Cubs clinch playoff spot with win over Pirates

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ian Happ homered and drove in three runs, and the Chicago Cubs clinched their first postseason berth since 2020 with an 8-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.

Chicago has won four in a row and seven of eight overall. It leads the NL wild-card standings with an 88-64 record.

Nico Hoerner had two hits and scored three times for the Cubs. Justin Turner hit a pair of RBI singles after entering in the sixth.

The Cubs grabbed control with three runs in the sixth, helped by errors on Pirates reliever Yohan Ramírez (1-3) and catcher Joey Bart. Michael Busch drove in Dansby Swanson with a tiebreaking sacrifice fly, and Happ and Turner added run-scoring singles.

Aaron Civale (4-9) pitched three scoreless innings for the win.

Chicago scored four runs in the first before Pittsburgh recorded an out. Busch walked and scored on a balk before Happ hit his 23rd homer, a two-run drive on a curveball from Johan Oviedo that prompted an early mound visit. Moisés Ballesteros drove the next pitch over the wall in right for his second career homer.

Bart answered with a three-run shot off Matthew Boyd in the bottom half. Andrew McCutchen’s bases-loaded walk in the second tied it at 4.

Boyd permitted seven hits and walked two in a season-low three innings.

REDS 6, CARDINALS 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Spencer Steer homered and drove in five runs, helping Brady Singer and Cincinnati beat St. Louis.

The Reds used 11 hits to take the rubber game of the three-game series. They are hoping to rally into the third NL wild card in the final days of the season.

Singer (14-10) permitted two runs, one earned, and three hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Cincinnati went ahead to stay in the fourth. Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz each drew a one-out walk against Andre Pallante (6-15) before Steer connected for his 18th homer.

Steer collected his third hit when he drove in two runs with a single off Matt Svanson in the seventh, giving the Reds a 6-2 lead.

Alec Burleson hit his 18th homer for St. Louis in the first. The Cardinals finished with five hits.

Pallante allowed four runs and six hits in five innings. He is 0-8 in his last nine starts.

ORIOLES 3, WHITE SOX 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Dylan Beavers homered, Tyler Wells pitched six effective innings and Baltimore beat Chicago.

Beavers, one of Baltimore’s top prospects, connected for a two-run shot in the fourth against Martín Pérez (1-6). He celebrated his third career homer by donning a Baltimore Ravens helmet in the dugout.

Wells (2-0) allowed one run and four hits in his third start of the season. The right-hander returned this month after he had elbow surgery in June 2024.

Mike Tauchman homered for the last-place White Sox in their sixth consecutive loss. Pérez permitted three runs and five hits in 3 2/3 innings before departing with left shoulder soreness.

The Orioles jumped in front in the first. Gunnar Henderson hit a two-out single and advanced to second when left fielder Will Robertson let the ball go under his glove. Henderson swiped third as part of a double steal and scored on Jeremiah Jackson’s infield single to third.

Tauchman hit a leadoff drive in the fourth for his ninth homer.

Yaramil Hiraldo and Rico Garcia each pitched an inning for Baltimore before Keegan Akin handled the ninth for his seventh save.

GIANTS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 1, 11 INNINGS

PHOENIX (AP) — Christian Koss hit a two-run double in a five-run 11th inning, and San Francisco spoiled a nine-inning, one-hit start by Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt, beating the Diamondbacks to end a four-game skid.

The Giants moved within two games of the Mets, who lost to San Diego later Wednesday, for the final National League wild card, while the Diamondbacks remained 1 1/2 games behind New York.

Pfaadt didn’t allow a hit until rookie Drew Gilbert’s one-out single in the sixth. Heliot Ramos hit into a double play two pitches later. The right-hander struck out seven and walked one, throwing 65 of 97 pitches for strikes in the longest of his 81 big league starts.

The Giants’ Justin Verlander allowed three hits and walked two, throwing 107 pitches in seven scoreless innings. Verlander has allowed just three runs over his last five starts covering 31 innings for a 0.87 ERA.

After rookie Joel Peguero (3-0) worked a scoreless 10th for the Giants, Bryce Elkridge walked leading off the 11th against John Curtiss (3-2) and Jerar Encarnacion singled for the Giants’ second hit to make it 1-0. Patrick Bailey singled to load the bases and Koss’ double made it 3-0.

Juan Morillo replaced Curtiss and surrendered a sacrifice fly to Grant McCray and an RBI single to Rafael Devers.

BRAVES 9, NATIONALS 4

WASHINGTON (AP) — Marcell Ozuna drove in three runs, Matt Olson hit a solo homer, and Atlanta completed a four-game sweep with a win over Washington.

Ozuna hit a single to right field in the sixth inning to drive in Ozzie Albies and Drake Baldwin to tie the game at 3-all. His double to right in the eighth drove home Ha-Seong Kim to make it 6-3.

Olson hit his 28th home run of the season in the fifth.

Braves starter Hurston Waldrep (5-1) shut down the Nationals’ first 13 hitters and struck out eight in five innings before CJ Abrams singled in the fourth inning. He allowed three runs in the fifth.

Baldwin drove home Ronald Acuña Jr. with an RBI double to get the Braves on the board in the sixth . Nacho Alvarez Jr.’s RBI single gave them a 4-3 lead.

Albies, Kim and Michael Harris II all had RBIs in a three-run ninth inning.

Dylan Crews, Robert Hassell III and James Wood had RBIs in the fifth inning to give the Nationals a 3-0 lead.

Washington reliever Clayton Beeter (0-3) allowed two earned runs in two-thirds of an inning in the sixth.

BREWERS 9, ANGELS 2

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brandon Woodruff pitched five solid innings, Sal Frelick hit a three-run homer and Blake Perkins tied a career high with five RBIs to lead Milwaukee to a win over Los Angeles.

Woodruff (7-2) gave up two hits and one run, struck out nine and threw 52 of his 69 pitches for strikes. He was pitching on 10 days rest to manage his workload after he missed last season while recovering from right shoulder surgery.

Angels starter José Soriano (10-11) exited with one out in the second after being struck by a line drive off the bat of Jake Bauers. Soriano sustained a right forearm contusion. X-rays were negative.

Connor Brogdon came on in relief and gave up an opposite-field single to Blake Perkins that drove in a pair. Frelick’s three-run homer later in the inning gave the Brewers a 5-0 lead.

Taylor Ward provided the Angels offense with homers in the fourth and sixth.

GUARDIANS 4, TIGERS 0

DETROIT (AP) — Gavin Williams struck out nine in five innings, Bo Naylor hit a two-run single and Cleveland won its season-best sixth straight game, beating Detroit.

Cleveland, which has won 11 of its last 12, is now 4 1/2 games behind the Tigers in the AL Central race. The teams play three more games next week.

It was the 10th shutout loss of the season for the Tigers, who have lost 13 of their last 20 games and need a combination of seven wins and Cleveland losses to win the division.

Williams (11-5), who reached 30 starts in a season for the first time in his career, allowed three hits and two walks. Five relievers finished the shutout.

Detroit starter Jack Flaherty (8-14) gave up one run on three hits and four walks in five innings.

The Guardians took a 1-0 lead in the third on George Valera’s RBI single. Gabriel Arias doubled in the sixth, stole third and scored on Angel Martínez’s RBI single to make it 2-0. Naylor made it 4-0 in the ninth.

RAYS 2, BLUE JAYS 1

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Rays center fielder Chandler Simpson robbed Alejandro Kirk of a three-run homer and later singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning of Tampa Bay’s victory over Toronto.

The AL East-leading Blue Jays saw their six-game winning streak end, while the Rays snapped a three-game skid.

Tampa Bay rookie Ian Seymour (4-2) worked a career-best seven innings in his fourth start, allowing one unearned run on four hits. He struck out three and walked one.

With the Rays leading 1-0 in the fourth, the Blue Jays had runners on second and third with none out when Kirk hit a fly ball to deep center at Steinbrenner Field. Simpson leaped and made the catch with his glove above the wall, turning a potential homer into a sacrifice fly.

Simpson went 3-for-4 on the night. He doubled in the first and scored on Yandy Diaz’s single. In the seventh, he lined a single to right off Yariel Rodriguez (2-2) to score Carson Williams.

Pete Fairbanks worked the ninth for his 27th save.

PADRES 7, METS 4

NEW YORK (AP) — Manny Machado hit a tiebreaking grand slam in the fifth inning and San Diego beat New York in a matchup of postseason contenders.

With two runners aboard in the ninth, All-Star closer Robert Suarez knocked down Juan Soto’s line drive with his glove and calmy threw to first base for the final out.

Ramón Laureano also homered and Jake Cronenworth had an RBI single for the Padres, who entered two games behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. San Diego holds the second of three National League wild cards, five games in front of the Mets.

New York remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Arizona for the final NL playoff spot. Cincinnati and San Francisco are both two games back.

Soto homered against his former team, equaling a career high with his 41st of the season. Pete Alonso went deep for the third consecutive game. Starling Marte and Francisco Alvarez also connected for the Mets, and Brett Baty had three hits.

Fernando Tatis Jr. reached base four times and scored twice for San Diego. Machado finished with three hits, including two infield singles.

ROYALS 7, MARINERS 5

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Adam Frazier hit a go-ahead, two-run home run in the eighth inning and Kansas City went on to beat Seattle and snap its 10-game winning streak.

Eugenio Suárez snapped an 0-for-32 skid with four hits, two RBIs and two runs for Seattle, which, with Houston’s win, dropped a half-game back of the Astros in the AL West.

Lucas Erceg (8-4) earned the win despite giving up the lead on J.P. Crawford’s homer in eighth. Carlos Estévez allowed a ninth-inning run, but picked up his MLB-best 40th save.

Seattle’s Matt Brash (1-3) gave up four runs and four hits in two-thirds of an inning.

Cole Ragans, making his first start for Kansas City since June 5, allowed two runs on one hit through 3 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked two. He had been on the IL with a strained left rotator cuff. He threw his first six pitches for strikes and struck out the side on 10 pitches in the first inning.

Seattle’s Bryce Miller allowed three runs on eight hits in five innings.

Salvador Perez opened the scoring in the first with a 435-foot, three-run home run to center field.

Suárez answered with a 416-foot, two-run home run in the second inning to cut the deficit to 3-2. Suárez led off the seventh with a double and scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Mitch Garver.

RED SOX 5, ATHLETICS 4, 10 INNINGS

BOSTON (AP) — Pinch-hitter Nick Sogard’s 10th-inning infield grounder off Michael Kelly drove home Nate Eaton with the winning run, and Boston beat the Athletics for its American League-leading 11th walk-off win of the season.

Eaton started the inning as the designated runner at second base, took third on Carlos Narvaez’s sacrifice bunt, and scored with a head-first slide to avoid the tag by catcher Shea Langeliers.

Boston’s Chris Murphy (3-0) got the win, pitching one-third of an inning. Kelly (4-4) took the loss.

Masataka Yoshida singled in a run in the first for the Red Sox and Rob Refsnyder gave them a 2-1 edge with a leadoff homer in the second, his ninth of the season.

The Athletics got a run in second off Boston right-hander Lucas Giolito, as Darell Hernaiz’s sacrifice fly scored Lawrence Butler. It was the first of Hernaiz’s three RBIs in the game, matching a career high.

The Athletics added three runs in the fifth as Butler drew a bases-loaded walk and Hernaiz added a two-run single.

Boston came back with a run in fifth and another in the sixth to tie it at 4.

YANKEES 10, TWINS 5

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Trent Grisham homered twice and Cody Bellinger also went deep as New York beat Minnesota.

Aaron Judge went 3 for 4 to raise his major league-leading batting average to .329. The Yankees moved within four games of first-place Toronto in the AL East.

Luis Gil pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits. Four relievers combined to blank the Twins the rest of the way, with Fernando Cruz (3-4) getting four outs.

Grisham tied the game at 2-all with a solo homer in the third off Taj Bradley (6-8). In the fourth, he took Bradley deep again for a three-run shot — his 33rd of the season — onto the plaza in right field to make it 6-2.

The Twins fought back with a three-run fifth inning, keyed by Brooks Lee’s two-out, two-run single.

Bellinger hit a two-run homer in the ninth.

ASTROS 5, RANGERS 2

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve hit a two-run home run and Jeremy Peña homered and doubled to help Houston complete a three-game sweep of Texas.

The victory coupled with Seattle’s loss to Kansas City moves the Astros 1/2 game ahead of the Mariners for first place in the AL West.

The game was tied 2-2 when Carlos Correa singled to start the third. Altuve’s home run off Jacob deGrom (12-8) to the seats in left field put the Astros on top 4-2. Altuve has 37 homers and 100 RBIs in his career against the Rangers, which are his most against any team.

Peña connected off deGrom on his home run to the first row in right field to start Houston’s fifth and push the lead to 5-2.

Cristian Javier (2-3) allowed five hits and two runs in six strong innings for the win in his seventh start after missing more than a year recovering from Tommy John surgery. Bryan King pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save.

DeGrom yielded six hits and tied a season-high with five runs. He lasted just five innings after the Astros forced him to throw 35 pitches in the first.

MARLINS 8, ROCKIES 4

DENVER (AP) — Agustín Ramírez homered and drove in three runs, and surging Miami beat Colorado.

Javier Sanoja had three hits and Lake Bachar (7-2) tossed two shutout innings in relief of Ryan Weathers for Miami, which has won six of its last seven and handed Colorado its 21st lost in the last 25 games.

Mickey Moniak hit his 23rd home run for the Rockies (41-111), who need one win in their last 10 games to avoid matching the 2024 Chicago White Sox for the most losses for a season in the modern era.

Colorado needs two victories to surpass the 1962 New York Mets, who had the fewest wins by an NL team.

The Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single. Miami scored a run in the third and two more in the fourth to go ahead, 3-2, but Jordan Beck’s RBI single in the bottom of the inning tied it.

Ramírez had a sacrifice fly in the sixth off Jaden Hill (1-1) and Heriberto Hernández added another sacrifice fly in the seventh. Ramírez hit a two-run homer to left field in the eighth — his 21st of the season — and Joey Wiemer had a pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth.

DODGERS 5, PHILLIES 0

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Blake Snell struck out a season-high 12 over seven innings, Shohei Ohtani hit his 51st homer and Los Angeles beat Philadelphia to avoid a three-game sweep.

Freddie Freeman also homered for the Dodgers, who blew multiple-run leads in losing 9-6 on Tuesday and 6-5 in 10 innings on Monday, when the Phillies clinched the NL East title for the second straight year.

Snell (5-4) gave up two hits — back-to-back, two-out singles to Bryson Stott and Harrison Bader in the third — and beat the Phillies for the first time in his career.

Snell issued consecutive two-out walks that brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh. Manager Dave Roberts visited the mound and reliever Alex Vesia began jogging from the bullpen, but Roberts left Snell in.

Snell responded by getting rookie Otto Kemp on a swinging strike to end the inning. The two-time Cy Young Award winner let out a yell as the crowd of 50,859 erupted. He tossed a season-high 112 pitches, 69 for strikes.

Freeman homered leading off the second and Ben Rortvedt added an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.

Andy Pages walked, stole second, took third on Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo’s pickoff error and scored on Kiké Hernández’s two-strike, two-out RBI single in the fourth.

Luzardo (14-7) allowed four runs and four hits in seven innings. He struck out six while throwing 106 pitches — one off his season high.