 1/2
games behind the Cubs.
Quintana (13-9), who gave up three hits and walked two, matched his
single-season high for victories. The left-hander won his third
straight decision and allowed two runs or fewer for the fifth outing
in a row.
Cardinals 11, Pirates 5
Tyler O'Neill hit a three-run homer and Marcell Ozuna had three RBIs
in St. Louis' blowout win over visiting Pittsburgh.
St. Louis won its third straight, moving to within 1 1/2 games of
Milwaukee for the top NL wild-card spot. Cardinals starter Miles
Mikolas (15-4) allowed one run and five hits in seven innings.
Pittsburgh starter Joe Musgrove (6-9) struck out eight and at one
point retired 14 in a row, but he allowed four runs on four hits and
two walks in six innings. Corey Dickerson drove in two with a single
and a double for Pittsburgh, which lost its second in a row.
Twins 10, Yankees 5
Joe Mauer capped a six-run fifth inning with a grand slam, and
Minnesota roughed up New York in Minneapolis.
Mauer's grand slam, the fifth of his career, gave the Twins a 10-1
lead and helped the Twins beat the Yankees for the first time in the
last nine meetings, including last season's American League
wild-card game.
Didi Gregorius also hit a grand slam in the sixth and tripled as the
Yankees fell to 4-4 on a nine-game road trip. The Yankees saw their
lead in the race for the first Al wild card trimmed to two games
over the Oakland A's.
Diamondbacks 6, Rockies 3
Ketel Marte drove in four runs, Zack Greinke pitched effectively
into the seventh inning, and Arizona beat Colorado in Denver.
David Peralta homered for the third-place Diamondbacks, who moved
within 2 1/2 games of first-place Colorado in the NL West. The
Rockies maintained a 1 1/2-game lead on the second-place Los Angeles
Dodgers.
Greinke (14-9) allowed three runs on six hits and no walks while
striking out five in 6 2/3 innings. Yoshihisa Hirano got the last
three outs for his first save.
Indians 2, Rays 0
Edwin Encarnacion and Yan Gomes homered, and rookie Shane Bieber
picked up his 10th win as Cleveland snapped Tampa Bay's
franchise-record, 12-game home winning streak.
Bieber (10-3) struck out a career-high 11 batters while allowing
just three hits and three walks over 6 2/3 innings. He improved to
6-0 in 10 career road starts.
Encarnacion and Gomes each had two hits for Cleveland, which sliced
its magic number to three to clinch the AL Central title.
Encarnacion's 30th homer of the season in the sixth extended his
streak of seasons with 30 or more home runs and 90 or more RBIs (96)
to seven, the longest active stretch in the majors.
Astros 5, Indians 4
Tony Kemp and Tyler White hit two-run homers, Jose Altuve supplied a
solo blast, and visiting Houston edged Detroit.
Kemp, Altuve and Yuli Gurriel each had two hits for the Astros, and
Josh Reddick scored twice. First-place Houston maintained its
three-game lead on the A's in the AL West.
JaCoby Jones hit a three-run homer for the Tigers, who have lost the
first two games of the three-game series. Jordan Zimmermann (7-7)
gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits in five innings.
A's 3, Orioles 2
Matt Chapman, Khris Davis and Stephen Piscotty each drove in a run
as Oakland defeated host Baltimore in the opener of a three-game
series.
The A's have won five consecutive games. The Orioles have dropped
five games in a row.
The Orioles could not do much against Mike Fiers, who went six
innings and allowed one run on four hits. Fiers (12-6) struck out
seven with just one walk. The right-hander improved to 5-0 in seven
starts since the A's acquired him in an August trade with the
Detroit Tigers.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/091218pics/sports49.jpg)
Boston Red Sox pinch hitter Brock Holt (12) hits a three run home
run during the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at
Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Mar/14/images/ads/current/tires250x300.gif)
Reds 3, Dodgers 1
Brandon Dixon and Scott Schebler hit home runs against their former
organization, and Luis Castillo pitched 6 1/3 strong innings as
Cincinnati continued its winning streak against visiting Los
Angeles.
The Reds, in last place in the NL Central, are now 6-0 against the
Dodgers this season. They won all four games at Dodger Stadium in
the first half and have won the first two games of the current
three-game series. The Reds can make it a perfect 7-for-7 with a
victory in the series finale Wednesday.
Dixon and Schebler were former Dodgers prospects until a trade
before the 2016 season sent them to Cincinnati. Dixon's home run in
the second inning was his fifth of the season, while Schebler hit
his 16th one inning later. Castillo (9-12) gave up one run on four
hits with a walk and nine strikeouts.
Marlins 5, Mets 3
Jacob deGrom continued to go unrewarded during a record-breaking
season when the New York ace took the loss despite allowing just two
runs over seven innings as the Mets fell to visiting Miami.
The Marlins, who hadn't played since Saturday due to back-to-back
rainouts, won for just the fourth time in 12 games. The Mets have
won six of nine.
DeGrom (8-9) allowed three runs or fewer for the 26th straight start
-- the longest single-season streak in baseball history. Leslie
"King" Cole had a string of 25 such starts for the Chicago Cubs in
1910. DeGrom gave up just three hits and two walks while striking
out nine as his major-league-leading ERA rose from 1.68 to 1.71.
Nationals 3, Phillies 1 (Game 1)
Spencer Kieboom hit his first major league home run on the first
pitch after losing a tooth, and batterymate Erick Fedde threw 5 2/3
innings of shutout ball, lifting Washington to a victory over host
Philadelphia in the first game of a doubleheader.
Phillies right-hander Nick Pivetta (7-12) took a one-hit shutout
into the fifth inning of a scoreless game before Kieboom walked to
the plate with one out and spit out a tooth that had become
dislodged shortly before entering the batter's box. The catcher then
belted the first pitch he saw for his first homer in 117 plate
appearances.
Fedde (2-3) turned a 2-0 lead over to the Washington bullpen after
limiting the Phillies to two hits in his 5 2/3 innings. He walked
two and struck out a career-high nine. The win was his first since
June 29.
Nationals 7, Phillies 6 (Game 2, 10 innings)
Juan Soto produced a crushing blow to Philadelphia's playoff hopes,
smacking a solo home run in the top of the 10th inning that gave
visiting Washington a sweep of the teams' doubleheader.
Soto's heroics came after each team had rallied from three-run
deficits to produce a 6-6 tie, with the Nationals getting three in
the top of the ninth to extend the game.
Soto, who walked and scored as part of the ninth-inning rally,
homered twice, scored three times, had three hits and drove in four
runs.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Sep/12/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png)
Angels 1, Rangers 0
Eight pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout in Los Angeles' victory
over Texas in Anaheim, Calif.
Jose Fernandez hit his first career major league homer in the second
inning, providing the Angels all the offense they would need.
After the Angels' first six pitchers threw seven hitless innings
with three walks allowed, Blake Parker began the eighth inning and
retired the first batter before Isiah Kiner-Falefa lined a 91 mph
fastball into right field for the Rangers' first hit of the night.
Padres 2, Mariners 1
Wil Myers doubled home the go-ahead run off Edwin Diaz with one out
in the top of the ninth inning as visiting San Diego defeated
Seattle.
The Padres have won all three games they've played against the
Mariners in 2018 and will go for a season sweep Wednesday afternoon.
Hunter Renfroe led off the ninth with a line-drive single off Diaz
(0-4) on an 0-2 pitch. Eric Hosmer then lined a single to left,
sending Renfroe to second. After Diaz struck out Franmil Reyes,
Myers doubled down the left field line, scoring pinch runner Travis
Jankowski.
Royals 6, White Sox 3
Rookie Brad Keller gave up just one run in seven innings, and Hunter
Dozier drove in two runs as host Kansas City knocked off Chicago.
Keller (8-6) allowed four hits and two walks while striking out six.
He retired 13 of the final 14 batters to face him in winning for the
fourth time in his past five decisions.
Whit Merrifield collected two hits, two runs and two stolen bases
for Kansas City.
--Field Level Media
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |