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MLB roundup: White Sox wrap up AL Central crown

[September 24, 2021] Tim Anderson homered twice to help the visiting Chicago White Sox clinch the American League Central title with a 7-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday in the opener of a doubleheader.

Anderson led off the game with a homer and added a three-run shot to highlight a six-run second inning for the White Sox, who won their first division title since 2008.

The Indians were eliminated from postseason contention with the loss.

Chicago's Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez launched back-to-back homers to lead off the second. Robert added an RBI single later in the inning, and former Cleveland player Cesar Hernandez joined Anderson with three hits in the game.

Indians 5, White Sox 3 (Game 2)

Oscar Mercado belted a walk-off, two-run home run in the seventh inning as host Cleveland salvaged a doubleheader split against Chicago.

Myles Straw singled to lead off the seventh inning before Mercado deposited a 2-0 fastball from Jose Ruiz (1-3) over the wall in left field. Yu Chang and Owen Miller had two hits apiece for Cleveland.

Adam Engel, Leury Garcia and Yasmani Grandal each produced a pair of hits for the White Sox, who have lost six of their past nine games.

Cardinals 8, Brewers 5

Paul Goldschmidt homered twice and St. Louis overcame a five-run deficit to win in Milwaukee. The Cardinals completed a four-game sweep of the National League Central leaders and extended their winning streak to 12 games.

After Goldschmidt's two-run home run tied it in a four-run seventh, St. Louis went ahead 7-5 with two in the eighth off Aaron Ashby (3-1).

Goldschmidt and Dylan Carlson each had three hits for St. Louis. The Brewers' Tyrone Taylor hit a solo homer and a grand slam.

Padres 7, Giants 6 (10 innings)

San Diego kept its flickering playoff hopes alive, avoiding a series sweep at the hands of visiting San Francisco when Jurickson Profar scored a walk-off run in the last of the 10th.

In snapping their five-game losing streak, the Padres kept pace with the Cardinals in the National League wild-card race and take a six-game deficit into the season's final 10 games. The Giants were denied a 100th win this season and saw their NL West lead shrink to one game over the second-place Dodgers.

After spotting the Padres four runs in the first inning, the Giants used a two-run home run by Mike Yastrzemski in the second and a three-run blast from pinch hitter Austin Slater to take a brief 5-4 lead in the sixth. The Padres countered with two homers of their own -- solo shots by Trent Grisham and Ha-Seong Kim.

Twins 7, Blue Jays 2

Rookie Nick Gordon hit a three-run homer to highlight a four-run fifth inning and lead Minnesota past Toronto in the opener of a four-game series in Minneapolis.

Toronto fell a full game behind the idle New York Yankees for the second AL wild-card spot. Teoscar Hernandez homered, doubled and scored twice, and Thomas Hatch (0-1), who left the game with a right hamstring injury, took the loss, allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Gordon finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs, his second three-hit game in three days. Mitch Garver went 3-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI. Michael Pineda (8-8) defeated the Blue Jays for the second time in seven days, giving up two runs on eight hits over five innings.

Diamondbacks 6, Braves 4

Carson Kelly hit a three-run homer as Arizona rallied with a five-run seventh inning to beat Atlanta in Phoenix.

Daulton Varsho drove in two runs for Arizona, which snapped a four-game losing streak while avoiding a four-game series sweep.

Ozzie Albies hit an RBI double and Austin Riley homered for the Braves.

Dodgers 7, Rockies 5 (10 innings)

Max Muncy led off the 10th inning with a two-run homer and Corey Seager had four hits as Los Angeles rallied to beat Colorado in Denver.

The Dodgers rallied with runs in the eighth and ninth innings before Muncy put Los Angeles ahead when he homered on the first pitch from Lucas Gilbreath (2-2) in the 10th, his 35th of the season, with Justin Turner on second.

Kenley Jansen (4-4) pitched the ninth for the win, and Blake Treinen worked the 10th to log his sixth save. Raimel Tapia homered, Sam Hilliard had three hits and C.J. Cron had two hits for the Rockies.

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Washington Nationals right fielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates in the dugout after hitting his second solo home run of the game against the Cincinnati Reds during the seventh inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Angels 3, Astros 2

Jack Mayfield's two-out, two-run double in the sixth inning snapped a tie and lifted Los Angeles over Houston in Anaheim, Calif.

The Angels snapped their six-game losing streak while the Astros saw their four-game winning streak end. The Astros' magic number to win the AL West remained at three.

Angels starter Alex Cobb gave up just one run in 5 2/3 innings. Austin Warren (2-0) got the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Raisel Iglesias recorded his 33rd save despite giving up a two-out solo homer to Jason Castro.

Phillies 12, Pirates 6

Pinch hitter Ronald Torreyes smacked a go-ahead three-run homer, J.T. Realmuto homered and knocked in four runs off the bench and host Philadelphia rallied from a six-run deficit to knock off Pittsburgh.

Didi Gregorius hit a solo home run and Odubel Herrera had three hits for the Phillies, who moved within two games of the Braves for first place in the NL East. Aaron Nola (9-8) earned the win despite giving up six hits and six runs in six innings.

Ke'Bryan Hayes homered and drove in three runs and Colin Moran added a home run, single and an RBI for the Pirates.

Nationals 3, Reds 2

Juan Soto homered twice and reached base all four times while Patrick Corbin threw 6 2/3 shutout innings as visiting Washington held off Cincinnati.

Soto went 3-for-3 with one walk. The 22-year-old defending NL batting champion set a franchise record with his 131st base on balls. Bryce Harper had 130 in 2018.

Corbin (9-15) allowed four hits and struck out seven while walking four to record just his third win in his last 13 starts. Kyle Finnegan allowed an RBI triple to pinch hitter Max Schrock and a run-scoring groundout by Tucker Barnhart in the ninth but still earned his 11th save.

Mariners 6, Athletics 5

Pinch hitter Luis Torrens hit a two-run homer to break a tie in the sixth inning and Seattle completed the franchise's first-ever four-game road sweep of Oakland.

Cal Raleigh and Mitch Haniger also went deep for Seattle, which pulled within two games of the Yankees for the American League's final wild-card playoff berth. Sean Murphy and Matt Olson homered for the A's, who have lost nine straight in the season series.

The A's were sparked early by the return of Chris Bassitt, who was making his first appearance since getting hit in the face with a 100 mph line drive off the bat of the Chicago White Sox's Brian Goodwin on Aug. 17. In three scoreless innings, Bassitt allowed one hit with one walk and four strikeouts.

Orioles 3, Rangers 0

Zac Lowther threw five shutout innings to claim his first major league victory and host Baltimore hit two home runs while defeating Texas.

Lowther (1-2) allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked two in his fifth big-league start. The left-hander began the night with a 9.61 ERA. Ryan Mountcastle and Austin Hays homered for Baltimore in the opener of the four-game series.

Rangers right-hander Glenn Otto (0-3) was also aiming for his first major league victory in his fifth start. He gave up two runs and five hits in five innings, striking out seven and walking one.

--Field Level Media

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