BoSox clinch 1st back-to-back division titles
All playoff spots locked up heading into final day of season Yankees win, to face Twins in wild card
The Boston Red Sox clinched a second consecutive American League East title – their first time accomplishing that feat in the 48 years of the current divisional set-up – with a 6-3 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night at Fenway Park.
Mitch Moreland had a pair of RBIs, Mookie Betts hit a solo home run, and Hanley Ramirez, Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi each drove in one run for the Red Sox.
Boston’s Drew Pomeranz (17-6) bounced back from a short start last Monday to toss sixplus innings, allowing one run, striking out three and giving up two hits and two walks.
Brian McCann launched a solo home run, his 18th, and Evan Gattis and Yuli Gurriel each had RBI singles for AL West champion Houston (100-61), which will finish with the second-best record in the league behind the Cleveland Indians and is set to face the Red Sox in the AL Division Series. Game 1 is Thursday in Houston.
Yankees 2, Blue Jays 1
Aaron Judge broke Babe Ruth’s team record for home runs at home, and CC Sabathia pitched effectively into the sixth, but New York was eliminated from the AL East title race shortly after beating Toronto.
The Red Sox secured a 6-3 victory over the Astros 21 minutes after the Yankees closed out their 21st win in 29 games.
New York will host the wild-card game Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins.
Judge extended his rookie record by opening the fourth with his league-leading 52nd homer. He broke Ruth’s record with his 33rd home run at Yankee Stadium.
Ruth set the home record in 1921 when the Yankees played across the Harlem River at Manhattan’s Polo Grounds in the team’s first pennant-winning season.
Dodgers 5, Rockies 3
The celebration began in the clubhouse before Colorado took the field and wound up losing to Los Angeles.
The Rockies erupted with joy at 5:28 p.m. local time after watching former Colorado starter and now St. Louis Cardinals closer Juan Nicasio strike out Milwaukee’s Brett Phillips with the tying run on second base to seal a 7-6 comeback win over the Brewers.
The loss assured the Rockies of the second National League wild card and a berth in the postseason for the first time since 2009 and the fourth time in the 25-year history of the franchise.
The Dodgers were assured of home-field advantage throughout the postseason when the Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians lost before Los Angeles won.
Brandon Morrow (6-0), the third of seven Dodgers pitchers, got the win. Closer Kenley Jansen got the final four outs for his 41st save in 42 opportunities.
Pirates 4, Nationals 1
Sean Rodriguez tied the game with a single with two outs in the ninth and Max Moroff had a bases-loaded triple later in the inning as Pittsburgh rallied to beat Washington.
Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer left the game in the top of the fourth with a possible injury. A.J. Cole, who has made eight starts this year, came in and did not allow a hit in 32/3 innings.
The Pirates had just one hit going into the ninth but erupted against Brandon Kintzler (2-1), who was going for his second save with the Nationals and 30th overall this year.
White Sox 2, Indians 1
Kevan Smith had two hits and two RBIs and six Chicago pitchers combined on a three-hitter as the White Sox snapped Cleveland’s three-game winning streak.
Despite the loss, the Indians, with a record of 101-60, clinched the home-field advantage throughout the American League portion of the postseason, by virtue of Houston’s earlier loss to Boston.
Ace Corey Kluber, in a tuneup for his start on Thursday in Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the winner of Tuesday’s wild-card game between Minnesota and the New York Yankees, pitched five innings, allowed one run on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
Kluber lowered his AL-leading ERA to 2.25.
Tigers 3, Twins 2
Andrew Romine became the fifth player in major league history and the first since 2000 to play all nine positions in a single game as Detroit beat Minnesota.
Romine became the first player since Detroit’s Shane Halter in 2000 to accomplish the feat.
He also had a hit and a walk in the game as Tigers starter Buck Farmer (5-5) pitched five innings with one run allowed. Shane Greene pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth save.
Minnesota’s Aaron Slegers (0-1) gave up three runs – two earned – in 41/3 innings for his first major league decision.
Marlins 10, Braves 2
Giancarlo Stanton failed to hit his 60th homer in the penultimate game of the season, but Miami still defeated Atlanta.
Stanton, who has 59 homers, went 1-for5 with one RBI and two strikeouts.
Stanton still had one more game in which to try to reach the mark of 60 homers as Miami hosted Atlanta in its regular-season finale on Sunday after press time.
One player did reach 60 on Saturday – Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon, who reached that total in steals.
Gordon went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two steals. He also became only the fifth Marlins player to reach 200 hits in one season.
Cubs 9, Reds 0
Jon Lester threw five scoreless innings and Kyle Schwarber homered and drove in four runs to lead Chicago to a rout of Cincinnati.
Schwarber hit his 30th home run and had a two-run single in the regular season’s penultimate game for the National League Central champions, who have won 15 of their last 18 games.
Mets 7, Phillies 4 (11)
Asdrubal Cabrera hit New York’s 224th home run of the season to extend a franchise record in the top of the 11th inning, lifting the Mets over Philadelphia.
The three-run homer off Phillies reliever Adam Morgan (3-3) capped a four-hit night for Cabrera. (Reuters)