Pujols 2 HRs, passes Mays for 5th place, Angels top Rangers
A’s clinch playoff berth with win over Giants, Mariners loss
ANAHEIM, Calif, Sept 19, (AP): Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols homered twice to pass Willie Mays for fifth place on the career home run list in a 6-2 win over the Texas Rangers.
Pujols hit No. 661 in the fifth inning to break the tie with Mays, then connected again in his next at-bat.
The 40-year-old Pujols now trails only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714) and Alex Rodriguez (696).
Pujols had hit just four home runs this season before posting the 60th multi-HR game of his career and first since May 11 last year at Baltimore. He finished with three hits on the night.
Taylor Ward added two hits and an RBI while Anthony Rendon had a tworun double in the eighth for the Angels, who beat the Rangers for only the second
BASEBALL
time in seven meetings this season. Jaime Barria (1-0) tied a career high in strikeouts with eight.
Athletics 6, Giants 0 In Oakland, California, the Oakland Athletics clinched their third straight playoff berth with Seattle’s loss to San Diego and a 6-0 win against the San Francisco Giants, highlighted by Matt Olson’s threerun homer.
Oakland is in the playoffs for the sixth time in nine seasons and now shifts its attention to an AL West crown, which could be locked up Saturday. The A’s haven’t captured the division since 2013, winning 97 games each of the past two seasons to finish in second place behind Houston and before losing the AL Wild Card Game both years.
Olson connected in the third inning of a balanced offensive attack for the A’s in the opener of the second round of the 2020 Bay Bridge Series.
Padres 6, Mariners 1
In San Diego, Manny Machado homered twice and drove in four runs, Chris Paddack one-hit Seattle for six shutout innings and the San Diego Padres beat the Mariners 6-1 to reduce their magic number to two for clinching their first playoff berth in 14 seasons.
The Padres are closing in on their first playoff berth since winning the NL West in 2006. They’ve already clinched their first winning season since 2010. The Mariners’ loss helped the Oakland Athletics clinch their third straight playoff berth.
The Padres won the opener of a threegame series that was moved from Seattle because of poor air quality due to wildfires. The Padres batted first but wore their
home white pinstripes. Seattle’s Evan White homered off Pierce Johnson with one out in the eighth, his sixth. Yankees 6, Red Sox 5, 12 Innings In Boston, Gary Sanchez hit a tying home run with two outs in the ninth inning, DJ LeMahieu had a go-ahead double in the 12th and the New York Yankees rallied past the Boston Red Sox 6-5 for their ninth straight win.
New York improved to 8-0 over their longtime rivals this season. Dating to last year, the Yankees have won 11 in a row over the Red Sox, one short of their best streak ever against them.
The victory moved the Yankees (3021) percentage points ahead of Minnesota (31-22) for No. 4 seed and home field in the first round of the playoffs.
Dodgers 15, Rockies 6
In Denver, Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts and Gavin Lux homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers set a season high for runs, romping past the Colorado Rockies 15-6 to move closer to clinching their eighth straight NL West title.
The Dodgers’ magic number for wrapping up the division dropped to four. They were already the first team to secure a playoff spot this season.
Bellinger had three of LA’s seasonhigh 17 hits, including his first homer since Aug 30 and a double. He also added an RBI single as part of a five-run fifth inning that broke open the game.
Brewers 9, Royals 5
In Milwaukee, Jacob Nottingham hit a grand slam and Orlando Arcia added a
three-run shot as the Milwaukee Brewers rallied from an early four-run deficit and beat the Kansas City Royals 9-5.
Nottingham’s two-out blast to left off Danny Duffy (3-4) capped a six-run rally in the fourth inning that put the Brewers ahead for good. The comeback had begun when Christian Yelich led off the fourth with his 150th career homer.
Kansas City’s Salvador Perez went 4 of 5 with a homer, double, two runs and four RBIs.
Braves 15, Mets 2
In New York, Freddie Freeman added three more hits to his burgeoning MVP campaign, Ozzie Albies clubbed two of Atlanta’s six homers and the Braves battered New York Mets pitching in a 15-2 blowout that thrust them closer to a third consecutive NL East title.
Max Fried (7-0) returned from a brief stay on the injured list due to a back spasm and breezed through five innings that only help his Cy Young Award credentials. The left-hander hasn’t allowed a home run since Sept 10 last year.
Diamondbacks 6, Astros 3 In Houston, Kole Calhoun hit two home runs to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks over former teammate Zack Greinke and the Houston Astros 6-3.
Calhoun connected on Greinke’s fastball in the fourth inning for an upper-deck shot to right. The three-run homer put Arizona ahead 3-2.
His second drive narrowly sneaked by
the glove of leaping right fielder Josh Reddick. The solo shot off Blake Taylor in the eight made it 6-3. Calhoun has 14 homers following his second multi-homer effort of the season.
Nationals 5, Marlins 0, 7 Innings,
Game 1 Marlins 14, Nationals 3, 7 Innings,
Game 2
In Miami, Brian Anderson tied a franchise record with three homers and drove in seven runs to help the Miami Marlins earn a doubleheader split by beating the Washington Nationals 14-3.
Anderson’s third homer was a three-run shot in the sixth inning against infielderoutfielder Brock Holt, pitching in a mopup role. Anderson also homered leading off the second and hit a three-run shot in the fifth, increasing his season total to nine homers.
Corey Dickerson hit a solo homer for the Marlins, who remained in second place in the NL East as they chase their first playoff berth since 2003.
The Marlins matched their season-high run total after they were shut out in the opener. Erick Fedde allowed one hit in six innings as Washington beat highly touted rookie Sixto Sanchez 5-0.
Cubs 1, Twins 0
In Chicago, Kyle Hendricks tossed eight innings of three-hit, shutout ball to out-duel Rich Hill, and the Chicago Cubs edged the Minnesota Twins 1-0 for their fifth straight win.
Hendricks stuck out 10 and walked one before Jeremy Jeffress worked around two walks in the ninth for his eighth save. After 104 pitches – including 73 strikes – Hendricks narrowly missed his fifth career shutout and his second this season.
Willson Contreras’ sharp RBI single in the first accounted for the only run off the 40-year-old Hill, who walked the first two Cubs batters and then settled in on a clear, chilly night at Wrigley Field with the wind blowing in.
Hendricks (6-4) retired 12 Twins hitters in a row during a stretch from the second until Josh Donaldson’s bloop single with two outs in the sixth. Phillies 7, Blue Jays 0, 7 Innings, Game 1 Phillies 8, Blue Jays 7, 7 Innings, Game 2
In Philadelphia, Bryce Harper hit a tying, two-run double and scored the go-ahead run on an error following Alec Bohm’s in-field single, helping the Philadelphia Phillies rally to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-7 and earn their first doubleheader sweep in eight years.
Zach Eflin struck out nine in a four-hitter and Harper went deep in Philadelphia’s 7-0 win in the opener.
The Phillies came back twice in the nightcap.
Rafael Marchan hit his first career homer as a professional, a three-run drive in the fourth that tied it at 5. That came after Mickey Moniak, the 2016 No. 1 overall pick in the amateur draft, lined a single to right for his first hit in the majors.
Indians 1, Tigers 0
In Detroit, Zach Plesac pitched impressively into the eighth inning, and Brad Hand worked out of a jam in the ninth to send the Cleveland Indians to a 1-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Francisco Lindor drove in the game’s only run with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly, and Plesac (4-2) rebounded after allowing a season-high five runs at Minnesota in his previous outing. The right-hander yielded five hits in 7-2/3 innings, lowering his ERA to 1.85. He struck out 11 with one walk.
James Karinchak struck out Miguel Cabrera with two on to end the eighth. Hand allowed a one-out triple by Daz Cameron – the rookie was 1 for 27 in his career to that point – but struck out Jorge Bonifacio and Niko Goodrum to end it. It was Hand’s 13th save in 13 chances.
Rays 2, Orioles 1
In Baltimore, Tyler Glasnow struck out 10 over five innings to help the Tampa Bay Rays beat Alex Cobb and the Baltimore Orioles 2-1.
Glasnow (4-1) allowed one run, four hits and a pair of walks. The right-hander has won four straight decisions, a streak that began with a 13-strikeout performance against the Orioles on Aug 25.
The Rays clinched a postseason berth on Thursday night, and now the AL East leaders are looking to charge into the playoffs as division champions. Tampa Bay started the day with a 3-1/2-game lead over the Yankees.
Austin Hays led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run, but Glasnow and the Rays bullpen allowed nothing more. Ryan Sherriff, the fourth Tampa Bay reliever, worked the ninth to earn his first big league save. Cardinals 6, Pirates 5, 7 Innings, Game 1 Cardinals 7, Pirates 2, 7 Innings, Game 2
In Pittsburgh, Cardinals rookie Dylan Carlson’s three-run homer capped a sixrun outburst in the sixth inning against the mistake-prone Pittsburgh Pirates, helping lift St Louis to a 7-2 victory and a doubleheader sweep. The Cardinals took the opener 6-5 behind home runs from Kolten Wong and Tyler O’Neill and just enough pitching to overcome four errors.
St Louis, playing their third doubleheader in five days, moved to .500 (24-24) with the win to remain in the mix for a playoff spot.
Chad Kuhl (1-3) cruised through five innings but things fell apart in the sixth. Kuhl walked Tommy Edman leading off the inning and Paul Goldschmidt reached on catcher’s interference. Brad Miller then walked on four pitches to load the bases, chasing Kuhl.
Reds 7, White Sox 1
In Cincinnati, slumping Jesse Winker hit a three-run homer – one of four off White Sox starter Jonathan Stiever – and the Cincinnati Reds extended their surge into playoff contention with a 7-1 win Friday night for their season-high sixth victory in a row.
The Reds moved to .500 (26-26) for the first time since Aug 3. They’ve had a winning record only once, after their season-opening victory over the Tigers. Their winning streak has them in playoff position, in second place in the NL Central behind the Cubs.