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MLB roundup: Yankees clinch top AL wild card, tie HR record

[September 29, 2018]

Aaron Judge hit his first home run since returning from a fractured right wrist, and it was the homer that tied the all-time single-season team record as the New York Yankees clinched home-field advantage in the American League wild-card game with an 11-6 victory over the host Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

The Yankees reached 264 homers, tying the single-season record set by the 1997 Seattle Mariners.

Judge tied the mark with a long drive that landed in the center field seats on the first pitch of the eighth inning off Bobby Poyner. It was his 27th homer and first since July 21.

The Yankees hit four homers to tie the record and also secured home field in the wild-card game for the second straight season. They will host Oakland on Wednesday, and the winner advances to face the Red Sox in the Division Series next Friday in Boston.

Rockies 5, Nationals 2

David Dahl homered for the fifth straight game, Kyle Freeland worked six tough innings and Colorado clinched a spot in the postseason with a win over Washington at Denver.

The Rockies secured at least the second National League wild card with their eighth straight win while moving closer to their first-ever division title. They still hold a one-game lead over the Dodgers in the National League West after Los Angeles won at San Francisco late.

Freeland (17-7) was knocked around for 11 hits but was able to hold the Nationals to just two runs. He set the club record for the lowest season ERA at 2.85.

Dodgers 3, Giants 1

Justin Turner broke a tie with a two-run home run off Madison Bumgarner in the fifth inning, sending Los Angeles to victory at San Francisco.

Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu (7-3) earned the win, limiting the Giants to one run and four hits in six innings. Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth for his 38th save.

Los Angeles has a chance to clinch no worse than a wild-card berth on Saturday when Clayton Kershaw duels Giants rookie Dereck Rodriguez.

Brewers 6, Tigers 5

Ryan Braun hit a pair of solo homers, including a go-ahead shot in the eighth, and Milwaukee kept pace with the Chicago Cubs in edging visiting Detroit.

Milwaukee remained one game back of the first-place Cubs, who beat St. Louis earlier in the day, in the National League Central standings with two games remaining.

Christian Yelich hit a two-run homer, walked twice and scored two runs for the Brewers. Yelich's younger brother Cameron, who was recently honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps, threw out the first pitch and was in the stands for the game.

Cubs 8, Cardinals 4

Right-hander Kyle Hendricks limited St. Louis to two runs in eight innings, and Kris Bryant belted a home run in host Chicago's afternoon victory.

The Cardinals fell two games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the duel for the second NL wild-card spot with two games remaining.

Hendricks (14-11) allowed two sixth-inning runs but no other scoring in his eight innings, winning his third consecutive start. Bryant, who hadn't played since Tuesday because of a bruised wrist, hit his 13th home run.

Marlins 8, Mets 1

New York third baseman David Wright made his long-awaited return when he grounded out as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning of a loss to visiting Miami.

Wright's at-bat marked his first appearance in a big league game since May 27, 2016 -- an 853-day span in which he underwent neck, shoulder and back surgeries. He said at a press conference earlier this month it is "debilitating" for him to play baseball and that he would be unable to play beyond this season.

Wright sprung out of the dugout following the final out in the top of the fifth to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The at-bat was over as soon as it began: Wright hit Jose Urena's first pitch to third base, where Brian Anderson made a nice play on the sharp one-hopper and threw Wright out at first.

Braves 10, Phillies 2

Johan Camargo started a four-run rally with a home run, and Mike Foltynewicz threw five one-hit innings as Atlanta coasted to victory at Philadelphia.

Camargo went 3-for-5 and broke open a scoreless game with a line drive homer, his 19th, against Jerad Eickhoff to help the Braves break a two-game losing streak and hand Philadelphia its ninth straight loss.

Atlanta became the first National League team to reach 90 wins after three consecutive 90-loss seasons since the 1991 Braves. Philadelphia has not won since Sept. 19.

Astros 2, Orioles 1

Marwin Gonzalez produced a soft line drive with the bases loaded in the eighth inning to score a run, and Houston matched its victory total from last season with a win over host Baltimore.

Houston left-hander Tony Sipp (3-1) earned the win, the team's 101st, with a perfect seventh inning. Closer Roberto Osuna notched his 12th save with the Astros and 21st on the season.

Astros right-hander Gerrit Cole limited the Orioles to five hits and one walk with four strikeouts over six innings. Cole finished his debut season in Houston with a 2.88 ERA plus a career-high 276 strikeouts over 200 1/3 innings.

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Sep 28, 2018; Boston, MA, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks (31) (right) celebrates his home run with right fielder Aaron Judge (99) and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) during the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Indians 14, Royals 6

Josh Donaldson hit a grand slam during a 10-run seventh inning as Cleveland broke open a tight game on its way to a rout at Kansas City.

Donaldson also doubled during the big inning in which Cleveland sent 14 batters to the plate. Jason Kipnis homered earlier in the contest, and Roberto Perez had three RBIs as the Indians won for the fifth time in the past seven games.

Right-hander Mike Clevinger (13-8) was charged with one run and three hits over 6 2/3 innings to win for the sixth time in his last seven decisions. Clevinger struck out five and walked none.

Blue Jays 7, Rays 6

Pinch hitter Randal Grichuk hit a three-run triple in the seventh inning, and Toronto edged Tampa Bay at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Teoscar Hernandez and Rowdy Tellez homered for the Blue Jays, and Richard Urena added three hits and two stolen bases.

Tim Mayza (2-0) pitched one-third of an inning to get the win. Ken Giles pitched around a single in the ninth and struck out two to earn his 26th save in 26 opportunities this season.

Twins 2, White Sox 1 (Game 1)

Jose Berrios struck out nine batters while giving up one run and three hits over seven innings to lead Minnesota to victory over Chicago in the first game of a split doubleheader at Minneapolis.

It was just the third win since pitching in the All-Star Game for Berrios (12-11), who became the eighth player in Minnesota history to record 200 strikeouts in a season when he got Daniel Palka to whiff in the sixth inning. Francisco Liriano last accomplished the feat for the Twins in 2010.

Trevor May struck out both batters he faced to pick up his second save. Taylor Rogers gave up one hit over 1 1/3 innings to extend his scoreless innings streak to 25 innings dating back to July 30.

Twins 12, White Sox 4 (Game 2)

Mitch Garver had four hits and drove in a career-high six runs, and Chase De Jong picked up his first major league win as Minnesota completed the doubleheader sweep of Chicago.

Garver, usually a catcher but playing first base in his first start since suffering a concussion after taking a foul ball off his mask against the New York Yankees on Sept. 12, had a two-run double in the first and a RBI double in the second inning as the Twins jumped out to a 7-0 lead.

He added a two-run single in the third inning to make it 10-1 and an RBI single in the fifth inning that extended Minnesota's lead to 11-2.

Pirates 8, Reds 4

Elias Diaz hit a solo home run, and Colin Moran also went deep with three RBIs as Pittsburgh topped host Cincinnati.

With their 81st win, the Pirates ensured they will finish over .500. They will play no more than 161 games after having a rainout against Miami canceled.

Tucker Barnhart and Eugenio Suarez each hit two-run homers, and Barnhart had his first career five-hit game for Cincinnati.

Mariners 12, Rangers 6

Robinson Cano went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs, and Cameron Maybin was 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs as Seattle downed visiting Texas.

The Mariners snapped a two-game losing streak and pulled within a game of the last-place Rangers in the season series between the teams. Texas is the only team in the American League West that Seattle has a losing record against this season.

Staked to a 9-0 lead, Mariners left-hander Wade LeBlanc (9-5) nearly didn't qualify for the victory. In five innings, LeBlanc allowed six runs (five earned) on six hits, with two walks and six strikeouts.

Angels 8, Athletics 5

Shohei Ohtani had three hits, Mike Trout hit his 39th home run and Los Angeles held on to beat Oakland at Anaheim, Calif.

Five Angels pitchers combined on a five-hitter, with Oakland not getting a hit until Jed Lowrie led off the sixth inning with a single. The A's scored all five of their runs in the eighth inning on three hits, two walks, two Angels errors and a wild pitch.

The win for the Angels was their fourth in a row and kept alive their chances of finishing the season at .500.

Padres 3, Diamondbacks 2 (15 innings)

Freddy Galvis doubled home pinch hitter Javier Guerra from first with no one out in the 15th inning to give San Diego a walk-off win over visiting Arizona.

Guerra, who was 1-for-14 since being called up from Triple-A El Paso, drew a walk from Diamondbacks reliever Matt Andriese to open the 15th. Galvis then pulled a double into the right field corner, with Guerra beating the relay home with a headfirst slide.

Right-hander Colten Brewer (1-0) worked two innings of scoreless relief for his first major league win. Andriese (3-7) took the loss. The game lasted 5 hours, 2 minutes.

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