MLB roundup: Brewers clinch NL Central despite loss to Cards

 

[September 27, 2023]  Miles Mikolas allowed one run over seven innings to pace the visiting St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-1 win over Milwaukee on Tuesday night, but the Brewers still clinched the National League Central title.

Milwaukee wrapped up the division when the Chicago Cubs lost 7-6 at Atlanta on Tuesday night. It marks the third division title for the Brewers over the last six seasons.

Mikolas (8-13) gave up five hits, struck out five and walked two in a 101-pitch outing. Drew VerHagen followed with a perfect eighth and Ryan Helsley struck out the side in the ninth for his 13th save in 18 opportunities for the Cards.

Brewers starter Adrian Houser (7-5) allowed four runs on three hits in five innings, striking out five and walking two. Carlos Santana had an RBI double for Milwaukee.

Phillies 3, Pirates 2 (10 innings)

Johan Rojas singled to center field with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning and host Philadelphia clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season, beating Pittsburgh.

Rojas had two hits and Brandon Marsh hit a solo home run for the Phillies. Aaron Nola pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed four hits and one run with eight strikeouts and no walks. Jeff Hoffman (5-2) earned the win.

Henry Davis hit a home run and single and Bryan Reynolds added a homer for the Pirates. Mitch Keller gave up three hits and two runs with six strikeouts and two walks in six innings.

Twins 11, Athletics 3

Matt Wallner hit a grand slam to highlight a five-run first inning and Alex Kirilloff also homered as Minnesota handed Oakland its record 109th loss this season with a victory in the opener of a three-game series in Minneapolis.

Donovan Solano went 4-for-4 with a walk, a double and three runs, and Christian Vazquez had a three-run double for the American League Central Division champion Twins.

Seth Brown had a two-run homer for the A's, whose 109th loss broke a tie with the 1979 squad that finished 54-108 for most losses in a season since the team moved to Oakland in 1968. The franchise record is 117 set by the Connie Mack-managed Philadelphia Athletics (36-117) in 1916.

Rockies 4, Dodgers 1 (Game 1)

Nolan Jones homered among his two hits, Brendan Rodgers had three hits and Colorado beat Los Angeles in the first game of a split doubleheader in Denver.

Chase Anderson (1-6) tossed five shutout innings and Tyler Kinley got the final three outs for his fifth save of the season for the Rockies, who snapped a seven-game skid.

Jason Heyward had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers opener Caleb Ferguson (7-4) allowed three runs on three hits in just two-thirds of an inning.

Reds 11, Guardians 7

Elly De La Cruz went deep twice for his first career multi-homer performance, lifting visiting Cincinnati over Cleveland.

De La Cruz went deep to lead off the fourth inning and added a two-run shot in the ninth to boost his home-run total to 13 on the season. He also had an RBI single in the fifth inning. Christian Encarnacion-Strand launched a two-run homer, TJ Friedl also went deep and Spencer Steer ripped an RBI triple for the Reds.

Cleveland's Bo Naylor launched a three-run blast and Kole Calhoun and Andres Gimenez added back-to-back homers.

Orioles 1, Nationals 0

Gunnar Henderson homered, Kyle Bradish pitched eight strong innings and Baltimore defeated visiting Washington to reduce its magic number to clinch the AL East to two.

In his longest outing of the season, Bradish (12-7) allowed three hits and two walks while striking out four. He lowered his ERA to 2.86. Yennier Cano struck out the side in the ninth for his eighth save.

Nationals starter Josiah Gray (8-13) nearly matched Bradish, allowing a run on five hits over six innings. Keibert Ruiz and Luis Garcia each reached on a single and a walk for Washington.

Tigers 6, Royals 3

Pinch hitter Akil Baddoo and Parker Meadows hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning and host Detroit snapped Kansas City's six-game winning streak.

Baddoo's 11th homer of the season broke a 2-2 deadlock. Spencer Torkelson supplied a two-run double for the Tigers in the opener of a three-game series. Jason Foley (3-3) pitched one scoreless inning of relief to pick up the win.

Salvador Perez, Nick Pratto and Nick Loftin drove in the runs for the Royals. Kansas City starter Zack Greinke gave up one hit and one walk in five scoreless innings.

Yankees 2, Blue Jays 0

Austin Wells hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning and visiting New York defeated Toronto.

Clay Holmes pitched around a single in the bottom of the ninth to earn his 23rd save of the season, while Jordan Romano (5-7) took the loss.

Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman allowed three hits and two walks with five strikeouts in seven shutout innings.

Rays 9, Red Sox 7

Manuel Margot went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs while Rene Pinto hit a two-run homer as visiting Tampa Bay scored seven runs through the first three innings before holding on to beat Boston.

Sep 26, 2023; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (39) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

The Rays jumped out to a 7-0 lead to support starter Zach Eflin (16-8), who didn't allow a run until Enmanuel Valdez hit a three-run homer in the fifth. After the Red Sox pulled within 7-6 in the seventh, Harold Ramirez's run-scoring groundout and an RBI single from Jonathan Aranda delivered two key insurance runs in the Rays' half of the eighth.

Valdez went 3-for-4 with four RBIs for Boston. Red Sox starter Tanner Houck (5-10) allowed seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits over three innings.

Braves 7, Cubs 6

Atlanta scored two runs in the eighth when right fielder Seiya Suzuki dropped a fly ball, allowing the Braves to complete a rally from a six-run deficit and beat visiting Chicago.

With runners at second and third and two outs, Sean Murphy hit a fly that Suzuki misplayed, allowing Matt Olson and Forest Wall to score. The Braves, who trailed 6-0 entering the bottom of the sixth, rallied for the two decisive unearned runs against ex-Brave Drew Smyly (11-10).

The winning pitcher was Brad Hand (5-2), who pitched a scoreless eighth, and Raisel Iglesias worked the ninth, allowing a one-out single but then striking out two to earn his 31st save. Chicago retained a half-game lead for the final NL wild card over the Miami Marlins, who had their scheduled road game against the New York Mets rained out.

Diamondbacks 15, White Sox 4

Christian Walker went 3-for-5 with two home runs and six RBIs and Ketel Marte also went deep as visiting Arizona routed Chicago.

Arizona opened a one-game lead over the Cubs for the second of three NL wild-card spots. Marte, who had missed the previous two starts due to an illness, hit a solo home run in the eighth.

Chicago grabbed a first-inning lead, as Eloy Jimenez launched a three-run home run to left-center field following one-out singles from Andrew Benintendi and Andrew Vaughn. White Sox starter Jose Urena (0-7) allowed seven runs (four earned) and four hits in four innings.

Dodgers 11, Rockies 2 (Game 2)

Freddie Freeman homered among his two hits, James Outman added four hits and Los Angeles beat Colorado to gain a split of a day-night doubleheader in Denver.

Max Muncy and Enrique Hernandez each had three hits for Los Angeles. The Dodgers pulled away with a five-run second inning. Los Angeles starter Bobby Miller (11-4) allowed two runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out nine in seven innings.

Elehuris Montero homered and finished with two hits and Nolan Jones and Charlie Blackmon also had two hits for the Rockies. Ryan Feltner (2-4) gave up five runs on six hits in three innings to take the loss.

Angels 9, Rangers 3

Brandon Drury smacked a three-run homer and Reid Detmers pitched seven solid innings to lead Los Angeles over Texas in Anaheim, Calif.

Michael Stefanic and Eduardo Escobar drove in two runs apiece for Los Angeles, which won for just the third time in the past 13 games. Detmers (4-10) allowed one run and four hits over seven innings to halt a five-start winless stretch.

Rangers star Corey Seager sustained a bruised forearm when hit by Detmers in the fifth inning, and he departed after the top of the sixth. Texas manager Bruce Bochy said X-rays were negative.

Mariners 6, Astros 2

George Kirby pitched six scoreless innings as Seattle bolstered its flagging playoff hopes with a victory against visiting Houston.

Ty France homered for the Mariners, who snapped a four-game losing streak and pulled within a half-game of Houston for the American League's third and final wild-card playoff berth.

Kirby (12-10) allowed five hits, walked one and struck out four. Seattle's Cal Raleigh and France had two hits apiece. Astros starter Cristian Javier (9-5) yielded four runs, three earned, in 4 2/3 innings as Houston lost for the fourth time in five games.

Padres 4, Giants 0

Juan Soto belted two home runs, Seth Lugo fell one out short of a complete-game shutout and San Diego squared its three-game series at San Francisco.

Lugo (8-7) tossed a career-high 8 2/3 innings. He gave up three hits, walked three and struck out seven. Josh Hader got the final out -- a strikeout of Wilmer Flores -- with two aboard in the ninth for his 32nd save.

Giants opener John Brebbia (3-3) gave up one run, Soto's first-inning solo shot, in 1 1/3 innings. Soto hit his 35th homer of the year, a two-run blast, in the seventh off Ryan Walker.

--Field Level Media

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.