Astros clinch American League West title
Max Scherzer reaches 300th strikeout of the season
HOUSTON: The Houston Astros clinched the American League West title early yesterday morning (Eastern time), hours after beating the host Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 for their 100th win of the season. The Oakland A’s took a 10-8, 11-inning road loss to the Seattle Mariners, wrapping up the division crown for the Astros. Houston’s Alex Bregman hit a two-run home run, and Josh James pitched an effective five innings at Toronto. Yuli Gurriel had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. The Astros (100-57) reached triple-digit wins for the third time in club history and for the second consecutive season. Houston has won the first two games of the threegame series. James (2-0) allowed one run, four hits and one walk in five innings.
Washington 9, Miami Marlins 4
Max Scherzer recorded his 300th strikeout of the season while earning his 18th win, and Anthony Rendon drove in four runs as the host Washington Nationals defeated the Miami Marlins 9-4 on Tuesday night. Bidding for his fourth Cy Young Award, Scherzer (18-7) allowed five hits, no walks and one run, striking out 10 in seven innings. He punched out rookie Austin Dean swinging in the seventh inning for No. 300. Only 16 other pitchers have accomplished the feat since 1900, and it was Scherzer’s final strikeout of the night. Rendon went 3-for-3 with a three-run homer and an RBI double, improving his batting average to .312, extending his hit streak to 11 games and his on-base streak to 33 games. During his hitting streak, Rendon is batting .500 (21-for42) with five homers and 20 RBIs.
Mariners 10, Athletics 8 (11 innings)
Pinch hitter Chris Herrmann hit a two-run home run with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning as Seattle defeated visiting Oakland and improved to 14-1 in extra innings this season. Oakland had been 68-0 when leading after seven innings and became the last major league team to take a loss in that situation. Trailing 8-5, Seattle began its rally in the eighth off Fernando Rodney. The Mariners tied it with an unearned run off Blake Treinen in the bottom of the ninth.
Yankees 9, Rays 2
Slumping Gary Sanchez capped a seven-run top of the third inning with a three-run homer as New York moved closer to securing home-field advantage in the American League wild-card game with a rout of Tampa Bay in St Petersburg, Fla. Sanchez, who tied a season high with four RBIs, gave the Yankees a 7-0 lead when he lifted a 3-1 fastball just above the knees from Jalen Beeks into the left-center-field seats. Sanchez’s blast helped the Yankees lower their magic number to two to ensure they will face the A’s at Yankee Stadium in the wild-card game on Oct. 3. New York is 2 1/2 games ahead of Oakland.
Rockies 10, Phillies 3
David Dahl homered for the second straight night, Carlos Gonzalez had a two-run, pinch-hit double, and Colorado cruised past Philadelphia at Denver. DJ LeMahieu had three hits and two RBIs for the Rockies, who won their fifth consecutive game and jumped over St. Louis into the second National League wild-card spot by a half-game. Colorado also kept its hopes alive for winning the NL West; the Rockies are a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. Scott Kingery had two doubles and an RBI for the Phillies, who have lost six in a row. Philadelphia is 10-25 since Aug. 18.
Diamondbacks 4, Dodgers 3
Eduardo Escobar hit a walk-off home run to lead off the last of the ninth inning as Arizona edged Los Angeles at Phoenix. Escobar hit a 3-2 pitch from Kenta Maeda (8-10) deep into the right field seats as the Diamondbacks broke a four-game losing streak. Cody Bellinger homered for the Dodgers, but they were only 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and fell into a tie with Colorado in the loss column.
Brewers 12, Cardinals 4
Christian Yelich homered and drove in a career-high six runs as Milwaukee moved closer to clinching a playoff spot with a rout at St Louis. Yelich laced a three-run triple in the fourth inning and slugged a three-run blast in the ninth. Ryan Braun hit two homers for his 31st career multi-homer game. Milwaukee won for the fifth time in the past six games and moved within a half-game of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central race. The Brewers hold possession of the NL’s first wildcard spot by 3 1/2 games over the Rockies.
Pirates 6, Cubs 0
Chris Archer struck out nine in six scoreless innings as visiting Pittsburgh blanked Chicago. Pablo Reyes hit a three-run home run for the Pirates, and Archer (6-8) limited Chicago to four hits and two walks. Dovydas Neverauskas pitched two scoreless innings, and Steven Brault worked the ninth to preserve the five-hit shutout. Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant left after the fifth inning. He was hit in the left wrist by a pitch in the fourth.
Braves 7, Mets 3
Ronald Acuna Jr. delivered a go-ahead, two-run single in the seventh inning as visiting Atlanta stormed back to beat New York. With their sixth straight win, the National League East champion Braves moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the NL West-leading Dodgers in the race for homefield advantage in the NL Division Series. Atlanta is two games behind the NL Central-leading Cubs in the race for the top overall seed in the Senior Circuit.
White Sox 5, Indians 4
Daniel Palka delivered a game-ending, two-run single to cap a three-run ninth inning as host Chicago rallied to beat Cleveland. Yolmer Sanchez also had an RBI single in the ninth inning as the White Sox finally got to Carlos Carrasco (16-10) after striking out eight times against the right-hander in the previous four innings. Trevor Bauer went four innings for the Indians in his second start since returning from a right fibula stress fracture. He threw 60 pitches and gave up two first-inning runs on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
Angels 4, Rangers 1
Los Angeles scored four runs in the sixth inning on its way to victory over Texas at Anaheim, Calif. The Angels got three hits in the key inning, including a broken-bat RBI single by Shohei Ohtani that drove in the first run. Los Angeles also benefited from a throwing error by Rangers third baseman Jurickson Profar. Joey Gallo went deep to become the fourth Rangers player to have consecutive 40-homer seasons, joining Alex Rodriguez (2001-03), Rafael Palmeiro (2001-02) and Juan Gonzalez (1992-93). Gallo also struck out in the fifth inning, No. 200 for the season, a Rangers record.
Tigers 4, Twins 2
James McCann’s two-run double capped a four-run, eighth-inning outburst, and Detroit held on for a win over Minnesota at Minneapolis. Victor Alcantara (1-0) pitched an inning of scoreless relief to collect his first major league win. Shane Greene got the last three outs for his 32nd save. Joe Mauer had two hits and scored twice for Minnesota. Jorge Polanco and Jake Cave each added two hits and an RBI.—Reuters