Stanton leads off in finale, but can’t reach 60 HRs
Dodgers' Turner, Astros' Altuve capture battling titles in respective leagues • Yankees sit stars, fall to Jays
Giancarlo Stanton led off and had two hits and one RBI, but failed to hit his 60th home run as his Miami Marlins lost to the Atlanta Braves 8-5.
Stanton singled twice, struck out twice out and grounded to shortstop.
In the ninth, after Stanton struck out on a high 0-2 slider by reliever Arodys Vizcaino, the fans showed their support.
They chanted “MVP!” and Stanton came out of the dugout, tipped his cap, pounded his heart and raised his fist in a salute to the fans.
Atlanta reliever Dan Winkler (1-1) earned his first major league win, pitching one scoreless inning. Miami reliever Junichi Tazawa (3-5) took the defeat, allowing three runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Dodgers 6, Rockies 3
Charlie Blackmon went 1-for-2, played three innings and finished with a National League-leading .331 average in Colorado’s loss to Los Angeles.
The Dodgers’ Justin Turner also went 1-for-2 and finished second at .322. It was Los Angeles’ 104th victory, tying for the second-most in franchise history. The Dodgers won 105 games in 1953 and 104 in 1942 while playing in Brooklyn.
Kyle Freeland (11-11) gave up two runs and five hits in three innings in his first start since Sept. 11 for the Rockies.
Astros 4, Red Sox 3
Houston and Boston rested most of their regulars in the Astros’ victory in the regular-season finale.
The Astros’ Jose Altuve coasted to his third AL batting title despite going hitless in two at-bats, and the Houston Astros scored four times in the seventh inning to rally from a three-run deficit to beat Boston in a preview of their AL Division Series matchup.
Altuve finished the season with a .346 average to easily beat Avasail Garcia of the Chicago White Sox, who finished at .330, for the batting crown. The Astros second baseman is the third right-handed hitter since 1900 to win three or more batting titles.
Reds 3, Cubs 1
Manager Joe Maddon substituted liberally in Chicago’s regular-season finale while Cincinnati’s Joey Votto made a last-ditch bid for the National League batting title in the Reds’ victory.
Votto went 2-for-4 to close with a .320 average, falling short of the batting crown as Rockies first baseman Charlie Blackmon went 1-for-2 against the Dodgers to close at .331.
Blue Jays 2, Yankees 1
Ryan Goins’ run-scoring groundout lifted Toronto over New York.
The Yankees sat Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. Starlin Castro and Todd Frazier started but exited after their first at-bat. New York tied the game when Matt Holliday hit his 19th home run in the seventh inning.
Jose Bautista left for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning in what could have been his final game with the Blue Jays.
Before exiting, he hit a single off the left field wall in the second and lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, ending the season at .203 with 23 homers and 65 RBIs.
14 stats to sum up regular season
While the 2017 Major League Baseball season ended mostly with a whimper on Sunday – no 60th home run for Giancarlo Stanton, no pennant-race tension – the year was a remarkable one on many levels.
Here’s 14 statistics that sum up the just-concluded regular season:
0 – Times Arizona Diamondbacks’ J.D. Martinez, who slugged 45 homers, was hit by a pitch.
14 – Consecutive seasons the American League has won more games in interleague play.
22 – Consecutive games won by the Cleveland Indians, an American League record.
27 – Pinch hits by Miami Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, one shy from tying John Vander Wal’s 1995 MLB record.
30 – Times reaching base on catcher’s interference by New York Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, surpassing Pete Rose’s career record.
43 – Wins over a 50-game stretch by the Los Angeles Dodgers. It matches the run by John McGraw’s 1912 New York Giants.
52 – Home runs hit by Aaron Judge. The Yankee slugger is the first rookie to hit 50 homers, surpassing Mark McGwire’s 49 set in 1987.
59 – Complete games thrown, the fewest in MLB history.
99 – More hits by Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve than any other player over the past four seasons.
106 – Runs batted in at the leadoff spot by Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon, breaking Darin Erstad’s mark of 100 RBI in 2000 for the Los Angeles Angels.
308 – Strikeouts by Boston Red Sox lefty Chris Sale. He became the first American League pitcher in 18 years to reach the 300 mark.
3,048 – Career hits for Texas Rangers slugger Adrian Beltre. On July 30, he became the 31st member of the 3,000 hit club.
6,105 – Home runs hit in the majors, surpassing the record of 5,693 set in 2000.
40,105 – Strikeouts in 2017, surpassing the record of 38,982 set last season.
Yankees host Twins in wild-card as MLB playoffs begin
The New York Yankees will host the Minnesota Twins in the American League’s wild card elimination game on Tuesday as Major League Baseball’s postseason gets underway. The winner of the single game knockout will face the AL Central champion Cleveland Indians in the AL Division Series starting on Thursday.
The Indians finished with the best record (102-60) in the AL this season, courtesy of a league-record 22 successive victories from August 24-September 14.
The AL West champion Houston Astros, who finished 101-61, host the AL East champion Boston Red Sox (93-69), with their ALDS also beginning on Thursday.
The Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks will meet in the National League’s wild card playoff on Wednesday, with the winner to face the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers from Friday.
The Dodgers finished with the best record in the majors (104-58) courtesy of a strong first part of the season, when they were 61-29 by the All Star break, and would have home field advantage for the World Series if they make that far.
The NL East Champion Washington Nationals host the NL Central Champion Chicago Cubs in the other NLDS series beginning on Friday.