Indians clinch postseason berth; Braves claim NL East
CLEVELAND » José Ramírez pushed the Cleveland Indians into the playoffs with one swing and strengthened his case for the AL MVP award.
Ramírez hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning, giving Cleveland a 5- 3 win over the Chicago White Sox that clinched a postseason berth Tuesday night.
Ramírez’s drive to right off José Ruiz scored César Hernández and Francisco Lindor, setting off a wild celebration at home plate as the Indians reached the postseason for the fourth time in five years.
BRAVES 11, MARLINS 1 » Bryse Wilson pitched five scoreless innings, Marcell Ozuna drove in five runs with four hits that included two homers and Atlanta clinched its third straight NL East title.
Atlanta hit five homers, including drives by Dansby Swanson and Freddie Freeman off Nick Vincent in a five-run seventh. Free man drove in two runs with three hits.
Atlanta clinched its record 20th division title, one more than the New York Yankees.
Miami remained in position to earn its first playoff berth since winning the 2003 World Series.
YANKEES 12, BLUE JAYS 1 » Gerrit Cole limited Toronto to five hits over seven innings in his final preparation for the playoffs, and Aaron Hicks drove in three runs in a rout over the Blue Jays.
New York lowered its magic number to one for clinching second place in the AL East.
Tanner Roark (2- 3) allowed six runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
BREWERS3, REDS2 » Tyrone Taylor homered, Eric Sogard doubled home the goahead run in the seventh inning, and Milwaukee rallied over Cincinnati.
NATIONALS5, PHILLIES1( 1ST
GAME); NATIONALS 8, PHILLIES
7, 8 INN. (2ND GAME) » Philadelphia tumbled out of a playoff position, getting swept in a doubleheader by Washington when Yadiel Hernández hit a gameending, two-run homer in eighth inning off Brandon Workman (1- 4) in the second game.
The 32-year- old Hernández became the oldest player to hit a walkoff homer for his first big league home run, according to STATS.
Philadelphia (27-29) lost its fourth game in a rowand dropped behind Cincinnati (28-28), Milwaukee (27-27) and San Francisco (26-27) for the National League’s eighth and final playoff berth.
Defending champion Washington (23- 32) kept alive its slim postseason hopes by extending its winning streak to four.
PIRATES 3, CUBS 2 » Jacob Stallings hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning and Pittsburgh stalled Chicago’s bid to win the NL Central.
The Cubs began the day with a 4 ½-game lead over St. Louis and Cincinnati in the division standings and a magic number of four to clinch the title.
METS5, RAYS2 » Pete Alonso and the Mets prevented Tampa Bay from clinching the AL East crown, beating the Rays behind three home runs and Seth Lugo’s bounce-back pitching performance.
Robinson Canó, Alonso and Guillermo Here di a went deep for the Mets, desperately trying to stay in the National League playoff chase with five games remaining in the regular season.
RED SOX 8, ORIOLES 3 » Nick Pivetta struck out eight in five innings of one-run ball in his Boston debut, Christian Vázquez hit a three-run homer and the Red Sox beat Baltimore.
CARDINALS 5, ROYALS 0 » Austin Gomber tossed six innings of four-hit ball in a crucial spot start and St. Louis capitalized on some erratic pitching from Brady Singer, beating Kansas City.
The Cardinals, who trail the Chicago Cubs by 3½ games in the NL Central, improved to 27-25 by evening their series with their cross-state rivals.
TWINS5, TIGERS4 (10THINN.) » Max Kepler hit the tying home run in the eighth inning and the game-winning single with two outs in the 10th, giving Minnesota a victory over Detroit that tightened the AL Central race.
DIAMONDBACKS 7, RANGERS 0 » Carson Kelly had a three-run homer, Caleb Smith and Riley Smith combined to throw a six-hitter and Arizona rolled to a victory over Texas.
David Peralta had three hits, including a double. Eduardo Escobar added two singles and Nick Ahmed had a triple for the Diamondbacks.
ASTROS 6, MARINERS 1» Martin Maldonado hit a three-run home run, Framber Valdez struck out eight to set career highs for wins and strikeouts, and Houston beat Seattle to close in on its fourth straight playoff berth.
Houston cut its magic number to one over the Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels for clinching second in the AL West.