D-BACKS ROUT ROYALS; WILD-CARD GAME NEXT
MO.» The Diamondbacks improved KANSAS CITY, to 93-69 and tuned up for their NL wild-card game against the Rockies with a 14-2 rout of the Royals on Sunday.
Ildemaro Vargas and Jeremy Hazelbaker each drove in four runs for Arizona, which will host the wild-card game Wednesday.
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
Aaron Wilkerson took a perfect game into the sixth inning and Brett Phillips hit a three-run homer as the Brewers closed their season with a 6-1 victory over the Cardinals. The Brewers, who finished 86-76, were in first place in the NL Central for 65 days overall but were unable to get a playoff berth . ... Parker Bridwell pitched seven scoreless innings and Eric Young Jr. hit a three-run homer as the Angels beat the Mariners 6-2 . ... Jose Bautista singled off the wall and hit a sacrifice fly in what probably was his final game with the Blue Jays, who defeated the Yankees 2-1. Matt Holliday homered for the Yankees in a tuneup for the AL wild-card game Tuesday in New York against Minnesota . ... Bartolo Colon pitched one-run ball into the seventh inning, leading the Twins toa 5-1 win over the Tigers. Jason Castro homered for the Twins . ... Blake Snell struck out a career-high 13 in seven innings, helping the Rays beat the Orioles 6-0. The Rays finished 80-82, a 12-win improvement over last year. Sunday’s season finale drew a crowd of 16,018, bringing Tampa Bay’s 2017 home attendance to 1,253,619, lowest in the majors . ... Khris Davis hit his career-best 43rd homer as the Athletics wrapped up their season with a 5-2 win over the Rangers . ... The Cubs prepared for the playoffs by playing much of their roster in a 3-1 loss to the Reds. Most of Cubs’ starting lineup was gone by the fifth inning. Chicago (92-70) now will try to become the first team to repeat as World Series champion since the Yankees won three titles in a row from 1998-2000 . ... Jay Bruce hit a two-run single for the Indians, who posted their AL-best 102nd victory with a 3-1 win over the White Sox. Cleveland’s 102 wins rank second in team history, behind the 1954 club’s 111 . ... Adonis Garcia’s three-run, pinch-hit homer in the seventh helped the Braves beat the Marlins 8-5. Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton finished the season with 59 homers and 132 RBIs. The Marlins’ Marcell Ozuna hit his 37th home run, a solo shot in the seventh, and finished with 124 RBIs . ... The Astros scored four times in the seventh to rally from a three-run deficit and beat the Red Sox 4-3 in a preview of their best-offive ALDS, which starts Thursday in Houston. Jose Altuve finished with a .346 average, easily beating Avasail Garcia (.330) of the White Sox for the AL batting crown . ... Terry Collins, 68, the oldest manager in the majors, resigned after the Mets wrapped up their 70-92 season with an 11-0 loss to the Phillies. Collins posted a 551-583 record in seven seasons with the Mets, who played in the World Series two years ago . ... Pablo Sandoval hit a gameending solo homer with one out in the ninth, lifting the Giants to a 5-4 victory over the Padres . ... Gio Gonzalez gave up five runs in the first as the NL East champion lost 11-8 to the
FOOTNOTE
More netting at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees announced that they will “significantly expand” the protective netting at Yankee Stadium and at their spring training ballpark in Tampa, Fla., during the offseason. A girl was injured Sept. 20 at Yankee Stadium by a foul ball hit by Todd Frazier. — The Associated Press