LDN - Sports

MLB roundup: Dodgers tie Cards for second NL wild card

[September 15, 2018]

Rookie right-hander Walker Buehler dominated for eight innings, and Yasiel Puig hit a pair of home runs as the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers moved into a tie for the second wild-card spot in the National League on Friday with a 3-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Buehler retired the first 13 Cardinals batters Friday before Paul DeJong singled with one out in the fifth inning. Buehler (7-5), who tied a career high with nine strikeouts, gave up just two hits over eight innings. Closer Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth inning for his 35th save.

The Dodgers have won the first two games of the current four-game series at St. Louis after they were swept by the Cardinals in a three-game series at Los Angeles last month.

At 81-67, the Dodgers and Cardinals are tied for the NL's second wild-card spot, behind Milwaukee. The Dodgers also moved a half-game behind Colorado for the National League West lead.

Giants 2, Rockies 0

Chris Stratton pitched a two-hit shutout, and Austin Slater provided all the offense with a two-run single in the second inning, allowing host San Francisco to snap an 11-game losing streak by quieting Colorado.

Stratton (10-9), who had been bombed for 13 runs and 19 hits in consecutive matchups with the Rockies earlier this season, allowed just a two-out single to Ian Desmond in the second inning and a leadoff single to Charlie Blackmon in the sixth en route to his first career complete game and first career shutout.

Stratton needed 114 pitches to complete his gem. He walked two and struck out seven.

Diamondbacks 4, Astros 2

Jon Jay delivered a pinch-hit, broken-bat, RBI triple with two outs in the eighth inning to key Arizona's victory at Houston.

Jay, hitting for catcher Jeff Mathis, muscled a 1-0 fastball into right field, snapping his bat and plating Nick Ahmed with the go-ahead run. A.J. Pollock lofted a shallow fly ball to center that cleared second baseman Jose Altuve yet dropped in front of the diving George Springer, driving in Jay and doubling the lead.

The Astros finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and lost for only the second time this month. Their lead over Oakland in the American League West was trimmed to 2 1/2 games.

Athletics 2, Rays 1 (10 innings)

Khris Davis hit the third pitch of the 10th inning for his 42nd home run of the season as Oakland dealt host Tampa Bay's playoff hopes a serious jolt.

Oakland's seventh win in its last eight games pushed the A's a full nine games ahead of the Rays in the race for the second American League wild-card berth with just a little more than two weeks remaining in the regular season.

After the teams had battled to a 1-1 tie in nine innings, Davis greeted Jaime Schultz (2-1), the Rays' ninth pitcher, with the difference-making homer. A's closer Blake Treinen (7-2) pitched two perfect innings for the win.

Cubs 3, Reds 2

Ian Happ launched a three-run home run in the seventh inning to wipe out a 2-0 deficit and lead host Chicago past Cincinnati.

It was the 15th home run of the season for Happ. The seventh-inning blast came off Reds reliever David Hernandez (5-1), who gave up the three runs in one-third of an inning after right-hander Matt Harvey shut out the Cubs for six innings.

With the win, the Cubs maintained their 1 1/2-game lead over Milwaukee in the National League Central.

Brewers 7, Pirates 4

Christian Yelich, Travis Shaw and Mike Moustakas each hit home runs as Milwaukee bounced visiting Pittsburgh.

Orlando Arcia added a rare two-RBI bunt double for the Brewers, who won their sixth in seven games to move four games up on St. Louis, the second National League wild-card team.

Pablo Reyes hit his first major league homer, Jordan Luplow had an RBI triple and Josh Harrison an RBI double for the Pirates.

Yankees 11, Blue Jays 0

Aaron Judge returned from the disabled list as a defensive replacement, and Masahiro Tanaka pitched six outstanding innings as New York scored five times in the first and cruised to victory over Toronto at Yankee Stadium.

Judge returned from the disabled list after missing 45 games since July 26 due to a fractured right wrist. He is not ready to take at-bats but was able to play the field for the last two innings.

Tanaka (12-5) won his third straight start and ran his scoreless innings streak to 20. He allowed four hits, struck out eight and issued two walks while throwing 90 pitches.

Mets 8, Red Sox 0

Noah Syndergaard tossed seven scoreless innings, and Jay Bruce collected four RBIs for the second time in three games as visiting New York blanked Boston.

The surging Mets have won 10 of 13 this month. The Red Sox, who have 101 wins this season, fell for just the fourth time in 12 September games.

Syndergaard (12-3) allowed just three hits and three walks while striking out six. The Mets hit four homers in the rout, including a three-run blast by Bruce in the third inning.

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Sep 14, 2018; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Aaron Altherr (23) scores on a fielders choice past Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto (11) during the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Braves 10, Nationals 5

Rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. had four hits, and veteran Nick Markakis drove in three runs to spark Atlanta past visiting Washington for its sixth straight win.

Acuna went 4-for-5, scored two runs and had two RBIs. Markakis was 2-for-3 with two walks and scored a run. Kevin Gausman (10-10) pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks for the win.

The Braves retained a 7 1/2-game lead over Philadelphia in the National League East and stretched their lead over Washington to 9 1/2 games.

Phillies 14, Marlins 2

Aaron Altherr went 4-for-5 with two home runs and matched his career best of five RBIs to lead host Philadelphia to a rout of Miami.

Altherr also scored three runs while recording the fourth multi-homer outing of his career. Carlos Santana had three hits and three runs scored, Roman Quinn homered and drove in three runs while Rhys Hoskins and Mitch Walding also went deep for the Phillies.

Philadelphia racked up 18 hits while breaking a five-game losing streak and winning for just the third time in 12 games.

Tigers 5, Indians 4

Jeimer Candelario hit a solo home run and a go-ahead double as Detroit snapped a four-game losing streak with a win at Cleveland.

JaCoby Jones supplied two hits, a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base for Detroit, which also snapped a 10-game losing streak at Cleveland's Progressive Field. Victor Martinez added two hits and an RBI for the Tigers.

Josh Donaldson hit a solo homer for his first hit with the Indians after being traded from Toronto. Edwin Encarnacion also homered for Cleveland.

Royals 8, Twins 4

Salvador Perez hit a walk-off grand slam with one out in the bottom of the ninth as Kansas City rallied for a dramatic victory over visiting Minnesota.

Perez belted a 3-2 slider by Twins reliever Trevor Hildenberger (4-4) over the fence in left-center for his 26th homer of the season and sixth against Minnesota, which lost its seventh straight road game.

Adalberto Mondesi homered, stole a base and scored three runs, Jorge Bonifacio doubled and had three hits, and Whit Merrifield had two RBIs for the Royals. Jason Hammel (3-13), who pitched a scoreless ninth, picked up the win.

White Sox 8, Orioles 6

Omar Narvaez, Avisail Garcia and Ryan Cordell all homered as Chicago claimed victory at rainy Baltimore.

For the White Sox, James Shields (7-16) earned the win behind six innings of two-run baseball. The right-hander gave up four hits and struck out five.

Shields improved to 2-8 on the road with the win -- his first victory in a road game since Opening Day. Nate Jones closed it out in the ninth and earned his fifth save.

Rangers 4, Padres 0

Jurickson Profar went 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored, and four Texas pitchers combined on a five-hit shutout at San Diego.

Texas right-handed reliever Connor Sadzeck started the game as the "opener" and allowed a walk in a scoreless first. Scheduled left-handed starter Yohander Mendez (2-1) then worked five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks, to get credit for the win.

Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre had two doubles in four at-bats to move past George Brett into 15th place on the all-time hit list with 3,155 hits. He also became the all-time hits leader among players whose primary position was third base.

Mariners 5, Angels 0

Six Seattle pitchers combined to throw a six-hit shutout at Los Angeles.

The Mariners were forced to employ a "bullpen game" because scheduled starter James Paxton was home in Seattle recovering from a mild form of pneumonia, according to manager Scott Servais.

Roenis Elias, making just his third start in 19 appearances, gave up one hit and two walks in 3 2/3 innings and was followed by Adam Warren (3-2), who went 1 1/3 innings and was credited with the win. Shawn Armstrong, Nick Vincent, Zach Duke and Ryan Cook each pitched one scoreless inning to finish it off.

--Field Level Media

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