Nationals defeat Indians, will host NL wild-card game

The Washington Nationals assured themselves of hosting the NL wild-card game by holding on to beat the alreadyeliminated Cleveland Indians 10-7 Saturday with the help of a grand slam in a nine-run second inning from Gerardo Parra.

Nationals Park will be the site of a win-or-go-home game Tuesday night between Washington, which will send three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer to the mound, and either the St. Louis Cardinals or Milwaukee Brewers. One of those clubs will be the NL Central champion; the other will be the league’s second wild-card entry.

Washington starter Patrick Corbin got hit around, giving up six runs in 4 1/3 innings. Daniel Hudson (3-0), the fifth of six Washington pitchers, struck out two in a perfect eighth.

Jordan Luplow hit a solo homer, Franmil Reyes had a two-run drive and Eric Haase added a three-run shot for the Indians, who have lost four in a row. Luplow added another drive to left off Sean Doolittle with two outs in the ninth that allowed Cleveland to break the franchise record for homers in a season with 222.

METS 3, BRAVES 0 >> Pete Alonso hit his 53rd home run to break the rookie record Yankees star Aaron Judge set in 2017, and New York beat playoff-bound Atlanta. A 24-year-old who debuted on opening day, Alonso launched a 93 mph fastball on a 1-2 count from former Allstar Mike Foltynewicz just to the right of straightaway center field. The solo shot in the third boosted the lead to 3-0 and followed a two-run homer earlier in the inning by light-hitting backup catcher René Rivera. BLUE JAYS 4, RAYS 1 >> Tampa Bay managed just three hits and lost to Toronto, damaging the Rays’ chances of hosting the AL Wild Card Game. The Rays, who clinched a postseason berth Friday when they beat Toronto and Washington beat Cleveland, began the day tied with Oakland in the wild-card race.