MLB roundup: Ronald Acuna Jr. joins 40/40 club in Braves' win

 

[September 23, 2023]  Ronald Acuna Jr. and Austin Riley homered in the first inning, and the Atlanta Braves defeated the host Washington Nationals 9-6 to move closer to the 100-win mark Friday night.

Marcell Ozuna smashed a three-run homer in the seventh, and Riley drove in runs on three separate plate appearances to finish with four runs batted in for the National League East champion Braves (99-55).

Acuna led off the game with his 40th home run of the season. He became just the fifth player to join the 40-40 club with his 68 steals. He's the only player in MLB history to have 40 or more home runs and 60 or more steals in the same year. Two batters after Acuna, Riley's 37th homer gave Atlanta a 3-0 lead before an out was recorded.

Braves starter Charlie Morton was done after one scoreless inning; the right-hander walked two. He departed because of discomfort in his right index finger, according to information from the team. Michael Tonkin (7-2) was the winning pitcher with two innings of relief.

After the game, the Nationals announced that Saturday's game was postponed due to severe weather in the forecast and would be played as part of a split-admission doubleheader on Sunday.

Twins 8, Angels 6

Alex Kirilloff homered and drove in three runs, Pablo Lopez allowed three runs over six innings to pick up his 11th victory of the season and Minnesota clinched the American League Central Division title with a victory over Los Angeles in Minneapolis.

Kyle Farmer doubled and had two hits and two runs while Willi Castro had a triple and scored twice for Minnesota, which won its third AL Central title over the last five seasons. Jorge Polanco also had two hits, including an RBI double, Michael A. Taylor had two RBIs and Max Kepler scored two runs for the Twins, who took advantage of 10 walks by Angels pitchers. Lopez (11-8) allowed five hits and walked one while striking out seven.

Jared Walsh and Logan O'Hoppe each homered, rookie Nolan Schanuel extended his on-base streak to 25 games to start his career with an RBI single. Drury and Stefanic each had two hits for Los Angeles, which suffered its eighth loss in the last nine games.

Giants 5, Dodgers 1

Sean Manaea did not allow a run over a season-high seven innings and visiting San Francisco picked up a much-needed victory, beating Los Angeles.

Manaea (7-6) gave up three hits, all singles, and no walks while striking out two. He did not allow a runner to reach second base en route to his first career win over the Dodgers in 10 appearances (seven starts). Mike Yastrzemski, Thairo Estrada and Tyler Fitzgerald hit home runs as San Francisco remained three games out of the final wild-card spot in the National League.

Freddie Freeman had two hits and an RBI for the Dodgers to reach 200 hits for the first time in his career. Freeman became the first first baseman in major league history to reach 200 hits, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season. Los Angeles, which already wrapped up the National League West title, saw its magic number for wrapping up a top-two seed in NL playoffs remain at two.

Padres 4, Cardinals 2

Manny Machado drove in three runs with a pair of tiebreaking homers in the sixth and eighth innings as host San Diego won its eighth straight game, knocking off St. Louis.

Machado's sixth multi-homer game of the season gave him 30 home runs on the season. His second homer came off losing pitcher Matthew Liberatore (3-6) and followed a double down the right-field foul line by Juan Soto. Machado led off the sixth with a solo shot off Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson.

The Cardinals had tied the game in the top of the eighth. Paul Goldschmidt opened the inning with a single and scored on Jordan Walker's triple to center off Luis Garcia. But the Padres froze the go-ahead run at third. After Garcia struck out Richie Palacios, Robert Suarez (4-2) came in to strike out Michael Siani and retired Jose Fermin on a liner to right.

Athletics 8, Tigers 2

Shea Langeliers delivered a three-run, pinch-hit home run, Ken Waldichuk made a successful return to the rotation and Oakland snapped an eight-game losing streak by thumping visiting Detroit.

Esteury Ruiz chipped in with a two-RBI single in a three-run seventh inning for the A's, who exploded for seven runs over a two-inning stretch after managing just 14 runs in the first seven games of a winless homestand. Waldichuk (4-8) limiting the Tigers to two runs and four hits in six innings. He fanned seven without issuing a walk

Carson Kelly hit a two-run home run for the Tigers. Losing pitcher Will Vest (2-1) gave up three runs (two earned) in one-third of an inning, including Brent Rooker's 29th homer of the season. The solo shot ignited Oakland's three-run sixth inning.

Guardians 9, Orioles 8

David Fry ripped a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving host Cleveland a 9-8 walk-off victory over Baltimore.

After Aaron Hicks' two-run double in the top of the ninth gave Baltimore an 8-7 lead, Cleveland answered in its half of the inning. The late uprising against losing pitcher Yennier Cano (1-4) made a winner out of Emmanuel Clase (3-9), who retired the first two batters he faced in the ninth and appeared poised to secure his major-league-leading 43rd save before the Guardians rallied.

Kole Calhoun drove in two runs and Will Brennan, Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, Myles Straw and Gimenez each plated one for the Guardians. Anthony Santander collected three hits, drove in three runs and scored once for the Orioles. Gunnar Henderson scored three times and joined Ramon Urias with two hits apiece for the Orioles, whose lead in the American League East remained at 1 1/2 games over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Yankees 7, Diamondbacks 1

Aaron Judge went 4-for-4 and tied a career-high with six RBIs in becoming the first player in team history with multiple three-homer games in the same season, and New York cruised over visiting Arizona.

Judge hit a three-run homer in the third inning and a two-run bomb in the fifth off Arizona rookie starter Brandon Pfaadt (2-9). He got his third homer with a solo shot off Slade Cecconi in the seventh. It was Judge's second career three-homer game. He also went deep three times on Aug. 23 against Washington.

The Diamondbacks saw their five-game winning streak stopped, and their lead over the Cubs reduced to one game for the second of three National League wild-card spots.

Cubs 6, Rockies 0

Jameson Taillon struck out seven while going six innings and Seiya Suzuki clubbed a two-run homer for one of his three hits and had three RBIs, as Chicago blanked visiting Colorado.

Sep 22, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) celebrates after scoring a run in the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

A loser in 10 of the previous 13 and fighting for a National League wild-card spot, reeling Chicago rebounded after allowing 21 runs in losing the previous two games to the Pittsburgh Pirates on this final homestand of the season. Taillon (8-10) helped the cause, though he yielded four of Colorado's six hits and four walks.

However, the Rockies stranded seven men and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position while Taillon was on the mound for the Cubs, who also dropped five of the previous seven at home. All-Star catcher Elias Diaz had two hits for Colorado, which has lost five straight overall, and eight in a row on the road.

Blue Jays 6, Rays 2

Chris Bassitt moved into a tie for the American League lead in victories, and Toronto benefited from a four-run sixth inning in defeating Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Bassitt (15-8) tossed 6 2/3 innings and allowed two runs on six hits. He fanned eight without a walk. His 15 wins tied him with Tampa Bay's Zach Eflin for the most in the AL.

Daulton Varsho was 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs, and George Springer had two hits and an RBI as the Blue Jays won for the sixth time in seven games. Jordan Romano notched his 36th save with a scoreless 1 1/3 innings.

Brewers 16, Marlins 1

Josh Donaldson and Christian Yelich homered as part of a 12-run second inning and Milwaukee routed host Miami and clinched a playoff berth.

The Brewers' big inning featured nine hits, three walks and one steal. It was the second-biggest frame in Brewers history, topped only by a 13-run fifth inning against the Angels on July 8, 1990.

Yelich, who returned from a back injury and played just his second game since Sept. 9, went 3-for-4 with two home runs, five RBIs and four runs for the Brewers, who are closing in on their third National League Central title in the past six years. Their magic number to win the division is one.

Rangers 8, Mariners 5

Rookie Evan Carter slugged a three-run homer and Corey Seager hit a solo shot to help Texas notch a victory over Seattle in the opener of a three-game series at Arlington, Texas.

Mitch Garver contributed a two-run single as Texas moved into first place in the American League West by a half-game over the Houston Astros and a full game over the Mariners. Dane Dunning (11-6) gave up four runs and four hits over 5 1/3 innings for Texas.

Cal Raleigh crushed a three-run homer for the Mariners, who fell to 1-6 against the Rangers this season. Seattle currently is on the outside of the AL wild-card battle, trailing the second-place Toronto Blue Jays by 1 1/2 games and third-place Houston by half a game. Seattle's Bryce Miller (8-6) was roughed up for six runs and six hits over 4 1/3 innings.

Royals 7, Astros 5

Cole Ragans produced his seventh quality start since being acquired by Kansas City, which rode an ambush first inning to a win over host Houston.

The Royals earned their fourth straight win and third in their past four games against the spiraling Astros, who fell behind the Texas Rangers in the chase for the American League West lead with their seventh loss in 10 games.

Ragans (7-4), acquired from Texas on June 30, thwarted the Astros repeatedly. He allowed two runs on three hits and four walks with five strikeouts over six innings by limiting the Astros to 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Chas McCormick hit a three-run homer for Houston.

Red Sox 3, White Sox 2

Masataka Yoshida's RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning propelled the Boston Red Sox to a victory over the visiting Chicago White Sox.

Yoshida's two-out single drove in Rafael Devers from third and broke a 2-2 tie. The Red Sox trailed 2-1 entering the eighth but tied the game when Adam Duvall's sacrifice fly scored Ceddanne Rafaela.

Trevor Story collected three of Boston's seven hits. Devers had two hits as Boston ended a two-game losing streak. Mauricio Llovera (2-3) earned the win by pitching a scoreless eighth inning. Chris Martin picked up his third save by retiring the White Sox in order in the ninth.

Pirates 7, Reds 5

Pittsburgh hit four solo homers and used seven pitchers to deal Cincinnati its third straight loss, a crushing blow to the host's fading bid for a playoff spot.

Pirates closer David Bednar overcame three baserunners, two of them on walks, in the ninth by inducing a double play and striking out rookie Noelvi Marte to end the game and record his 37th save in 40 chances.

Pittsburgh got long balls from Ke'Bryan Hayes, Henry Davis, Jared Triolo and Endy Rodriguez. The Pirates won their third straight game and improved to 15-8 since Aug. 28. The Reds fell 1 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the chase for the third and final National League wild-card spot.

Phillies 5, Mets 4 (10 innings)

Alec Bohm hit a walk-off RBI single to right field off Adam Ottavino to score Trea Turner from second base and host Philadelphia defeated New York in 10 innings.

Bohm had two hits, J.T. Realmuto clubbed a three-run homer and Kyle Schwarber added two hits and his 100th RBI of the season for the Phillies, who won their third in a row. Schwarber reached the 100-RBI plateau one day after teammate Nick Castellanos did so. Phillies starter Taijuan Walker gave up five hits and two runs with four strikeouts and one walk in six innings.

Francisco Lindor and Brett Baty each hit a solo home run, both in the late innings, and Pete Alonso added an RBI double for the Mets, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

--Field Level Media

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