Rookie helps Nationals secure NL East title
Bautista, Blue Jays knock off Yankees
PITTSBURGH — Jayson Werth’s wide grin belied the fact that the Washington Nationals right fielder is an old hand at clubhouse celebrations, having played on eight division-winning teams during his 14-year big league career.
Werth’s latest crown came Saturday night when the Nationals clinched their third National League East title in five years, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 behind 5⅓ scoreless innings from rookie reliever Reynaldo Lopez.
“It’s never gets old,” Werth said. “Never.”
Stephen Drew’s two-run single capped a three-run first inning for the Nationals, who return to the postseason after a one-year absence. Their win ensured a playoff berth, and they won the division about 20 minutes later when the second-place New York Mets lost to Philadelphia.
“It’s such a hard thing to accomplish,” Werth said. “You spent six months trying to do it. It’s why you go to spring training early, so you can do everything possible to put yourself in positon to win the division.”
The Nationals won the division in Dusty Baker’s first season as manager. He replaced Matt Williams, who fired following a 2015 season that began with high hopes of Washington reaching the
World Series for the first time in franchise history.
CARDINALS 10, CUBS 4: In Chicago, Yadier Molina drove in four runs, Stephen Piscotty homered and the Cardinals boosted their playoff hopes by getting to Jason Hammel early in a rout of the Cubs.
Randal Grichuk added three RBIs and Jhonny Peralta had three hits and scored three runs for the Cardinals, who stopped a two-game skid and moved into a tie with San Francisco for the final NL wild-card spot pending the Giants’ game at San Diego.
“It’s been a difficult year for us, up and down, but we got a good win and a lot of base hits,” said Molina, who extended his hitting streak to 10 games. “Hopefully, we can continue it.”
DODGERS 14, ROCKIES 1: In Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw scattered three hits over seven scoreless innings, Josh Reddick slugged a grand slam in the seventh and the Dodgers moved within a game of clinching their fourth consecutive NL West title.
GIANTS 9, PADRES 6 (10): In San Diego, Denard Span hit a two-run homer in the 10th and the Giants won despite Madison Bumgarner allowing three homers.
PHILLIES 10, METS 8: In New York, the Mets fell behind by 10 runs early and finished just short of what would have been the largest comeback victory in team history, losing to Philadelphia.
REDS 6, BREWERS 1: In Milwaukee, Dan Straily pitched into the seventh inning and
Joey Votto hit a two-run homer to lift Cincinnati.
MARLINS 6, BRAVES 4: In Miami, Derek Dietrich hit a two-run homer and Dee Gordon stole three bases to help Miami end Atlanta’s winning streak at seven games.
ANGELS 10, ASTROS 4: In Houston, Kole Calhoun had three hits and two RBIs, and the Angels scored nine runs in the final two innings to rally for the second straight game.
It was another costly loss for the Astros, who fell to three games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild card.
TWINS 3, MARINERS 2: In Minneapolis, Nelson Cruz’s towering two-run home run was not enough as the Mariners fell to the Twins.
Cruz’s homer reached the third deck in left field for what was estimated by MLB’s Statcast as 493 feet, the second-longest home run in the majors this season behind a 504-foot strike by Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton in Colorado’s Coors Field.
WHITE SOX 8, INDIANS 1: In Cleveland, the Indians blew some early scoring chances against Jose Quintana and lost to the White Sox, keeping them from getting closer to an AL Central title.
The Indians’ magic number dropped to two after Detroit lost earlier to Kansas City. BLUE JAYS 3, YANKEES 0: In Toronto, Jose Bautista hit a three-run homer off Tyler Clippard in the eighth inning, and the Blue Jays beat the Yankees.
New York has been shut out in three straight games for the first time since July 27-28, 1975. The Yankees, who have lost 10 of 13 after a sevengame winning streak, dropped 4½ games back for the AL’s second wild card with eight games left and likely will miss the playoffs for the third time in four years. ORIOLES 6, DIAMONDBACKS 1: In Baltimore, Trey Mancini hit his third homer in nine major league at-bats, Mark Trumbo connected for his league-leading 45th homer and the Orioles beat Arizona.
The Orioles pulled a halfgame ahead of the Tigers for the AL’s second wild card. ROYALS 7, TIGERS 4: In Detroit, Paulo Orlando hit a tying, two-run double and Eric Hosmer followed with a threerun homer against Francisco Rodriguez, capping a ninthinning comeback that led Kansas City over the Tigers. RANGERS 5, ATHLETICS 0: In Oakland, Calif., Elvis Andrus, the lone veteran in the lineup a day after Texas won another AL West title, hit a pair of two-run homers in the Rangers’ victory.
RED SOX 6, RAYS 4: In St. Petersburg, Fla., Dustin Pedroia hit his fourth career grand slam to help Rick Porcello get his major league-leading 22nd win, and AL East-leading Boston beat Tampa Bay for its 10th consecutive win.
ASTROS: Houston closer and Rio Grande grad Ken Giles injured his right wrist when he was hit by a line drive during batting practice on Saturday. X-rays were negative, and the team called his injury a bruised right wrist.