LDN - Sports

MLB roundup: Brewers sweep Reds in playoff run

[September 27, 2019] Orlando Arcia ripped a three-run double in the fourth inning as the Milwaukee Brewers completed their second straight series sweep with a 5-3 victory over the host Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternoon.

Ben Gamel and Manny Pina each added an RBI double and Chase Anderson (8-4) allowed one run on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts over five innings for the Brewers, who have won seven in a row and 18 of their past 20 contests.

Milwaukee moved one game behind the idle St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the National League Central with three games to play. The Brewers, who have already clinched a playoff spot, also remained one game behind Washington for the top NL wild-card spot, as the Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 on Thursday.

Rookie Aristides Aquino belted a first-inning solo home run among his three hits for the Reds, who played host to Hall of Fame radio broadcaster Marty Brennaman's final game of his 46-year career with the team. Brennaman, 77, announced in January that he would retire after the season.

White Sox 8, Indians 0

Daniel Palka homered twice, and five pitchers combined on a four-hitter to lift host Chicago, dealing a serious blow to Cleveland's AL wild-card hopes.

Cleveland (93-66) lost for the second straight night to fall two games behind Tampa Bay (95-64) in the race for the second AL wild card with three games remaining. The Oakland A's (96-63) have a one-game lead over Tampa Bay for the top wild card and and moved three games ahead of the Indians with three to play after a 3-1 victory late Thursday night. The Wednesday loss eliminated the Indians from contention for a fourth successive AL Central title.

Chicago seized control of a scoreless game by erupting for a four-run fourth inning. James McCann smacked a three-run home run against Indians rookie right-hander Aaron Civale before Palka made it back-to-back home runs for the White Sox with the first of his two solo shots -- his first two homers of the season.

Athletics 3, Mariners 1

Matt Chapman hit a two-run homer and Sean Manaea pitched six strong innings as visiting Oakland won to spoil what was likely Felix Hernandez's final start in a Seattle uniform.

Hernandez, the longtime Mariners ace, is in the final season of his contract. His teammates stayed in the dugout at the start of the game as King Felix took the mound to a standing ovation.

Hernandez (1-8) went 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He walked four and struck out three. After each of his strikeouts, he saluted the fans in the King's Court cheering section down the left field line.

Angels 4, Astros 3 (12 innings)

Andrelton Simmons' sharp grounder off the glove of first baseman Kyle Tucker scored Kaleb Cowart from third base in the bottom of the 12th inning to lift Los Angeles over Houston in Anaheim, Calif.

Cowart led off the winning rally with a walk and then stole second. Two outs later, Tucker was unable to field Simmons' one-hopper -- it was ruled an error -- and the Angels kept the Astros from clinching home field in the American League playoffs.

Josh Reddick led Houston in a losing effort with five hits, but as a team the Astros were 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. The Los Angeles bullpen made the difference in the game, as nine Angels relievers combined to shut out the Astros for the final 7 2/3 innings. Trevor Cahill (4-9) got the win over Astros reliever Joe Biagini (2-3).

Twins 10, Tigers 4

Willians Astudillo had four hits, including a homer, scored four runs and drove in two more as Minnesota became the first team to hit 300 home runs in a season when it completed a three-game series sweep by pounding host Detroit.

Minnesota rested most of its regulars after clinching the American League Central Division title on Wednesday.

Jonathan Schoop hit the milestone 300th homer and drove in three runs. Jake Cave supplied two hits, including a two-run triple. Ian Miller added the first two hits of his major league career while scoring and driving in a run, and Devin Smeltzer (2-2) gave up three runs in five innings to notch the victory.

Dodgers 1, Padres 0

Chris Taylor scored from first on a two-out, sixth-inning single by Max Muncy, and Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw outdueled San Diego starter Joey Lucchesi with six scoreless innings to complete a sweep in the final meeting between the teams this season.

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Kershaw, who entered the game with a 5.24 ERA over his previous six starts and has struggled in the first inning throughout the season (6.00 ERA with 10 homers), survived a scare in the first. Manuel Margot lined out to the wall in center to open the game and Josh Naylor followed with a double to right. But Kershaw retired 14 of the next 15 hitters he faced.

The Dodgers finished the regular season with a 13-6 record against the Padres, including a 7-2 mark at Petco Park. The Padres were 1-5 on their final homestand and finished 36-45 at home.

Nationals 6, Phillies 3

Stephen Strasburg pitched six innings for his NL-leading 18th win, and host Washington completed a rare five-game sweep by beating division rival Philadelphia.

Michael A. Taylor had three hits, including a home run, and Asdrubal Cabrera homered and doubled for Washington. Andrew Knapp and Cesar Hernandez each had two hits, including a homer, for the Phillies, who have lost six straight.

Strasburg (18-6) allowed one run on four hits over six innings. He didn't walk a batter and struck out 10, setting a personal high for strikeouts in a season (251), topping the 242 he recorded in 2014.

Rangers 7, Red Sox 5

Willie Calhoun led off the seventh inning with a go-ahead home run, and Danny Santana clubbed a grand slam to lift host Texas over Boston, which was trying to sweep the three-game series.

Rangers starter Mike Minor (14-10) worked 8 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on 10 hits. He struck out nine -- giving him 200 K's on the year -- and walked two while throwing a season-high 126 pitches.

Rougned Odor also homered, and Nick Solak notched a 2-for-4 day with a double, an RBI and a stolen base for the Rangers, who won for just the second time in 11 games. The Rangers stole four bases, increasing their major-league-leading total to 122, and Elvis Andrus recorded his 300th career steal.

Marlins 4, Mets 2

Pinch hitter Curtis Granderson hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning off former teammate Zack Wheeler, and Miami rallied to win at New York.

Granderson gave the Marlins a 3-2 lead when he drove a 1-1 slider from Wheeler (11-8) onto a bridge overlooking the bullpens. It was Granderson's eighth career pinch-hit homer and fourth this season.

The Granderson homer immediately followed a two-run shot by Tyler Heineman, his first major league homer. Austin Dean added a homer in the ninth. Reliever Jeff Brigham (3-2) struck out the only batter he faced for the win, and Jose Urena pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his third save.

Giants 8, Rockies 3

Rookie Mauricio Dubon collected a single, a double and a home run to help build a lead, then San Francisco used a four-run eighth inning to pull away for a victory over visiting Colorado.

Mike Yastrzemski came off the bench to drive in two runs, one on his 21st homer of the season, as the Giants gave outgoing manager Bruce Bochy a 2,003rd career win with just three games remaining. Bochy, whose record in 13 seasons with the Giants is 1,052-1,051, will wrap up his 25-year career against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Ryan McMahon and Yonathan Daza had two hits each for the Rockies, who return home to complete the season with a three-game series against the playoff-bound Milwaukee Brewers.

Pirates 9, Cubs 5

Six players drove in runs for Pittsburgh, which completed a three-game series sweep of visiting Chicago.

Pablo Reyes hit a two-run triple, Jose Osuna and Melky Cabrera had RBI doubles, and Jacob Stallings, Jake Elmore and Adam Frazier had RBI singles for the Pirates.

Ian Happ hit a two-run double, Tony Kemp an RBI double, and Nico Hoerner an RBI single for the Cubs. A night after being eliminated from playoff contention, Chicago dropped its ninth straight.

--Field Level Media

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