Giants shut out LA; playoff berth within reach
Mets secure NL’s top wild-card spot
SAN FRANCISCO — Rookie Ty Blach outpitched ace Clayton Kershaw, and the San Francisco Giants held on to their lead for the last NL playoff spot going into the final day of the regular season, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 on Saturday.
The Giants stayed one game ahead of St. Louis for the second NL wild-card slot.
Moriarty High grad Matt Moore will start for the Giants today, and a win — or St. Louis loss — puts them in the playoffs.
Blach (1-0) earned his first big league victory, pitching eight innings of three-hit ball. He struck out six and walked one in his second start in the majors, and also got his first two hits.
This was the fourth game in the majors for Blach since the 25-year-old lefty made his major league debut in September.
Sergio Romo pitched a hitless ninth for his fourth save.
Kershaw (12-4) gave up three runs, two of them unearned, in seven innings. Angel Pagan homered in the fifth to break a scoreless tie.
The Dodgers, who have lost four of five, were limited to three singles and got only one runner to second base.
METS 5, PHILLIES 3: In Philadelphia, the Mets secured the top National League wild card with the victory.
The defending NL champions will host San Francisco or St. Louis on Wednesday night at Citi Field, with the winner advancing to face the Chicago Cubs.
James Loney hit a two-run homer to back 43-year-old Bartolo Colon (15-8), and Jeurys Familia closed for his major league-high 51st save. CARDINALS 4, PIRATES 3: In St. Louis, Jedd Gyorko connected for a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning and the Cardinals pushed the NL wild-card race to the last day of the season. Gyorko’s solo shot came on a 100-mph fastball from Felipe Rivero (1-6). Gyorko became the first Cardinals player to hit 30 homers in a season since Carlos Beltran in 2012. REDS 7, CUBS 4: In Cincinnati, left-hander Jon Lester failed to become a 20-game winner, struggling for the first time since mid-July.
Lester (19-5) gave up five runs in only five innings, including Eugenio Suarez’s two-run homer and a pair of RBIs by Joey Votto. The lefthander hadn’t allowed five runs in a start since July 9.
Asked before the game whether he’ll open the playoffs with the same lineup — including Lester on the mound — manager Joe Maddon said: “There’s a shot.” The Cubs will host the NL wild-card playoff winner Friday at Wrigley Field. NATIONALS 2, MARLINS 1: In Washington, rookie Trea Turner hit his 13th homer, Tanner Roark tuned up for the playoffs with 5⅔ innings of one-run ball and the Nationals clinched home-field advantage for the NL Division Series.
NL East champion Washington’s third trip to the postseason in five years will begin Friday at home against the NL West champion Dodgers, with Max Scherzer slated to face Clayton Kershaw. Game 2 is the next day, before the bestof-five NLDS shifts to LA. YANKEES 7, ORIOLES 3: In New York, Tyler Austin tied the score with a seventhinning home run, Austin Romine and Brett Gardner drove in two runs each in the eighth and New York prevented Baltimore from securing at least a tiebreaker game for a playoff berth.
INDIANS 6, ROYALS 3: In Kansas City, Mo., Francisco Lindor hit a two-out, tworun double during an eighthinning rally, helping Cleveland beat the Royals.
All three Indians runs in the eighth were unearned after second baseman Whit Merrifield’s error on pinch-hitter Abraham Almonte’s grounder.
BRAVES 5, TIGERS 3: In Atlanta, Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis homered, rookie Aaron Blair had a career-high 10 strikeouts and last-place Atlanta damaged Detroit’s playoff hopes.
The Tigers will have ace Justin Verlander on the mound today. Depending on the playoff scenario, Detroit’s regular season might extend with a makeup home game Monday against Cleveland. RAYS 4, RANGERS 1: In Arlington, Texas, Colby Lewis lost his fifth straight start in the right-hander’s tuneup for the playoffs, allowing Corey Dickerson’s three-run homer in Tampa Bay’s victory over Texas.
The Rangers rested most
of their starters a night after the AL West winners clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Texas (95-66) remains a win shy of the franchise record.
BLUE JAYS 4, RED SOX 3: In Boston, Ezequiel Carrera hit a ninth-inning sacrifice fly to give Toronto the lead after the Red Sox tied it in the eighth on a balk, and the Blue Jays beat Boston to move into a tie with Baltimore for the top spot in the AL wild-card race.
The Blue Jays and Orioles each have 88 wins with one game to play, and Toronto owns the tiebreaker. ATHLETICS 9, MARINERS 8 (10): In Seattle, Edwin Diaz allowed a run in the 10th inning on Joey Wendle’s oneout RBI double, and Seattle’s playoff hopes ended with a loss to Oakland.
Seattle needed to win out to have a chance at an AL wild card. TWINS 6, WHITE SOX 0: In Chicago, Byron Buxton and Jorge Polanco each hit a tworun home run to send James Shields to a major league hightying 19th loss, as Minnesota beat Chicago. D’BACKS 9, PADRES 5: In Phoenix, Yasmany Tomas hit a three-run homer as part of a five-run first inning, and Arizona beat San Diego. BREWERS 4, ROCKIES 3 (10): In Denver, Chris Carter hit a tie-breaking home run with two outs in the top of the 10th inning, and Milwaukee beat Colorado. ASTROS 3, ANGELS 0: In Anaheim, Calif., Collin McHugh pitched three-hit ball over 7⅔ innings to help Houston beat Los Angeles.