Arizona clinches top wild card spot with win over Miami
PHOENIX » J.D. Martinez lined a two-out RBI single to deep left field with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 on Sunday to clinch the top wild card in the National League.
The Diamondbacks, who won only 69 games a year ago but are 90-66 this season, were assured a playoff berth in the fourth inning after St. Louis and Milwaukee lost. The comeback victory ensured Arizona will host the NL wild-card game Oct. 4.
Fernando Rodney (5-4) pitched a perfect inning for the win.
A throwing error by Justin Nicolino (2-3) on Kristopher Negron’s sacrifice bunt helped load the bases with no outs in the ninth. ROCKIES 8, PADRES 4 » Gerardo Parra hit a tiebreaking single in a two-run third inning, Pat Valaika and Charlie Blackmon hit consecutive home runs in the ninth and Colorado opened a two-game lead over Milwaukee for the second NL wild card. At 41-40, the Rockies tied their record for road wins, set in 2009.
German Marquez (11-7) allowed two runs, five hits and three walks in five innings.
Luis Perdomo (8-11) gave up four runs and six hits in five innings. CUBS 5, BREWERS 0 » Jose Quintana (7-3) pitched a three-hitter and struck out 10 in his second big league shutout as Chicago opened a 5½-game lead over second-place Milwaukee in the NL Central.
Kris Bryant hit a goahead double in the fourth off Chase Anderson (11-4), Ben Zobrist had a two-run homer in the seventh and Anthony Rizzo added a tworun double in the eighth against Carlos Torres. PIRATES 4, CARDINALS 1 » Seung Hwan Oh (1-6) allowed a go-ahead, two-run homer in the fifth to Starling Marte and rookie Jordan Luplow also went deep as St. Louis fell 2½ games behind the Rockies.
Jameson Taillon (8-7) allowed one run and four hits in five innings. Five pitchers combined for hitless relief, with Felipe Rivero striking out two in a perfect ninth for his 19th save. BLUE JAYS 9, YANKEES 5 » Jose Bautista had two hits and a walk in what was likely his final home game with the Blue Jays, leaving to a standing ovation during the ninth inning. Bautista, who turns 37 next month, is hitting .203 with 22 homers and 62 RBIs, and Toronto appears unlikely to exercise its half of a $17 million mutual option.
Aaron Judge homered twice for the Yankees, increasing his AL-leading total to 48 — one shy of the major league rookie record set by Mark McGwire in 1987. Judge has 11 home runs in September.
A day after clinching a postseason berth, New York dropped five games behind AL East-leading Boston with seven games to play.
Jaime Garcia (1-3) jeopardized his chance of making New York’s postseason roster, allowing five runs, four hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings. RED SOX 5, REDS 4 » Mookie Betts hit a tying three-run double in the eighth off Raisel Iglesias (3-3) and dashed home from second base on Rafael Devers’ infield single as Boston won for the 14th time in 17 games.
Robby Scott (2-1) won, and Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 35th save and hasn’t allowed a run in his last 11 appearances.
Billy Hamilton helped the Reds go up 4-1. He tripled home a run and brought the crowd to its feet by scoring after getting caught in a rundown between first and second. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia made a wild throw, and Hamilton kept going when nobody covered home.