BELLINGER MATCHES ROOKIE RECORD IN DODGERS’ VICTORY
Cody Bellinger hit his 38th homer to match the National League single-season record for rookies, and the Dodgers beat the Nationals 3-2 Saturday to inch closer to the NL West title.
Chase Utley had two doubles and scored twice to help the Dodgers reduce their magic number to win the division to five. Los Angeles also moved seven games ahead of the Nationals in the race to secure home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.
Los Angeles has won four straight since dropping 11 in a row. The winning streak includes the first two games of this series, which concludes Sunday.
Anthony Rendon homered for the Nationals, who have lost four of five since clinching the NL East last Sunday.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
Zack Greinke pitched eight innings of two-hit ball and Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer as the Diamondbacks defeated the Giants 2-0. Arizona won for the 20th time in 25 games and for the ninth straight time on the road. … Francisco Lindor hit an RBI double and the Indians bounced back after having their record streak stopped at 22 by beating the Royals 8-4. … Marco Estrada pitched eight efficient innings, Josh Donaldson homered twice among his four hits and the Blue Jays beat the Twins 7-2. Minnesota’s loss clinched the AL Central for the Indians and gave teams a chance to gain on the Twins for the final AL wild card. … Dallas Keuchel threw six solid innings, Carlos Beltran had three hits and two RBIS and the Astros beat the Mariners 8-6 to drop their magic number to one for clinching the AL West title. The Astros reached 90 wins for the first time since 2004. … Kyle Hendricks pitched effectively into the eighth inning, Addison Russell homered and the Cubs beat the Cardinals 4-1. … Sal Romano pitched a career-high eight shutout innings, Jesse Winker homered and the Reds beat the Pirates 2-1. … Didi Gregorius and Greg Bird both homered for the second straight game, rookie Jordan Montgomery pitched six shutout innings and the Yankees downed the Orioles 9-3 for their fourth straight win. The Yankees extended their stretch of winning seasons to 25, the second-longest such streak in major-league history behind their own 39 straight from 1926-64. … Rick Porcello took a shutout into the eighth inning, Mookie Betts hit his 22nd home run and the Red Sox beat the Rays 3-1. Porcello (10-17) gave up one unearned run in 7L innings, allowing five hits and a walk to win for the sixth time in nine starts. Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 33rd save. … Matt Davidson and Nicky Delmonico homered, Tim Anderson had four hits and the White Sox beat the Tigers
10-4. … Derek Dietrich hit a two-run homer, Adam Conley pitched into the sixth inning and the Marlins beat the Brewers
7-4 to stop a six-game slide. … Jacob degrom set a career high in wins, Dominic Smith and Gavin Cecchini each drove in two runs and the earned a 7-3 victory over the
Mets Braves.