THURSDAY’S GAMES
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White Sox 7, CLEVELAND 2 (G1): The White Sox clinched the AL Central title with a win over Cleveland in a doubleheader opener behind two home runs by Tim Anderson. Chicago is going to the postseason in consecutive years for the first time.
Cardinals 8, BREWERS 5: Paul Goldschmidt homered twice, and St. Louis overcame a five-run deficit to extend their longest winning streak in 39 years to 12 games. On a day Adam Wainwright faltered early, St. Louis trailed 5-0 before rallying.
DIAMONDBACKS 6, Braves 4: Carson Kelly hit a tying three-run homer in a five-run seventh inning, Daulton Varsho followed with a go-ahead double and the last-place Diamondbacks beat the NL East-leading Braves. The Braves had won four straight games.
Mariners 6, ATHLETICS 5: Chris Bassitt pitched three scoreless innings less than a month after surgery to repair facial fractures, and Seattle rallied against Oakland’s bullpen for a fourgame sweep that damaged the Athletics’ wild-card hopes.
Dodgers 7, ROCKIES 5 (10): Max Muncy homered to start the 10th inning and the Dodgers rallied to remain in the thick of the NL West chase. Muncy drilled a slider to deep center, setting off a roar from the Dodgers faithful scattered throughout Coors Field.
Giants at PADRES, late: Kris Bryant hit a bases-clearing double, Buster Posey had four hits and scored three times, and reliever Camilo Doval got San Francisco out of a big jam as the Giants beat the free-falling San Diego Padres 8-6 Wednesday night.
White Sox at CLEVELAND (G2), late
Nationals at REDS, late: Ben Gamel homered, Ke’Bryan Hayes had three hits and the Pittsburgh Pirates dampened the Cincinnati Reds’ fading postseason hopes with a 6-2 win Tuesday.
Rangers at ORIOLES, late: Gleyber Torres doubled home Joey Gallo for the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning, and the New York Yankees rallied past the Texas Rangers 7-3 Wednesday night for a three-game sweep heading into a divisional gauntlet that will decide their postseason fate.
Pirates at PHILLIES, late: Bryce Harper threw out the tying run at the plate in the eighth inning and Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run home run to keep the Philadelphia Phillies pushing in the NL East race with a 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.
Blue Jays at TWINS, late: Max Kepler homered twice, rookie Joe Ryan struck out a season-high 11, and the Minnesota Twins held on to beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 Wednesday night.
Astros at ANGELS, late: Jose Altuve hit a two-run double in the 12th inning and the Houston Astros, after throwing out Shohei Ohtani at the plate to preserve a tie, broke away to defeat the Los Angeles Angels 9-5 Wednesday.