Ryu helps Blue Jays clinch playoff berth
Hyun- Jin Ryu pitched seven shutout innings and the Toronto Blue Jays clinched their f irst postseason spot since 2016, beating the Yankees 4- 1 Thursday night and further damaging New York’s chances of hosting a f irst- round playoff series.
Toronto secured at least an American League wildcard spot.
Blue Jays players embraced on the diamond at their temporary home of Sahlen Field in Buffalo after Rafael Dolis struck out Aaron Hicks to end it.
“I’m just so proud of my club and everything we’ve gone through all year,” Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said.
Rockies 5, at Giants 4 ( 11 innings): Raimel Tapia hit a go- ahead sacrifice f ly in the 11th inning and Colorado rallied to keep San Francisco from gaining ground in the wild- card race.
Mets 3, at Nationals 2: Robinson Chirinos homered and drove in three runs, and New York kept its f lickering postseason hopes alive with a win against Washington, which was already eliminated from the postseason.
at Indians 5, White Sox 4: Jose Ramirez delivered a goahead, two- run double in the seventh inning and Cleveland completed a four- game sweep.
Marlins 4, at Braves 2: Jon Berti drove in two runs and Jesus Aguilar homered as Miami ended a four- game losing streak.
Orioles 13, at Red Sox 1: Jose Iglesias, Pat Valaika and Austin Hays homered for three of Baltimore’s 18 hits.
at Royals 8, Tigers 7: Salvador Perez hit a three- run home run and Maikel
Franco hit a go- ahead homer in the sixth inning for Kansas City.
Astros 12, at Rangers 4:
Alex Bregman’s three extrabase hits included one of Houston’s four home runs, and the Astros trimmed their magic number to one for clinching the American League’s last playoff spot.
at Cardinals 4, Brewers 2: Yadier Molina singled twice to reach 2,000 hits, and St. Louis kept its slim lead over Cincinnati for second place in the NL Central.
at Pirates 7, Cubs 0: Chad Kuhl pitched seven sharp innings and Colin Moran and Bryan Reynolds had home runs among their three hits apiece.
Gordon will retire
Kansas City Royals outf ielder Alex Gordon, whose roller- coaster career took him from near bust to AllStar and Gold Glove winner, will retire after the season.
He said during a news conference that the pandemic reinforced his feelings that he wants to spend more time with his family and “catch up on things I’ve missed my whole life.”
Gordon, who turns 37 in February, had signed a oneyear deal to play with the Royals.
He played his entire 14year career in Kansas City, joining George Brett and Frank White as position players with that much longevity with the franchise.
Etc.
The Mets placed Michael Conforto on the injured list with a hamstring injury . ... Turner Sports will continue broadcasting Major League Baseball after agreeing to an extension of rights through the 2028 season. ... Longtime baseball executive Sandy Alderson will return to the Mets as team president if Steve Cohen’s purchase of the club is approved by MLB owners.