AROUND THE HORN
■ Braves: Dansby Swanson hit a three-run homer and the Braves cruised to their third straight win over the Marlins 9-4 in a game overshadowed by Max Fried's early departure with an ankle injury. The Braves ace was making his final regular-season start, hoping to boost his NL Cy Young Award credentials ahead of starting Game 1 in the NL playoffs next week. But Fried lasted only one inning, tweaking an ankle while fielding a bunt down the third-base line by Starling Marte.
■ Dodgers: The Dodgers clinched the NL’s top postseason seed and eighth straight division title Tuesday night with a 7-2 victory over the A’s and the Padres’ 4-2 loss to the Angels. They’re the third team to win at least eight straight division titles, joining the Braves (14 straight from 1991-2005) and Yankees (nine straight from 19982006).
■ Phillies: Given a chance to DH so he could ease the burden on his bothersome back, Bryce Harper homered twice against his former team, helping the Phillies beat the Nationals 12-3 and pushing the 2019 World Series champions to the brink of elimination from the playoff race. The loss ended the Nats’ modest — albeit season-best — four-game winning streak. ■ Indians: One night after clinching a playoff berth on a walk-off home run, the Indians did it again as Jordan Luplow connected in the ninth inning to beat the White Sox 3-2. Shane Bieber pitched five innings allowing one unearned run on two hits with three walks and 10 strikeouts to lower his ERA to 1.63 for the Indians.
■ Reds: Joey Votto homered for his first hit all season against the Brewers, Trevor Bauer dominated on short rest, and the Reds won a pivotal series for playoff contention, beating the Brewers 6-1. The Reds are in position for a wildcard playoff berth after taking two of three from their NL Central rival. The Reds have won nine of 11 to get a shot at its first playoff appearance since 2013 under manager Dusty Baker.
■ Blue Jays: Danny Jansen homered twice, once off No. 3 catcher Erik Kratz in the eighth, as the Blue Jays reduced their magic number to one for clinching a wild card berth and their first postseason appearance since 2016 with a 14-1 win over the Yankees, who committed season-high four errors.
■ Padres: RHP Mike Clevinger of the playoffbound Padres lasted only one inning in his start against the visiting Angels on Wednesday. The team initially said the early departure was unplanned but didn’t provide any other information. Clevinger’s start had been pushed back from Saturday night because of tightness in his right biceps. Manager Jayce Tingler said Tuesday that Clevinger threw a bullpen session Monday. Clevinger, obtained in a blockbuster trade with the Indians on Aug. 31, breezed through the first inning on 12 pitches.
■ Mariners: Nick Margevicius tossed six shutout innings, Ty France drove in a pair of runs and the Mariners kept their slim postseason hopes alive with a 3-2 win over the Astros.