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Continuing Coverage of Major League Baseball
September 27, 2026 MLB Players of the Day
The regular season wrapped up Sunday, setting in place the opening round of the playoffs in both leagues.
The AL West went to Houston, the Astros winning the division for the eighth time in the last 10 years. They defeated the A’s, 9-0, on Sunday while the Texas Rangers fell, 6-4, at Minnesota, losing the division by one game. The Astros will host the White Sox in a three game series starting Tuesday. The other wild card matchup involves the Yankees and Red Sox, the top two wild cards, who will meet for a three-game series in New York. Both wild card series are played exclusively at the home team’s venue, in these cases, New York and Houston.
Houston used six bullpen pitchers to down the A’s and capture the AL West flag. Christian Walker singled, walked twice, socked a solo homer in the sixth inning and scored three times In Houston’s clincher.
AL Streaks: Astros, Mariners, won 2; A’s, Angels, lost 2.
The Phillies ended their late-season meltdown and clinched the third wild card with a 7-3 win over Tampa Bay Sunday at Philadelphia. The Phillies officially clinched their spot when the Padres downed the Diamondbacks, 9-4, in San Diego.
Kyle Schwarber singled and doubled in four at-bats, scoring once and driving in two runs. He singled and scored in the first inning to get the scoring started and doubled in two runs in the fourth to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead that led to the victory. The Phillies will meet the Braves for a three-game series starting Tuesday with all games played in Atlanta.
The other two wild cards, the Cubs and Padres, also start Tuesday, with all of the best-of-three series played in San Diego.
NL Streaks: Brewers, won 5; Giants, lost 5.
Cleveland locked up the AL Central on Saturday with an 11-5 win at Kansas City.
Nathaniel Lowe drove in four runs with a pair of sac flies and a two-run-producing single. Brayan Rocchio doubled and socked a pair of of solo homers in four at-bats, scoring three times and driving in two runs. Rocchio has delivered down the stretch for the Guardians, coming up with timely hits over the past month.
The White Sox fell to the Rockies, 9-6, leaving them with the third wild card. They will open a three-game series at Tampa Bay on Tuesday in the wild card round.
The West remains unsettled, with both Houston and Texas winners on Saturday, the division title to be determined on the final day of the regular season. Should the two teams end up tied, the title will go to Houston, winners of the head-to-head series over the course of the season. Texas can take it with a win and a Houston loss, so the Astros should be motivated in their finale against the A’s. Texas is at Minnesota. All games Sunday start no later than 3:10 pm ET.
AL Streaks: Guardians, won 3; Royals, lost 3.
The woes for the Phillies just can’t get much worse, though a little ray of sunlight emerged as the Padres downed the Diamondbacks, 10-7, at San Diego, while the Phillies were being home-schooled by Tampa Bay in an embarrassing, 12-1 loss. The Phillies need either a win on Sunday or another Arizona loss to clinch the third wild card and limp into the playoffs. Whether it’s the Phillies or Diamondbacks, the eventual wild card will play three games at Atlanta starting Tuesday.
Manny Machedo socked a three-run homer in the fourth inning, his 30th, to put the Padres ahead, 6-4, giving them a lead they would not relinquish.
The Padres and Diamondbacks go at it again on Sunday, while the Phillies host the Rays in the season finale.
NL Streaks: Brewers, won 4; Phillies, Giants, lost 4.
Unfinished business in the AL will be settled this weekend. Neither Houston nor Texas seems able to finish off the West division. Both lost on Friday, leaving the two tied at 79-81, assuring that whichever team takes the title will send a .500 or worse team to the layoffs.
The White sox have secured the third wild card but can still take the Central division. They trail Cleveland by one game and hold the tie-breaker. Both teams have won two straight with two games left to play.
The Twins dealt a blow to the Rangers’ hopes, as leadoff hitter, Luke Keaschall went 4-for-5 with a double, triple and two singles, a stolen base, three runs and three RBI in Minnesota’s 10-2 thrashing of Texas Friday at Minneapolis. The two squads finish up the regular season this weekend.
AL Streaks: Twins, won 3; Royals, Mariners, lost 2.
As the season comes to an end this weekend, there still has not been a no-hitter thrown in either league, but Miami’s Eury Perez came as close as possible, tossing a one-hit, complete game shutout Friday night in the Marlins’ 3-0 win over visiting Atlanta.
Perez faced two over the minimum and didn’t allow a hit until Sean Murphy singled to left to lead off the sixth. He was erased on a double play and after that, Perez retired the final 10 batters in order. A right-hander from the Dominican Republic, Perez threw 73 of 105 pitches for strikes, walked one and struck out eight.
The only playoff placing that needs to be settled in the NL is the third wild card, currently in the tenuous hold of the Phillies, losers of three straight, by one game of the streaking Diamondbacks. Philly may need to win both of its final two games against the Rays, because, if Arizona wins both of their remaining two with San Diego, they hold the tie-breaker.
NL Streaks: Diamondbacks, won 6; Rockies, lost 5.
The West division remains up for grabs. Texas and Houston are tied at 79-80 with three games left to play. In Sacramento, Houston downed the A’s, 7-5,, powered to victory by Lucas Spence, the recent rookie call-up (16 games) slamming three home runs and driving in five. Texas kept pace with a 3-1 win over the visiting Mets.
The weekend will determine the West winner. Houston continues its four-game series with the A’s while the Rangers travel to Minnesota for a three-game series with the Twins starting Friday. The division winner will advance to the playoffs, the loser will be out. In case of a tie, Houston wins on the tie-breaker, having won the head-to-head season series, 9-4.
AL Streaks: Orioles, won 3; Blue Jays, lost 3.
Milwaukee set a franchise record with its 100th win, clinching the best record in the NL and earning a first round playoff bye. The Brewers topped the Phillies, 5-1, in Philadelphia, Thursday, leaving the Phillies holding the third wild card, two games up on Arizona, winners of five straight.
The Phillies could be eliminated from the playoffs if the Diamondbacks keep winning and the Phillies lose two or three of their final three games at home versus the Rays this weekend. Meanwhile, Arizona closes out the regular season with three games at San Diego, which has already clinched a wild card and is one game up on the Cubs, and two on the Phillies.
The Padres may not want to use their top starters, saving them instead for the wild card round best of three, so the door is open for the Diamondbacks. If Arizona and Philadelphia end up tied, Arizona would advance, having the tie-breaker over the Phillies.
Pete Crow-Armstrong singled and stole a base in Chicago’s 2-1 win over visiting Miami, to join an elite group with 45 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season. He becomes the seventh player in major league history to join the “40-40 Club”.
The Cubs close out the regular season with three games at Boston over the weekend.
NL Streaks: Diamondbacks, won 5; Rockies, lost 4.
Sonny Gray held the Guardians scoreless over six innings Wednesday at Fenway Park and the Boston Red Sox took down Cleveland, 1-0, taking one step closer to securing the second wild card in the American League.
A win over the Guardians in Thursday’s series finale would secure the spot and send the Sox to New York for the best-of-three wild card series next Tuesday. In any case, Boston needs to win just one of its last four games to hold their position.
Gray allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out three, earning his 18th win against five loses and dropping his ERA to 2.72. He will end the season with the most wins in the American League and is currently tied with Philadelphia’s Christopher Sanchez for the most wins in the majors.
Other than Baltimore, all of the contenders for the third wild card suffered losses on Wednesday, as Texas, Houston and the White Sox fell. Chicago trails Cleveland by one game in the Central division, and has a three game edge on Texas and Houston and is 3 1/2 up on the Orioles. The Astros and Rangers remain tied for the lead in the West at 78-80.
AL Streaks: Orioles, won 3; Angels, Blue Jays, Rangers, lost 3.
Manny Machado launched a fourth-ing, two-run homer to get things started for the Padres and drove in another run with a sac fly in the fifth as the Padres downed the Dodgers, 5-1, Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
Machado’s home run was his 29th of the season, and the win put the Padres a game up over the Cubs and Phillies in the NL wild card race with four games remaining in the regular season. The top two wild cards will face each other in a best-of-three series starting Tuesday. The third wild card will meet either Milwaukee or Los Angeles.
NL Streaks: Diamondbacks, won 4; Rockies, lost 3.
After dropping the first game of their double-header, 2-0, Tampa Bay clinched the AL East with a 6-1 win at New York, relegating the Yankees to second place and the top wild card. Yandi Diaz, batting from his usual leadoff spot, drove in four runs for the Rays with a pair of timely singles, one in the seventh and another in the ninth.
In Kansas City, the White Sox continued to charge toward the playoffs in a 14-11 slug-fest. Chase Meidroth drove in five runs with a two-run single in the first and a three-run, third-inning homer. Randal Grichuk singled, doubled twice, and swatted a fourth-inning home run, driving in three runs and scoring four times in five at-bats. KC’s Vinnie Pasquantino’s ninth-inning grand slam made the game closer than it should have been.
Chicago’s victory kept them firmly in control of the third wild card, three games up on either the Rangers or Astros, those two tied for first place in the AL West. The White Sox remain a game behind Cleveland in the Central division. The Guardians won their sixth straight, downing the Red Sox, 3-2, in Boston.
Baltimore and Toronto were rained out, so those two will play a double-header Wednesday. The White Sox continue their series at Kansas City.
AL Streaks: Guardians, won 6; Royals, lost 5.
As of Tuesday night, all the divisions in the NL have been decided. The Braves own the East, the Brewers, the Central, and the Dodgers are champions of the West. Additionally, he wild cards are just about sewn up, with the Cubs, Phillies and Padres all locked in at 87-70. Arizona is the only team with any chance to break that troika, but they are four back with just five games left in the regular season.
If the two or three wild card teams end up tied, MLB has a set of tie-breakers, starting with head-to-head records and then a series of conditions.
Of the three wild card teams, only the Phillies won on Tuesday, as Brandon Marsh socked a second-inning, two-run homer and drove in an insurance run in the eighth with a run-scoring double to lead Philly to a 6-4 win over the visiting Brewers.
The Dodgers blanked the Padres, 7-0, and the Cubs lost to Miami, 8-2, in 12 innings.
The Dodgers are now one game behind Milwaukee for the best record in the NL, which ensures a first-round playoff bye. Game continue Wednesday with the regular season - barring rainouts - ending Sunday.
NL Streaks: Pirates, Dodgers, won 5; Rockies, lost 2.
There were only three games played on Monday, only one involving potential playoff teams.
Baltimore put a dent in Toronto’s post-season hopes as Pete Alonso slugged a pair of home runs, giving him 40 on the year with 108 RBI in a 4-3 Oriole victory at Camden Yards. Alonso’s 108 RBI are tops in the American League.
Alonso went deep in the first inning with the bases empty and gave Baltimore the lead with a two-run blast in the eighth. The win sent the Blue Jays 3 1/2 games behind the White Sox, currently controlling the third wild card. Houston remained three games behind Chicago. The Orioles, with the slimmest of chances to make the playoffs, are 4 1/2 back.
The White Sox and Astros have six games left on the regular season schedule. Toronto and Baltimore have only five remaining.
AL Streaks: Guardians, won 5; A’s, lost 6.
Giants’ center fielder, Drew Gilbert went 3-for-4 from the leadoff spot, scored twice and drove in three runs, leading San Francisco to a 5-2 win over Minnesota at Oracle Park in the Bay Area.
Gilbert singled in a pair of runs in the second inning, then added his 11th homer of the season, a solo shot, in the fifth.
Both the Twins and Giants have been eliminated from post-season play.
NL Streaks: Padres, won 5; Marlins, lost 3.
The Guardians won their fifth straight and swept the A’s in a three-game series, as
Gavin Williams tossed seven innings of shutout ball Sunday in Cleveland.
Williams allowed just three hits and one walk, fanning nine. He threw 63 of 89 pitches for strikes as Cleveland slipped by the A’s, 1-0. Williams leads the AL in strikeouts with 244 and is a leading Cy Young candidate with a record of 14-8 and a 3.63 ERA.
Jose Ramirez doubled to lead off the fourth inning, took third on a fly out and scored the game’s only run on a Jo Adell infield single. The win left Cleveland a game up on the White Sox in the AL Central.
The Sox still have a legitimate chance at winning the division, but they also have a nice cushion in the wild card standings, three up on Houston and Toronto with just six games left in the regular season.
The White Sox are at Kansas City for three games starting Tuesday and close up the regular season at home against the Rockies. Cleveland plays its final six games on the road, with three at Boston and three at KC. The Boston series begins Tuesday.
AL Streaks: Guardians, won 5; Athletics, lost 6.
The Cubs and Padres remained tied for the first two wild card spots with the Phillies just a game behind as all three wild card contenders won on Sunday. The Phillies topped the Mets, 7-2; the Padres won their fifth straight and swept the Marlins as Jake Cronenworth drove in five with a double and two home runs in a 7-3 win.
Pete Crow-Armstrong led the Cubs to a 9-1 win at Cincinnati.
Crow-Armstrong singled, doubled, and tied Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead in home runs with a three-run, fifth-inning blast. The leading candidate for NL MVP went 3-for-5, with three runs and a pair of ribbies, giving him 107 RBI, good for third in the National League.
The Cubs get a day off Monday before hosting a three-game series with the Marlins starting Tuesday. They close out the regular season with three at Boston. San Diego opens a three-game series in LA with the Dodgers Tuesday and finishes with three at home with Arizona. The Phillies host Milwaukee and Tampa Bay in a pair of three-game series beginning Tuesday.
NL Streaks: Padres, won 5; Marlins, Giants, lost 3.
Cleveland won its fourth straight and continues to cling to a one-game lead over the White Sox in the AL Central thanks largely to Angel Martinez, who went 4-for-5 on Saturday with a double and a pair of home runs (16, 17) to lead the Guardians to a 12-6 win over the visiting A’s.
Martinez socked a two-run homer in the first and a solo shot in the fourth, adding an RBI single in the sixth to complete Cleveland’s scoring.
The Guardians will be looking for a fifth straight win on Sunday when they look to sweep the A’s in the three-game series.
AL Streaks: Guardians, won 4; Athletics, lost 5.
Having already clinched the NL West, the LA Dodgers continue to pursue Milwaukee for the best record league-wide and a first round playoff bye.
Mookie Betts aided the effort on Saturday, going 4-for-4 with three doubles, a single, two runs and two RBI as the Dodgers downsized the Giants, 10-4 at Dodger Stadium.
The win left the Dodgers (95-60) two back of Milwaukee after the Brewers slipped by the Orioles, 1-0. Both the Brewers and Dodgers have seven games left on the schedule. Milwaukee is seeking the franchise’s first 100-win season. They check in at 97-58.
The Dodgers will be looking for the sweep of the Giants Sunday.
NL Streaks: Padres, won 4; Cardinals, lost 4.
The Blue Jays couldn’t keep Wyatt Langford off the base paths, and Texas beat them for the fifth straight time this season as the Rangers took a 7-1 win in the opener of a three-game series in Arlington.
Langford walked three times and singled twice, stole a base and scored two of the Ranger runs. The victory tied them with Houston, 6-2 losers to Atlanta, for first place in the AL West and within a game of the White Sox for the third wild card. Toronto, still in the wild card hunt, fell two games off the pace with games two and three of the series slated for Saturday and Sunday.
AL Streaks: Guardians, won 3; Athletics, lost 4.
Mookie Betts homered twice and drove in three runs as the Dodgers downed the Giants, 8-2, in the opener of a three-game series in Los Angeles Friday.
Betts led off the Dodgers’ half of the first inning with a solo homer and followed up with a two-run shot in the eighth at put the game out of reach. Tyler Glasnow (5-1) took the win, allowing two runs on three hits while fanning 10 over six innings. Los Angeles, despite having already clinched the NL West, continues to chase the Brewers for the best record in the league and a first round playoff bye. They trail Milwaukee by two games.
Meanwhile, the NL wild cards are all up for grabs as the Cubs, Phillies, and Padres are all tied at 85-69. San Diego has been red hot, winning 11 of their last 12 games, including an 8-2 win over Miami Friday. The trio of teams have distanced themselves from the rest. Arizona is five games out with just eight left to play.
NL Streaks: Padres, won 3; Cardinals, Rockies, Diamondbacks, lost 3.
A couple of significant developments happened Thursday night in the American League.
Yordan Alvarez socked his 40th home run of the season in a 6-2 Houston win over Kansas City that boosted the Astros back into first place in the West division, a game up on Texas, 4-3 losers at home to Boston.
Chicago tied Cleveland for first place in the Central, thanks to a three-run, first inning homer by Munetaka Murakami (his 32nd), and solid pitching by Eric Fedde and a trio of relievers in a 3-1 win at Chicago’s Rate Field.
The victory came in the first game of a four-game series with the Tigers in which the White Sox hope to regain their winning form and at least stay even with Cleveland, who are hosting the A’s over the weekend.
Yordan Alvarez continues to chase a triple crown season, though he is beset by opposition in all three categories due to an August slump that left him vulnerable. As of Thursday’s games, he is tied with Tampa Bay’s Chandler Simpson in batting, both at .311. Junior Caminero, also of the Rays, has 41 home runs to Alvarez’s 40, and Pete Alonso leads the AL in RBI with 102. Alvarez has 99.
AL Streaks: Rays, won 6; A’s, lost 3.
Excitement is building in the National League as the regular season approaches its final week of play. The Dodgers wrapped up their fifth straight NL West crown - and 13th in the last 14 seasons - with an 8-2 thumping of the Reds, Thursday afternoon in Cincinnati.
Kyle Tucker led the charge with a 4-for-5 effort which included two doubles and a first-inning two-run homer. Tucked scored twice and drove in three as his batting continues to improve as the Dodgers approach the post-season.
San Diego won for the 10th time in 11 games, dropping Colorado, 9-2. Their recent hot streak has gotten them in a solid position for the playoffs, their lead over Arizona for the third wild card now extended to four games. They’ve also pulled to within a game of both the Phillies and Cubs, who are tied for the first and second wild cards. The Padres have them in their sights, and, if they remain hot, could end up topping them both, giving them home field advantage.
At the same time, the Brewers remain two games up on the Dodgers for the best league record, which ensures a first-round bye. While the teams going to the playoffs appear to be set in the NL, positioning has become the main issue.
NL Streaks: Padres, Phillies, Marlins, Giants, won 2; Mets, lost 5.
Two divisions and the final wild card races in the American League became considerably more crowded and competitive on Wednesday when Cleveland took over first place in the AL Central with a 6-3 win over the White Sox and Texas tied Houston for first place in the West with a 7-3 win over Boston.
The Astros fell, 5-2, to visiting Kansas City, but still hold the tie-breaker in the division. The wild card race now has the White Sox in possession of the third wild card, a game up on the Rangers (and Houston). Toronto is 1 1/2 back, the Orioles, down 2 1/2.
The Orioles kept their slim chances of making the playoffs alive sweeping the Mets in their three-game series in New York as Pete Alonso got things started Wednesday with a solo home run in the first inning. It was Alonso’s 301st career homer, after cracking #300 on Tuesday. The O’s prevailed by a score of 7-1.
Alonso has 37 home runs on the year and has driven in 102 runs, which leads the American League.
Baltimore, needing even possible win and some help from other teams in the race for the third wild card, have their work cut out for them. After a day off Thursday, they host Milwaukee for three at Camden Yards, followed by three against the Blue Jays and a trip to New York to close out the season in a three-game series.
AL Streaks: Rays, won 5; Red Sox, White Sox, A’s, lost 2.
The National League is more settled than the AL, as the Padres went on a late-season winning streak of eight games, snapped Tuesday by the Rockies, 9-3, but San Diego responded in kind Wednesday, with a 9-3 win of their own at Coors Field in Denver.
San Diego’s #9 hitter, catcher Ethan Salas socked a pair of homers to lead the charge, ripping a solo shot in the second and a two-run dinger in the fifth inning that extended the Padres’ lead to 8-1. Salas is a recent call-up for the Padres. His homers are the first two of the season and his three RBI his career total. At 20 years of age, Salas is the youngest catcher to go behind the plate since Hall of Famer, Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez.
The Padres have opened up a 2 1/2 game lead on Arizona in the race for the third wild card, but it’s far from a done deal. After finishing up with the Rockies on Thursday, the Padres host Miami for three, then travel to LA for three games with the Dodgers before heading home to close out the season with a three-game series with Arizona. Could get interesting.
NL Streaks: Brewers, Marlins, Giants, won 2; Mets, lost 4.
Brayan Rocchio came up big again in Cleveland on Tuesday, delivering a ninth-inning, walk-off double to defeat the visiting White Sox, 7-6, evening the crucial three-game series between AL Central foes at a game apiece.
Rocchio, who had singled in the fifth and scored on an errant pickoff attempt, came to the plate with Chicago up 6-5, two outs and runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth. His double into the left field corner plated both runners for the win, leaving the Guardians a half game behind division leading Chicago and 1 1/2 better than Texas in the third wild card race.
The series concludes Wednesday in Cleveland. The winner will hold first place in the division.
AL Streaks: Tigers, won 6; Twins, Royals, Mariners, lost 3.
Jacob Misiorowski blanked Pittsburgh over five innings, the Brewers tallied four runs in the sixth, and Milwaukee knocked off the Pirates, 5-1, Tuesday night at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park.
With the Cubs losing to Atlanta, 6-3, Milwaukee captured the flag in the NL Central for a fourth straight season. Misiorowski scattered five hits, walked one and fanned seven, earning his 15th win against five losses.
Milwaukee has two more games in Pittsburgh, Wednesday and Thursday. and is two games up on the Dodgers for the league’s best record, which would insure a first-round bye in the playoffs.
NL Streaks: Nationals, won 4; Mets, lost 3.
Aaron Judge socked his first home run since returning from injury, helping the Yankees defeat the Minnesota Twins, 8-3, Monday at Target Field in Minneapolis.
Judge’s 18th dinger of the season cam in they eighth inning with two men aboard. He was sidelined with a rib fracture since May 31, returning just days ago. The win secured a playoff spot for the Yankees, currently in possession of the top wild card. They also trail the Rays by 3 1/2 in the AL East. A four-game series with Tampa Bay begins on Tuesday, September 22, in New York.
Game two of the series in Minnesota is Tuesday. The Twins are all but eliminated from post-season play, seven games down in the AL Central and 5 1/2 behind Cleveland for the third wild card.
AL Streaks: Tigers, won 5; Astros, lost 3.
Teoscar Hernandez and Kyle Tucker homered for the Dodgers and Tarik Skubal tossed seven innings of shutout ball, sending the Dodgers into the playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Reds, Monday night in Cincinnati.
The loss by the Reds eliminated them from post-season consideration. The Dodgers, assured a playoff spot, hold a nine-game edge over San Diego in the NL West. The magic number for the Dodgers to clinch the division title is three.
Game two of the series with the Reds is Tuesday.
NL Streaks: Padres, won 8; Rockies, lost 8.
Corey Seager went 3-for-5, including a two-run first inning home run, leading the Texas Rangers to a 7-6 win over Arizona Sunday in Phoenix.
Saeger singled in the fifth inning and scored and singled again in the seventh to put the Rangers up, 7-1. The Texas bullpen nearly gave the game away, allowing three Arizona runs in the seventh and two more in the ninth, but the Rangers survived, leaving them one game behind Houston in the AL West and two behind Cleveland in the third wild card race.
Arizona fell 2 1/2 games behind the Padres in the NL race for the third wild card and dropped two of three at home to the Rangers. The Diamondbacks host a three-game series with Miami starting Monday. Texas hosts the Red Sox for three, beginning Tuesday.
AL Streaks: Tigers, won 4; Angels, lost 3.
Fernando Tatis Jr. singled three times in four at-bats, scored twice, stole a base and drove in two runs as the Padres downed the Giants, 6-4, Sunday, sweeping the three-game series in San Francisco and extending their winning streak to seven straight.
Tatis led off the game with the first of his three hits and scored on a Jackson Merrill double. He singled again in the second, driving in a run and later scoring on Manny Machado’s 27th home run of the season. Tatis singled again in the fourth, driving in San Diego’s sixth run. He stole second, but was left stranded.
The Padres have established control over the third wild card in the National League with a 2 1/2 game edge over Arizona. No other team is within 6 1/2 games, leaving the race essentially down to the two NL West squads.
The Padres look to make it eight straight on Monday, when they open a four-game series at Colorado. The Giants have been eliminated from post-season play.
NL Streaks: Padres, won 7; Rockies, lost 7
Seattle’s Cole Young singled twice and ripped a two-run homer in six at-bats, driving in five runs as the Mariners buried the A’s, 19-1 Saturday in Sacramento.
While the Mariners still have a slight hope of making the playoffs as they are five games behind Houston in the AL West, the A’s have already been eliminated from post-season play. Seattle is also five out from the third wild card, currently held by Cleveland, but time is running out. The Mariners only have 13 games left to play.
The series is tied 1-1, with the rubber game Sunday.
AL Streaks: Tigers, won 3; Astros, Angels, lost 2.
While the Yankees are close to clinching a playoff berth, the Mets are contemplating winter vacations. Still, the games must be played and the Mets managed to slow down the Yankees a little with a 12-2 beatdown Saturday at Yankee Stadium.
Francisco Lindor led the Mets’ 14-hit assault, victimizing Yankee starter Gerrit Cole for five runs in 4 1/3 innings. Lindor led off the game with a solo homer and smashed a grand slam in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach. He finished the game 3-for-5 with five RBI.
The subway series is tied at a game apiece with the rubber match Sunday in New York. The Yankees trail Tampa Bay by four games in the AL East but hold the top wild card spot, 4 1/2 up on the Red Sox.
NL Streaks: Padres, won 6; Rockies, lost 6.
Junior Caminero mashed a walk-off, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give Tampa Bay a 3-1 win over the visiting Houston Astros,, making the Rays the first team to qualify for the post season in the American League. Less than an hour later, the Milwaukee Brewers would become the first NL team to qualify for the post-season with a 20-0 win over Cincinnati.
Caminero’s game-winning blast was his 40th of the season, tops in the AL, two better than Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, who was not in the lineup for the Astros on Friday. Alvarez, who was on pace for a triple crown, has lost the lead in home runs and RBI. Baltimore’s Pete Alonso has 97 to Alvarez’s 96. Alvarez hit just two home runs in August and drove in 12 runs. So far in September, Alvarez has one homer and just six RBI and is batting .212. His .310 average still leads the AL.
While the Rays clinched a playoff spot, their job in not nearly done. They lead the Yankees by three games in the AL East and need to finish the season by clinching the division. The Rays host Houston for games two and three of the series, Saturday and Sunday.
AL Streaks: Yankees, won 4; White Sox, lost 4.
Leading 2-1 in the seventh, Dodger right fielder, Kyle Tucker went deep with the bases loaded to put Los Angeles up 6-1, leading to a 6-1 Dodger win at Miami Friday night.
Tucker also singled and tripled in three official at-bats, scoring twice and driving in five of LA’s six runs. Starter Blake Snell (4-1) worked 5 2/3rd innings for the win, allowing one run on four hits, striking out eight.
The Dodgers need a combination of either five wins or five San Diego losses to clinch the division. They play the Marlins again on Saturday. San Diego has won five straight.
NL Streaks: Dodgers, won 8; Rockies, lost 5.
The Yankees continue to chase Tampa Bay in the AL East and are comfortably in possession of the top wild card spot after dispatching the Rockies, 6-1 Wednesday night in the Bronx.
The Bombers got another solid pitching performance from Will Warren, who allowed one run on four hits over six innings, and rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. delivered the first grand slam of the season for New York with a bases-clearing belt over the right field wall in the third inning, leaving Milwaukee as the only team in the majors to not have a grand slam this season.
The series continues Thursday in New York with the Yankees looking to sweep the Rockies. They are four games behind Tampa Bay in the division race and four up on Boston in the wild card chase.
AL Streaks: Rays, Yankees, Angels, won 2; Red Sox, lost 2.
Center fielder, Jackson Merrill, tripled and mashed a pair of home runs and the Padres pummeled the Washington Nationals, 9-2, sending the visitors to their seventh straight loss Wednesday in San Diego.
Down, 2-1, Merrill tripled in the third, knocking in two runs, giving the Padres a 3-2 lead. After that, it was all Padres. Merrill socked a solo shot in the fifth and a two-run bomb in the seventh. He also singled in the eighth to drive in his sixth run of the game, finishing 4-for-5.
The win boosted the Padres back into the third wild card, a half game ahead of Arizona, 5-2 losers at Kansas City. San Diego begins a seven-game road trip Friday, starting with three in San Francisco before four games with cellar-dwelling Colorado, a stretch of games that figures to play out in the Padres’ favor. The Nationals are just a few losses away from being mathematically eliminated from the post-season. They host three games with the Angels starting Friday, a team already out.
NL Streaks: Dodgers, won 7; Nationals, lost 7.
On Tuesday, the Yankees returned home to New York to open a six-game home stand with Aaron Judge back in the lineup and Cam Schlittler on the mound.
Judge was ineffective in his first game since May 31, going 0-for-3, but Schlittler had his good stuff, allowing one run on three hits over seven innings for a 5-3 win over visiting Colorado.
Schlittler threw 96 pitches and struck out 10, improving to 13-6 while dropping his ERA to 2.01, the lowest for any qualifying starter in the American League.
The Yankees have a distinct scheduling advantage down the stretch. With 18 games remaining, only six of those will be on the road, at Minnesota and Arizona. They close out the regular season at home with four against the Rays and three against the Orioles. New York continues to hold the top wild card, three games up on the Red Sox, and are still chasing the Rays for the top spot in the AL East division, four games back. Game two of the series with the Rockies is Wednesday.
AL Streaks: Rangers, won 2; Royals, lost 2.
In Milwaukee’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Cubs Tuesday, leadoff hitter Jackson Chourio didn’t figure in the walk-off game-winner, but without him, the Brewers would not have had a 10th-inning opportunity.
Chourio went 4-for-5 with a two singles, a double, and a 9th-inning, two-run homer that evened the score at 3-3. Chourio led off tMilwaukee’s first with a double and scored on a Brice Turang single. The game-winner was delivered by Luis Lara, who singled home Turang in the 10th.
The Brewers continue to maintain their advantage over the second place Cubs in the NL Central. Their lead has grown to nine games, they’ve taken two straight from Chicago and lead the season series, 8-4, with the final game between the two scheduled for Wednesday in Milwaukee. The Cubs, despite three straight losses, hold the second wild card, just a 1/2-game behind Philly and three up on Arizona.
NL Streaks: Dodgers, won 6; Nationals, lost 6.
In a must-win situation for the Orioles, Coby Mayo came through with a pair of home runs, leading to a 6-4 Baltimore win over the visiting Guardians in the first of a three-game series at Camden Yards.
Mayo poked a solo shot in the third and delivered a key, two-run homer in the sixth, putting the O’s up 6-1. Nathaniel Lowe belted a pinch-hit home run for the Guardians in the ninth, but Cleveland still came up short.
Baltimore’s win snapped a six-game losing streak and left the O’s three games behind Cleveland for the third wild car, but there’s plenty of competition. Toronto is a game back after losing to the Athletics, 6-5, Monday night. Texas is 1 1/2 back. Game two of the series is Tuesday in Baltimore.
AL Streaks: Red Sox, won 5; Astros, Angels, Twins, lost 2.
Things are heating up in the NL East.
Philadelphia starter, Jesus Luzardo, threw a complete game shutout and Kyle Schwarber socked his MLB-best 43rd home run for the only run of the game as the Phillies topped the Braves, 1-0 Monday afternoon.
The win earned the Phillies a 2-2 split in the series with visiting Atlanta, the Braves holding onto a four-game lead in the division. The Braves lead the season series, 7-3, with the two meeting again later this week. Atlanta hosts the Phillies for three games starting Friday.
Luzardo, who may be on track for a Cy Young award, dazzled with a dozen strikeouts, allowing two hits and one walk, throwing 78 of 109 pitches for strikes. He started 24 of 30 batters with first-pitch strikes. The Philly hurler is 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA. His 221 strikeouts are second in the NL to Jacob Misiorowski (227).
Both teams start series against AL division leaders on Tuesday. The Phillies host Houston for three, while the Braves play three against the Rays in Atlanta.
NL Streaks: Dodgers, won 4; Nationals, lost 5.
Batting from his customary leadoff spot, Sam Antonacci stroked three doubles in four at-bats, leading the White Sox to a 10-1 thrashing of the visiting Minnesota Twins, Sunday in Chicago.
Antonacci led off the game with the first of his three doubles, but was left stranded. The White Sox didn’t get things going until the fifth inning, when Antonacci doubled again, this time scoring the game’s first run on an RBI single my Munetaka Muarakami. In the sixth, Antonacci took advantage of runners on second and third, driving them both home with his third double of the game, scoring later in the inning for a 4-0 lead.
The Sox added another run in the seventh and opened the floodgates with five runs in the eighth, taking two of three from Minnesota, dropping the Twins to seven games back in third place in the AL Central. The White Sox lead the Guardians by 2 1/2 games in the division and will host Pittsburgh for three games starting Tuesday. The Twins take their fading playoff hopes to Detroit Monday for the opener of a three-game series.
AL Streaks: Red Sox, won 4; Orioles, lost 6.
The LA Dodgers are well on their way to a fifth straight NL West pennant, sweeping the Nationals with a 7-5 win, Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
Down 5-4 in the eighth, Mookie Betts cranked a three-run homer to left center, leading to the Dodgers’ fourth straight win and a 10 1/2 game bulge over Arizona in the division, putting LA’s magic number to clinch the division at 8.
Betts, who went 1-for-5, had a sac fly in the third, plating the Dodgers’ first run. Los Angeles is 86-57 and will host the Reds for three games starting Monday.
NL Streaks: Dodgers, won 4; Nationals, lost 4.
After dropping the first two of their four-game series in Cleveland, the Tigers got a little bit of revenge as Framer Valdez threw seven innings of shutout ball and Riley Green provided more than enough offense, Detroit coming away with a 6-0 win over the Guardians on Saturday.
Valdez gave up just three hits, but Greene was unstoppable, going 4-for-5 with a single, double, and a pair of solo homers, driving in four runs and scoring three.
Detroit has pretty much played itself out of contention in both the AL Central and the wild card race. They trail the White Sox by nine in the division and are 6 1/2 behind in the race for the final wild card, with four teams ahead of them. Cleveland and Toronto are currently tied for the third wild card, two games up on the Texas Rangers.
The series concludes Sunday afternoon in Cleveland.
AL Streaks: Blue Jays, Athletics, won 4; Orioles, lost 5.
Kyle Schwarber went 2-for-3, scored twice, drove in a pair of runs and socked his major league-leading 41st home run, leading the Phillies to a 4-2 win over the Braves Saturday in Philadelphia.
Schwarber walked and scored in the first inning, had an RBI ground out in the second, and mashed a 435-foot solo homer to right in the fourth inning, in support of starting pitcher Zack Wheeler, who allowed three hits and one run over six innings, fanning nine.
The win evened the four-game series at a game apiece and left the Phillies four back of the NL East leading Braves, with two more set for Sunday and Monday. Philly is also just a 1/2 game behind the Cubs for the top wild card and are 5 1/2 up on their nearest competitor, Arizona.
NL Streaks: Cubs, won 3; Marlins, Nationals, lost 3.
Cleveland shortstop, Brayan Roccio, had himself quite a day on Friday, launching a pair of home runs in a makeup game from June 14 in a 7-6 win over the visiting Tigers and later scoring the game-winner in a 4-3, 10-inning win, taking a pair from Detroit.
In the first game, Roccio hit a grand slam that tied the game at 6-6 in the fourth inning and completed the win with a walk-off solo shot in the ninth, tallying five RBI for the game. In the nightcap, Roccio bunted his way onto base in the 10th, stole second and third and scored the winning run on Travis Bazzana’s single to center.
Cleveland’s late-inning heroics left them 2 1/2 behind the White Sox in the AL Central and one game up on the Blue Jays in the race for the third wild card spot. They host the Tigers again on Saturday and Sunday. Detroit has dropped out of contention, 7 1/2 games out of the third wild card and 10 games down in the division.
AL Streaks: Blue Jays, Astros, won 3; Orioles, lost 4.
Milwaukee’s rookie shortstop, Cooper Pratt, drove in four runs, leading the Brewers to a 10-7 win at Cincinnati Friday, extending their lead in the NL Central to eight games over the Cubs. The Brewers are likely to clinch a playoff spot by the middle of next week. Their magic number for the NL Central crown is 12.
Pratt got the Brewers on the scoreboard with a ground-out that plated a run in the second, but his big moment came in the fifth, with the bases loaded and Milwaukee down 6-5, when he tripled to right, clearing the bases for an 8-6 Brewers’ lead that they would not relinquish. He scored from third on a wild pitch for a 9-6 lead.
The Reds and Brewers play game two of their three-game series Saturday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The Reds have all but been eliminated from post-season play, down seven games for the third wild card.
NL Streaks: Braves, Mets, Cubs, Pirates, Dodgers, won 2; Phillies, Marlins, Nationals, Giants, lost 2.
Rookie catcher, Carter Jensen, doubled, tripled, socked a two-run homer, scored three times and drove in three runs as the Royals avoided being swept with a 7-3 win over Miami Thursday night at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
Jensen fell a single short of hitting for the cycle in what has been a solid season with 22 home runs and 67 RBI, making his case for AL rookie of the year.
The Marlins’ loss left the three back of Arizona for the third wild card. San Diego trails the Diamondbacks by a half game. Miami continues their chase when they host the Cubs in the first of three Friday. Kansas City is pretty much out of contention for the post-season.
AL Streaks: Yankees, Blue Jays, Astros, A’s, won 2; Orioles, lost 3.
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two-run homer in the third was all
Kevin Gausman needed to defeat the Brewers, 2-1, Thursday, earning a split for the Cubs in their four-game series with the NL Central leader.
Gausman scattered five hits over seven innings, walking one and fanning nine for his fourth win in as many starts. The only Milwaukee run came on an Andrew Vaughn solo shot in the fourth. Chicago holds the second wild card in the NL, a half game behind the Phillies.
The Cubs open a three game series in Miami Friday while the Brewers take the best record in the majors (87-54) and an eight-game lead in the division to Cincinnati for a weekend series with the Reds.
NL Streaks: Reds, Rockies, won 2; Padres, lost 2.
The heat of the wild card race may have awakened Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from his season-long slump.
The Blue Jays’ slugger singled, doubled, homered, and drove in five runs in Wednesday’s 11-0 win at Cleveland, evening the series at a game apiece.
Guerrero’s home run was just his eighth of the season. He has only driven in 53 runs this year, but the win left the Blue Jays - even though they are tied for last place in the AL East with Baltimore - just 1 1/2 games behind the Guardians for the third wild card, tied with the O’s and Texas Rangers.
The series concludes Thursday in Cleveland
AL Streaks: Yankees, Mariners, won 2; Royals, lost 3.
Batting from the leadoff spot, Heriberto Hernández stroked a pair of doubles and drove in two key runs as the Marlins outlasted the Royals, 9-6, taking their second straight in Kansas City Wednesday.
Hernandez stroked a ground rule double in the fifth inning that cut KC’s lead to 6-4, and drove in the go-ahead run with a gap double in the sixth, putting Miami up, 7-6, erasing an earlier 6-3 Kansas City lead.
Miami trails Arizona by 2 1/2 games in the race for the third wild card. San Diego is 1/2 behind the Diamondbacks as the races in both leagues heat up. The Marlins will be looking for the sweep of the three-game series on Thursday. Miami opens a nine-game home stand on Friday, with three each against the Cubs, Mets, and Dodgers.
NL Streaks: Brewers, Cardinals, Reds, Marlins, Rockies, won 2; Dodgers, Padres, Cubs, lost 2.
Gavin Williams struck out 13 and worked seven solid innings to lead the Guardians to a 6-1 win over visiting Toronto Tuesday night in Cleveland.
Williams tied Toronto’s Dylan Cease for the American League lead in strikeouts, with 217 on the year. The 6’6” right-hander struck out four of the first six batters he faced and fanned the last four before turning the ball over to the Cleveland relief staff. Williams allowed just two hits and a walk. The only run scored was unearned. He is 13-7 with a 3.81 ERA.
With the win, the Guardians continue to hold second place in the AL Central, three games behind the White Sox. They also hold the third wild card, 1 1/2 ahead of Baltimore and Texas. The game was the first of three between the Blue Jays and Guardians. Game two is Wednesday at Progressive Field.
AL Streaks: Twins, Rangers, won 3; A’s, Lost 5.
The Marlins rode a second inning, two-run homer and a two-run triple in the seventh by Graham Pauley to a 6-3 road win at Kansas City Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series that may be crucial to Miami’s post-season hopes.
Pauley got the Marlins off to a solid start with his second homer of the season and put them up 6-0 when he tripled in a pair and scored in the seventh. The Marlins are just three games behind the Padres in the race for the final wild card spot.
The series continues Wednesday in Kansas City.
NL Streaks: Phillies, won 6; Diamondbacks, lost 3.
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On Thursday, the Chicago White Sox clinched at least a wild card with a 9-1 win at Kansas City. The Sox could still win the AL Central, remaining a game behind the Guardians, who defeated the Red Sox in Boston, 1-0.
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