Twins rally, can clinch playoff berth
CLEVELAND — Brian Dozier’s three-run homer in the eighth inning pushed Minnesota to the brink of a playoff berth as the Twins rallied for an 8-6 victory over Cleveland on Tuesday night. The Indians lost for just the third time in 32 games.
Dozier connected for his 33rd homer against Bryan Shaw (4-6) as the Twins lowered their magic number for clinching a playoff berth to one.
• Yankees 6, Rays 1 — At New York: Aaron Hicks robbed Wilson Ramos of a first-inning grand slam in the outfielder’s return from the disabled list, and the Yankees clinched home-field advantage if they end up in the AL wild-card game next week.
Tampa Bay’s first three batters reached against rookie Jordan Montgomery (9-7), and Hicks leaped at the 385foot sign in right-center to get his glove above the wall. He squeezed the webbing tight, preventing the ball from popping out and limiting Ramos to a sacrifice fly.
• Dodgers 9, Padres 2 — At Los Angeles: Adrian Gonzalez hit his third home run of an injury-plagued season and Los Angeles beat San Diego to clinch home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs.
Yasmani Grandal and Corey Seager each had a three-run homer for the NL West champions, who improved to 101-57.
• Rockies 6, Marlins 0 — At Denver: Trevor Story hit a three-run homer and Tyler Anderson pitched seven superb innings, helping Colorado maintain its slim lead for the second NL wild card.
The Rockies notched their first win over the Marlins in five tries this season and stayed 1 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee.
• Angels 9, White Sox 3 — At Chicago: Mike Trout hit his 31st homer, Albert Pujols joined Alex Rodriguez as the only players with 100 RBIs in 14 seasons, and the fading Angels won on the road.
Los Angeles remained five games behind Minnesota for the final AL wild card with five to play.
• Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 4 — At Boston: Red Sox ace Chris Sale matched a career worst by giving up four home runs in a playoff tuneup, including a pair to Josh Donaldson.
Teoscar Hernandez hit one of his two homers off Sale, and Kendrys Morales had the other against the left-hander. Sale (17-8) allowed five runs in five innings and surrendered multiple homers for the third time in five starts.
• Pirates 10, Orioles 1 — At Pittsburgh: Andrew McCutchen hit his first career grand slam and drove in eight runs, powering Pittsburgh to the victory.
McCutchen raised a fist in triumph as he rounded the bases after connecting against Kevin Gausman (1111) in the second inning. He also hit an RBI double in the first, singled in the fifth and belted a three-run homer in the seventh.
• Astros 14, Rangers 3 — At Arlington, Texas: Carlos Correa, Brian McCann and Cameron Maybin each drove in three runs, and Houston clinched no worse than the second-best record in the American League.
Houston (97-60) trails Cleveland by one game with five to play in the race for the league’s best record. The Indians own the tiebreaker, having won the season series.
• Cardinals 8, Cubs 7 — At St. Louis: Tommy Pham and Randal Grichuk homered, and the Cardinals denied the Cubs a chance at clinching the NL Central title.
Matt Carpenter and Jedd Gyorko also connected for St. Louis, which is 2 1/2 games back in the race for the second NL wild card. Zach Duke (1-1) got the win and Juan Nicasio earned his fifth save.
• Brewers 7, Reds 6 — At Milwaukee: Domingo Santana hit a three-run homer in Milwaukee’s four-run first, and the Brewers held on for the win.
Milwaukee remained 1 1/2 games behind Colorado for the second NL wild card. Josh Hader (2-3) earned the win, and Corey Knebel worked the ninth for his 38th save.
• Phillies 4, Nationals 1 — At Philadelphia: Jake Thompson pitched four-hit ball into the sixth inning, and Philadelphia spoiled Bryce Harper’s return from a knee injury.
With the loss, Washington locked itself into the second seed in the NL playoffs behind the Dodgers. The Nationals will host the NL Central champion in a Division Series beginning Oct. 6 at Nationals Park.
• Mets 4, Braves 3 — At New York: Travis Taijeron hit a game-ending RBI single in the ninth, sending the Mets to the win.
New York was stymied by R.A. Dickey much of the night and trailed 3-0 in the seventh before Kevin Plawecki hit a two-run homer off the 42-year-old knuckleballer. Asdrubal Cabrera tied it with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
• Royals 2, Tigers 1 — At Kansas City, Mo.: Jason Vargas moved into a tie for the major league lead with his 18th victory, leading the Royals over the struggling Tigers.
Vargas (18-10) went six innings to match Cleveland’s Corey Kluber and the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw for most wins in the majors. He gave up a run and five hits.