Indians marching toward playoffs
CLEVELAND — Carlos Santana’s two-run homer snapped a tie and Jose Ramirez homered again as the Cleveland Indians moved closer to clinching a playoff berth — and delayed Chicago’s likely AL Central title — with a 7-4 win over the White Sox on Monday night. The Indians cut their magic number to one. Cleveland also improved to 5-2 this season against the White Sox, who are on the verge of winning their first division crown since 2008. It’s possible the rivals could meet again next week in the playoffs depending on how the final days of the regular season unfold.
REDS 6, BREWERS 3: Eugenio Suarez hit a two-run homer, Luis Castillo won his fourth straight start, and streaking Cincinnati beat visiting Milwaukee to move above .500 for the first time since opening day. The Reds (28-27) won for the eighth time in nine games, a seasonbest surge that’s put them back in playoff contention.
RAYS 2, METS 1: Nate Lowe homered and scored both runs against NL Cy Young Award contender Jacob deGrom, and Tampa Bay overcame 16 strikeouts to move closer to an AL East title by winning at New York. The Rays can lock up their first division crown since 2010 with a win Tuesday or a loss by the Yankees against Toronto. Tampa Bay leads New York by 4½ games with six days left in the regular season.
BRAVES 5, MARLINS 4: Austin Riley’s two-run double capped a wild first inning, and Atlanta’s bullpen took it from there, allowing one run over the final six innings to push the host Braves a step closer to a third straight NL East title with a win over second-place Miami.
BLUE JAYS 11, YANKEES 5: Rookie Alejandro Kirk became the first catcher 21 or younger since Johnny Bench with at least four hits that included two for extra bases, and host Toronto beat New York to drop the Yankees 1½ games behind Minnesota for home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
ROYALS 4, CARDINALS 1: Maikel Franco hit the goahead single with two outs in the sixth inning, the Kansas City bullpen shut down St. Louis from the fourth inning on, and the host Royals rallied for a victory.
NATIONALS 5, PHILLIES 1: Bryce Harper was hitless in his return from back stiffness, and Philadelphia manager Joe Girardi was ejected in the third inning of a loss at Washington that dropped the Phillies back to .500 and hurt their playoff hopes.
CUBS 5, PIRATES 0: Jon Lester scattered four hits over six innings, and Chicago inched closer to its first NL Central title since 2017 with a shutout of host Pittsburgh.
ROCKIES 7, GIANTS 2: German Marquez tossed six strong innings, Kevin Pillar homered, and visiting Colorado delivered a blow to San Francisco’s playoff hopes.
ANGELS 8, RANGERS 5: Jared Walsh hit his first career grand slam during Los Angeles’ seven-run fourth inning in a win over visiting Texas.