Hot Rockies wrap up bid

The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals, 5-2, last night in Denver, for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.

David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a tworun homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies entered the night with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise’s first division crown.

Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.

The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-toback years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild card game.

Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to finish the season with a 2.40 ERA in games at the hitter-friendly ballpark. The lefty allowed two runs and 11 hits over six innings before turning it over to a staunch bullpen.

The Rockies’ winning streak is their longest since capturing eight straight in April 2013. During the current streak, the Rockies have outscored opponents by a 5712 margin.

Cubs 8, Cardinals 4 — Kyle Hendricks went eight innings in another strong start, Kris Bryant homered and host Chicago moved closer to the NL Central championship and dealt another hit to St.Louis’ playoff hopes.

The Cubs came into the final weekend of the regular season with a franchiserecord fourth straight trip to the postseason assured and their third division title in a row in sight. They hold a one-game lead over Milwaukee.

St. Louis dropped its fourth in a row after being swept by Milwaukee. The Cardinals came in trailing Los Angeles by a game for the second wild card, with the Dodgers visiting San Francisco.

Marlins 8, Mets 1 — David Wright finally made it back into a major league game, grounding out in his first plate appearance for the Mets in nearly 21⁄2 years as host New York lost to Miami.

Sidelined by neck, back and shoulder injuries since May 27, 2016, the 35-yearold Wright came up as a pinch-hitter leading off the fifth inning and received a warm ovation. With fans on their feet and his wife and two young daughters in the stands, Wright swung at the first pitch he saw — a 96 mph fastball from Jose Urena.

The seven-time All-Star hit a bouncer to the left of third baseman Brian Anderson, who made a nifty pickup of a short hop and threw across the diamond to retire Wright.

Pirates 8, Reds 4 — Elias Diaz hit a tiebreaking homer, and Colin Moran also homered and drove in three runs as visiting Pittsburgh pulled away to its seventh straight win over Cincinnati.

Braves 10, Phillies 2 — Freddie Freeman hit three doubles in a four-hit performance and drove in three runs as visiting Atlanta kept up its push for home-field advantage in the playoffs, routing Philadelphia.

American League

Astros 2, Orioles 1 — Gerrit Cole tuned up for the postseason by pitching six sharp innings for visiting Houston, which got a home run from Josh Reddick in a win over Baltimore.

The Astros close out the regular season at Camden Yards this weekend after clinching the AL West title on Tuesday night. Houston opens the playoffs at home against Cleveland on Oct. 5.

Cole gave up one run, five hits and a walk. His four strikeouts gave him 276 for the season, and he reached 200 innings for the third time in his career.

Twins 2, White Sox 1 — In Minneapolis, Jose Berrios became the first Minnesota pitcher in eight years to reach 200 strikeouts, throwing seven smooth innings in a victory over Chicago in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.

Berrios finished his AllStar season with a careerbest 3.84 ERA and 202 strikeouts. The last time a Twins pitcher topped that milestone was Francisco Liriano (201) in 2010.

Blue Jays 7, Rays 6 — In St. Petersburg, Fla., Randal Grichuk hit a pinch-hit, three-run triple and Toronto rallied to edge Tampa Bay.