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MLB roundup: Brewers, Cubs clinch playoff berths

[September 27, 2018] Milwaukee MVP candidate Christian Yelich walked five times and scored twice, and Jhoulys Chacin allowed one run in five innings as the Brewers clinched a postseason berth with a 2-1 win over the host St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night.

The Brewers swept the three-game series. They remain a half-game behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central, and they hold a four-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the race for the first NL wild card.

The Cardinals sit one game back of the Dodgers in the wild-card hunt. St. Louis' loss assured the Chicago Cubs of a postseason spot.

Chacin (15-8) allowed one hit and two walks while striking out three. Jeremy Jeffress got the last four outs for his 13th save.

Cubs 7, Pirates 6 (10 innings)

Albert Almora Jr.'s two-out single in the bottom of the 10th inning plated the winning run as Chicago blew a big lead but came back to beat visiting Pittsburgh, shortly after the Cubs clinched a playoff berth.

Almora's single followed a four-pitch walk to Ian Happ to lead off the inning against Richard Rodriguez (4-3), a sacrifice bunt by Mike Freeman and a groundout by Victor Caratini that sent pinch runner Terrance Gore to third base.

Brandon Kintzler (3-3), the seventh Chicago pitcher, induced a double-play grounder from the one batter he faced to earn the win.

Rockies 14, Phillies 0

German Marquez struck out 11, including the first eight batters of the game to tie a modern major league record, and Colorado roughed up Philadelphia in Denver and later claimed sole possession of first place in the National League West.

David Dahl, Trevor Story and Ian Desmond all homered in a seven-run fifth inning for the Rockies, who won their sixth straight and passed the Dodgers in the division when Los Angeles lost to Arizona.

Marquez (14-10) set a franchise record for consecutive strikeouts to begin an outing and matched the modern-day mark of eight straight previously accomplished by Jim Deshaies and Jacob deGrom. He also set a franchise record for strikeouts in a season with 221.

Diamondbacks 7, Dodgers 2

A.J. Pollock homered, tripled and drove in three runs in what could be his final home game at Chase Field, and Arizona dealt Los Angeles a second straight loss at Phoenix.

The Rockies slipped ahead of the Dodgers in the National League West for the first time since being swept in Los Angeles early last week. The Dodgers have won the past five NL West titles.

Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy had two hits apiece for the Dodgers, who took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the second inning but had only four more hits, all singles.

Mets 3, Braves 0

Jacob deGrom finished making his case for the National League Cy Young Award in impressive fashion, earning the win while striking out 10 in eight scoreless innings as New York blanked visiting Atlanta.

The Braves, who locked up the NL East on Saturday, are one game ahead of NL West-leading Colorado in the race for the second seed in the league and home-field advantage in the NL Division Series.

DeGrom (10-9) allowed just two hits and walked none in lowering his major-league-best ERA to 1.70. He faced just one batter over the minimum in his outing and whiffed Ozzie Albies in the eighth inning for his 1,000th career strikeout.

Red Sox 19, Orioles 3 (Game 1)

Rafael Devers had a pair of home runs and six RBIs, and Xander Bogaerts drove in four runs to reach the 100-RBI mark as Boston routed visiting Baltimore in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.

Mookie Betts joined Jacoby Ellsbury (2011) as the only players in Red Sox history with a 30-homer, 30-steal season when he swiped second base in the second inning.

The Red Sox became just the 15th team to win at least 107 games, and the first since the 2001 Seattle Mariners won 116.

Orioles 10, Red Sox 3 (Game 2)

Trey Mancini drove in three runs, two of which came on a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning, and Baltimore defeated Boston for a doubleheader split.

Red Sox starter Chris Sale went 4 2/3 innings and gave up three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out eight. He is trying to get ready for the playoffs after being placed on the disabled list twice due to shoulder inflammation issues.

Tanner Scott (3-2) earned the victory with 2 2/3 innings of relief, giving up one run and striking out three. Paul Fry got his second save after going the final three innings and retiring all nine batters he faced.

Rays 8, Yankees 7

Tommy Pham broke a third-inning tie with a home run, and Tampa Bay held on through a wild ninth inning to defeat New York at St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Yankees saw their lead over Oakland reduced to 1 1/2 games in the duel to see who will host the American League wild-card game next week after the A's later won at Seattle.

After the Rays added four runs against the New York bullpen in the eighth to go up 8-3, the Yankees roared back against Sergio Romo in the ninth, getting within 8-7 with two on and just one out. But Romo got Tyler Wade to fly out, advancing the potential tying run to third base, before Miguel Andujar fouled out to end the game.

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Cubs center fielder Albert Almora Jr. (middle) is dunked by shortstop Javier Baez (9) after hitting a walk off RBI single during the tenth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

Athletics 9, Mariners 3

Matt Olson hit a grand slam, and Khris Davis belted his major-league-leading 47th home run of the season as Oakland routed host Seattle.

The A's batted around in scoring six times in the fifth inning, with Olson's slam capping the rally. Oakland received home runs from Marcus Semien and Chad Pinder in the first and second innings, respectively.

Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez (8-14) lasted just four-plus innings in losing his eighth consecutive decision.

Nationals 9, Marlins 3 (8 innings)

Rookie Victor Robles homered and drove in five runs to lead host Washington to a rain-shortened win over Miami.

The game was called in the top of the eighth inning after a 51-minute rain delay.

In perhaps his final home game for the Nationals, former National League MVP Bryce Harper went 0-for-4. He is batting .244 this season with 34 home runs and 100 RBIs.

Blue Jays 3, Astros 1

Randal Grichuk hit a two-run home run, Reese McGuire added a solo shot for his first career major league homer, and Toronto defeated visiting Houston.

The Blue Jays salvaged the finale of the three-game series in their final home game of the season. It was also the final home game for manager John Gibbons, who will not return next season.

Joe Biagini (4-7) picked up the win, allowing one hit and one walk in 1 1/3 innings. Former Astros closer Ken Giles earned his 25th save of the season and 13th with Toronto with a perfect ninth.

Indians 10, White Sox 2

Francisco Lindor and Edwin Encarnacion hit home runs, and Shane Bieber pitched six shutout innings as Cleveland cruised in a rout at Chicago.

Encarnacion had three hits, including a three-run home run in the fourth inning, his 32nd of the season. He drove in four runs.

The Indians received a scare in the eighth inning when Erik Gonzalez was hit by a pitch on the left side of the helmet by White Sox reliever Rob Scahill. Gonzalez left the game, walking off the field with some assistance.

Twins 11, Tigers 4

Johnny Field had the first multi-homer game of his career, Jorge Polanco supplied a three-run triple, and Minnesota handed Paul Molitor his 300th managerial win by pounding Detroit at Minneapolis.

Field homered in his first two at-bats and drove in three runs. Tyler Austin hit a two-run homer, and Chris Gimenez also knocked in two runs. Robbie Grossman added two hits, two runs and an RBI.

Christin Stewart led Detroit's offense with a run and two RBIs.

Royals 6, Reds 1

Rookie Heath Fillmyer pitched into the eighth inning and recorded his first major league hit and RBI as Kansas City claimed victory at Cincinnati.

Fillmyer (4-2) allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out nine over 7 1/3 innings as the Royals completed a two-game sweep of the Reds. The 24-year-old right-hander added an RBI double in just his fourth career at-bat.

Fillmyer retired 11 Reds in a row between the second and fifth innings.

Angels 3, Rangers 2

Shohei Ohtani's one-out home run in the bottom of the eighth inning snapped a tie and lifted Los Angeles past Texas at Anaheim, Calif.

Ohtani's homer, which came on a 96 mph fastball from Texas reliever Chris Martin (1-5), was his 22nd of the season, matching his career high set in 2016 in the Japanese Pacific League.

The Angels had just five hits in the game, but two of them came from Ohtani, who also had an RBI single. Taylor Ward homered to account for the Angels' other run.

Padres 3, Giants 2

Travis Jankowski scored one run on a balk and homered two innings later, propelling San Diego to victory at San Francisco.

Luis Perdomo worked three shutout innings in his first start since a demotion to the minors, and the Padres limited the Giants to five hits. Miguel Diaz (1-0), who pitched the fifth and sixth innings, got the win, and Kirby Yates was credited with his 12th save.

Aramis Garcia hit a two-run home run for the Giants, who won the season series 11-8 from the Padres.

--Field Level Media

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