Sports Desk
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits including a solo homer, Hyun Jin Ryu pitched seven scoreless innings and the Toronto Blue Jays clinched a postseason berth with a 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday in Buffalo.
Sep 24, 2020; Buffalo, New York, USA; The Toronto Blue Jays pose for a team photo behind the pitcherÕs mound to celebrate clinching a playoff spot after defeating the New York Yankees at Sahlen Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Ryu (5-2) became the first Blue Jays starter to pitch in the seventh inning this season. He allowed five hits and two walks while striking out four.
After Anthony Bass gave up a run in the eighth, Rafael Dolis allowed an infield single in 1 1/3 innings and had three strikeouts to earn his fifth save of the season.
The Blue Jays took three games of the four-game series to split their 10-game season series with the Yankees and reach the postseason for the first time since 2016.
Indians 5, White Sox 4
Jose Ramirez ripped a go-ahead two-run double to cap a four-run seventh inning as host Cleveland completed a four-game sweep of Chicago.
Cesar Hernandez collected three hits and as many RBIs for the Indians, who have won five in a row overall and eight of 10 against the White Sox this season. Cleveland resides just one game behind second-place Chicago after picking up four games in four days.
Nomar Mazara had a two-run single and Yolmer Sanchez launched a solo homer for the White Sox, whose season-high losing streak reached five games.
Cardinals 4, Brewers 2
Dylan Carlson hit a two-run homer and an RBI double to power host St. Louis past Milwaukee, allowing the Cardinals to take sole possession of second place in the National League Central, 2 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs.
The Brewers lost for the third time in four games to fall 4 1/2 games off the division pace and one game out of the NL’s second wild-card slot. The Cardinals and Brewers will play four more games over the next three days.
Kwang Hyun Kim (3-0) held the Brewers to one run on five hits in five innings. Andrew Miller, the fifth Cardinals pitcher, closed out the game to earn his fourth save. St. Louis’ Yadier Molina hit two singles to reach the 2,000-hit plateau for his career.
Astros 12, Rangers 4
Alex Bregman finished a single shy of the cycle and Houston broke free of its recent offensive doldrums by bashing four home runs in a blowout win at Arlington, Texas.
Bregman finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs. He delivered a run-scoring triple in the first inning, a two-run home run in the fifth and a double in the sixth. His fifth home run of the season, a 404-foot shot to left, drove in Michael Brantley and extended the Houston lead to 7-0.
The Astros reduced their magic number to clinch a postseason berth to one game. Texas starter Lance Lynn (6-3) allowed 10 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Houston’s Cristian Javier (5-2) gave up three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked one.
Rockies 5, Giants 4 (11 innings)
Raimel Tapia lofted a sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th inning, leading Colorado past host San Francisco.
Daniel Bard (4-2) pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the win. Jairo Diaz pitched the 11th for his fourth save, getting Austin Slater to bounce into a game-ending double play with the tying run at third. Trevor Cahill (1-2) took the loss.
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The Giants, who had their two-game win streak snapped, fell into the second National League wild-card position, a half-game behind the idle Cincinnati Reds.
Marlins 4, Braves 2
Starter Pablo Lopez and the Miami bullpen produced a win at Atlanta as the Marlins trimmed their magic number to two to clinch a playoff berth.
Lopez (6-4) pitched five scoreless innings and allowed two hits and two walks while striking out six.
The Braves were limited to four additional hits by a parade of relievers — Yimi Garcia, James Hoyt, Richard Bleier, Brad Boxberger and Brandon Kintzler. Kintzler pitched the final two innings to earn his 11th save. The Braves committed four errors.
Mets 3, Nationals 2
David Peterson tossed a career-high seven innings and earned the win in the final start of his rookie season as New York staved off elimination from postseason contention by winning at Washington.
Robinson Chirinos homered and collected all three RBIs for the Mets, who are three games behind the Marlins in the NL East and 2 1/2 games behind the Giants for the second NL wild card.
Peterson (6-2) allowed one run on four hits and one walk while striking out four. He finished the season by going 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA in his final three starts. His six wins lead the Mets as well as all rookies.
Pirates 7, Cubs 0
In its final home game of the season, Pittsburgh hit a season-high four homers and Chad Kuhl pitched seven scoreless innings against Chicago.
Josh Bell hit a two-run homer and Adam Frazier, Colin Moran and Bryan Reynolds each hit a solo shot for Pittsburgh, which won the final three games of the four-game series against the Cubs. Frazier also had an RBI single.
Kuhl (2-3) gave up two hits while logging five strikeouts and three walks. Geoff Hartlieb and Blake Cederlind each threw a perfect inning to complete the two-hitter.
Dodgers 5, Athletics 1
Walker Buehler was impressive in his return from the injured list and host Los Angeles finished off a victory over Oakland.
Buehler, who spent two separate stints on the IL over the past five weeks because of a blister on his right index finger, gave up one hit over four scoreless innings in his final tune-up before next week’s playoffs. Dylan Floro (3-0) earned the victory with one inning of flawless relief.
Corey Seager continued his torrid stretch with a home run and two RBIs as the Dodgers became the first team to 40 victories. Oakland was held to just three hits in losing for the third time in its last four games.
Orioles 13, Red Sox 1
Alex Cobb threw seven quality innings in his final outing of the season as Baltimore avoided a three-game sweep with a rout of host Boston.
Jose Iglesias, Pat Valaika and Austin Hays homered and Hanser Alberto had three RBIs as the Orioles won for just the second time in their past eight games. Hays, Valaika, Rio Ruiz and Ramon Urias had three hits apiece.
Cobb (2-5) allowed one run on six hits while walking two and striking out four. The victory was his first since his season debut July 25, also against Boston.
Royals 8, Tigers 7
Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer, Maikel Franco homered and drove in two runs and host Kansas City edged Detroit.
Adalberto Mondesi supplied four hits, two runs and two RBIs for the Royals. Jesse Hahn (1-0) recorded four outs to get the victory, and Jake Newberry got the last four outs for his first career save.
Miguel Cabrera smashed his third homer in two games and drove in three runs for the Tigers. Willi Castro homered among three hits, scored three times and drove in three runs. Detroit first baseman Jeimer Candelario left the game in the fourth inning due to a back injury.
