White Sox beat Indians, clinch AL Central
CLEVELAND — The White Sox clinched the division with a 7-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday in the opener of a doubleheader split that ended with a 5-3 loss.
Anderson hit his fifth leadoff home run of the season and added a three-run drive in the second for his sixth career multi-homer game. Luis Robert and Eloy Jiménez hit consecutive homers in the second as Chicago grabbed a 7-0 lead off Aaron Civale (11-5).
PHILLIES 12, PIRATES 6
In Philadelphia, J.T. Realmuto homered and drove in four, Ronald Torreyes hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the sixth inning and the Phillies erased a six-run deficit to beat Pittsburgh and pick up ground in the NL East.
The Phillies are the first team in the modern era to win by at least six after trailing by at least six twice in the same season, according to STATS. The other was last week, when they rallied from down 7-0 in the fourth inning to defeat the Chicago Cubs 17-8 on Sept. 16.
CARDINALS 8, BREWERS 5
In Milwaukee, Paul Goldschmidt homered twice, and St. Louis overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Brewers and extend the Cardinals’ longest winning streak in 39 years to 12 games.
On a day Adam Wainwright faltered early, St. Louis trailed 5-0 before rallying with one run in the fifth, four in the seventh, two in the eighth and one in the ninth.
The Cardinals maintained a 4½game lead over Philadelphia for the second NL wild card, with Cincinnati another game back.
PADRES 7, GIANTS 6
In San Diego, Jurickson Profar raced home on Victor Caratini’s infield single with one out in the 10th inning and the Padres beat San Francisco to tighten the NL West race between the Giants and the defending World Series champion Dodgers.
The Padres won for just the third time in 13 games and remained six games behind St. Louis for the second wild-card spot with 10 games to go.
DODGERS 7, ROCKIES 5
In Denver, Max Muncy homered to start the 10th inning and Los Angeles rallied past the Rockies to tighten the NL West chase.
It was a comeback win the Dodgers needed with time running out in their bid for a ninth straight NL West crown. Los Angeles moved within one game of the San Francisco Giants, who lost 7-6 at San Diego in 10 innings. Both teams have nine games remaining.
TWINS 7, BLUE JAYS 2
In Minneapolis, Nick Gordon drove in four runs and Michael Pineda won his third straight start as the Twins beat Toronto to bump the Blue Jays back in the AL wildcard race.
The loss was especially costly for Toronto, which fell a full game behind New York for the second spot and three games behind wildcard leader Boston.
Left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. exited in the fifth inning after teammate Randal Grichuk accidentally stepped on his right hand in the outfield.
MARINERS 6, ATHLETICS 5
In Oakland, Calif., Chris Bassitt pitched three scoreless innings less than a month after surgery to repair facial fractures, but Seattle rallied against the Athletic’s bullpen for a victory and a four-game sweep that damaged Oakland’s wild-card hopes.