September 19 – Jake Bauers’s bases-loaded hit in the ninth inning gives Milwaukee a 2–1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the finale of Wednesday’s three-game series between the Brewers a game.
Rookie Jackson Chourio sent the second pitch of the ninth inning off Carlos Estevez (4-5) to the opposite right corner. William Contreras was intentionally walked and advanced to second because of the catcher’s indifference. Willy Adames loaded the bases with one out and a walk. Bauer then threw the first pitch down the right field line, sealing the three-game series victory for the Brewers.
In the afternoon, Milwaukee won the National League Central championship by defeating the Oakland Cubs 5-3 at home. This is the Brewers’ second consecutive division title, third in the last four seasons and fourth in the last seven seasons.
The loss kept the Phillies out of a playoff spot. Philadelphia, with the best record in baseball, leads the Mets by seven games in the NL East. The Phillies are one game ahead of the Dodgers for the best record in the National League.
Phillies starter Aaron Nola allowed one run on three hits in seven innings (Reese Hoskins homered in the sixth), struck out nine and loaded the bases on four balls. Brewers starter Freddy Peralta allowed one run on two hits in five innings – including Alec Boeheim’s first home run in the second inning – with nine strikeouts and two on base.
Yankees 2, Mariners 1 (10 innings)
Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run homer in the top of the 10th inning and New York beat host Seattle and clinched a spot in the American League playoffs.
The Yankees won for the sixth time in their last seven games and clinched at least a wild-card spot. They are five games ahead of Baltimore in the AFC East. The Mariners are five games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West and three games out of the final wild-card spot.
With Jason Dominguez as the automatic runner in the tenth inning, Rizzo hit a first-inning pitch from Mariners reliever Colin Snyder (3-4) into the right corner. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Yankees catcher Austin Wells got Julio Rodrigo to catch at third after he grounded out off the bat of Randy Arozarena. Ian Hamilton then struck out Justin Turner to end the game.
Dodgers 8, Marlins 4
Shohei Ohtani moved one step closer to the historic 50-50 milestone as Los Angeles defeated host Miami.
Ohtani stole his 49th base. He hit 48 home runs this season and is trying to become the first MLB player to hit 50 home runs and 50 steals in the same season.
Marlins starter Ryan Weathers (3-6) started for the first time since June 7 after injuring his left index finger. He went 4 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits and six runs (5 ERA).
Padres 4, Astros 0
Dillon Cease allowed only two hits in 8 1/3 innings, Manny Machado hit two home runs, and San Diego advanced to postseason contention by beating Houston, a tense and exciting league series between the players.
Tanner Scott came out of the bullpen with the final two outs for his third save and 21st save for San Diego. The Padres were 2 1/2 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets for the National League’s first wild-card spot, and 3 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West.
The Astros allowed only two hits and maintained a five-game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the AL West.
Track and Field 5, Cubs 3
Jake Grove hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and scored another run with two outs as Oakland pushed Chicago to the brink of elimination from the playoffs.
Tyler Soderstrom had two hits, including a home run, drove in two runs and drove in two runs for the Athletics, who finished with a winning record (24–22) in the league portion of the schedule.
Despite Justin Steele pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings in his return, the Cubs still trail seven games in the National League and have just 10 games remaining in the final wild card spot.
Giant 5, Golden Nightingale 3
Michael Conforto had three hits, including a homer, and San Francisco beat host Baltimore again, dealing another blow to the Orioles as they try to stay atop the American League East.
Mike Yastrzemski hit a home run for the second consecutive night and Casey Schmidt drove in two runs for the Giants.
The Orioles (84-68) have lost eight of their last 10 games and are in danger of falling out of the AL East chase with the New York Yankees. Baltimore fell five games behind in the divisional round as the Yankees beat Seattle 2-1 on Wednesday.
Mets 10, Nationals 0
Brandon Nimmo struck out nine with a three-run homer in the fourth inning and Jose Quintana threw seven scoreless innings for the hosts.
The Mets outscored the Nationals 20-1 in the final two games of the three-game series after winning 2-1 on Monday. New York is tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second National League wild-card spot, with both teams two games ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the third and final wild-card spot.
Quintana (10-9) benefited from strong run support for the second consecutive game, giving up two hits and two walks to win his fourth consecutive game. He struck out four and extended his scoreless streak to a career-best 22 2/3 scoreless innings.
Diamondbacks 9, Rockies 4
Corbin Carroll hit two home runs, Randall Grichuk came up big, and Arizona beat Colorado in Denver.
Arizona left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (3-3) struck out a season-high 11 in 6 1/3 innings, allowing five hits, two runs and a walk. The Diamondbacks avoided a three-game sweep and remained tied with the Mets for the second National League wild-card spot.
Grichuk, Jake McCarthy and Gabriel Moreno each had two hits for Arizona.
Aaron Shank and Sam Hilliard had two hits each for Colorado. The Rockies have won six of their last nine home series and need to win four of their last nine to avoid a second consecutive 100-game losing streak in a season.
Warriors 7, Reds 1
Marcell Ozuna reached base twice and hit a spectacular three-run home run in the seventh inning to tie the game and Atlanta defeated Cincinnati.
Michael Harris II hit his 13th homer in the eighth inning and Atlanta beat Cincinnati for the first time in five games this season. The win ensured that the Braves clinched the third and final National League wild card spot with 10 games remaining, only two games behind the New York Mets. With this loss, the Reds were eliminated from the playoffs.
Cincinnati starter Jakob Junis held Atlanta to one run and two hits over six innings. The right-hander came up big in the beginning, striking out the first 11 batters before Ozuna hit a double to left-center fielder Spencer Steyer. Matt Olson followed with a sharp single to center to score Ozuna.
Guardians 5, Twins 4 (10 games)
Josh Naylor hit a two-tying solo homer and Brian Rocchio’s RBI single drove in three runs in the tenth as Cleveland defeated Minnesota.
Carlos Correa finished a four-RBI night with a two-run single off Hunter Gaddis (5-3) in the 10th inning to put Minnesota ahead 4-2. However, the Twins’ Rony Henriquez (1-1) tied the game in the second inning on RBI singles by Kyle Manzado and Will Brennan. Against Michael Tonkin, Roccio came out and hit the game-winning shot into the corner.
With a playoff spot nearly assured, the Guardians are 13-7 since Aug. 28. They are six games ahead of the Kansas City Royals, who lost to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, in the American League Central Division. Minnesota’s disastrous result — which clinched the third and final American League wild-card berth — overshadowed starter Bailey Ober’s 12-strikeout performance.
Tiger 4, Royal 2
Tarik Skubal hit a five-run double, Riley Greene scored and Detroit beat the host Kansas City Royals for its third consecutive win.
Detroit erased a two-game deficit to Kansas City and fell a half-game behind the Minnesota Twins in the wild-card race for the third and final wild-card spot.
Skubal (17-4) completed five innings of one-hitter ball, allowing three hits, one walk and seven strikeouts. His 221 strikeouts led the majors, and his wins and ERA of 2.48 led the American League. Green capped a three-run third inning with a 427-foot home run over the right field bullpen.
Red Sox 2, Rays 1
Jalen Duran drove in the game-winner on a bunt in the eighth inning to tie Boston in a three-game series with Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Trevor Story (2-for-3, home run, two runs) started the eighth inning with a weak single to Drew Rasmussen (0-2), with the Boston shortstop taking second and third. With one out, Duran smacked the game-winning hit through right field for the Red Sox. Boston starter Tanner Houck allowed one run and four hits in four innings.
Tampa Bay’s Josh Lowe (double, run), Johnny DeLuca (pitching hit) and Taylor Walls (RBI, walk, stolen base) each had two hits. Ryan Pepiatt dominated for Boston through six innings, allowing one run and striking out a career-high 12. In the fifth inning, he pitched the fourth perfect inning in Rays history (strikeout all three batters on nine pitches).
Angels 4, White Sox 3 (13 innings)
Jordan Adams hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 13th inning to give Los Angeles an elimination win over Chicago in the three-game series in Anaheim, California.
With runner Eric Vagamon on third base, Adams hit a 1-0 single into the infield to tie the innings off reliever Jairo Iriarte (0-1), before a hard grounder off a slider bounced off the glove of third baseman Miguel Vargas and into the short hole, giving him the first walk-off hit of his career.
It was Chicago’s 117th loss, tied with the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (36–117–1) for the third-worst single-season losing streak in modern major league history and only three points behind the 1962 New York Mets’ league record of 120 games. It was the White Sox’ 10th walkoff loss of the season.
Rangers 2, Blue Jays 0
Adolis Garcia hit a two-run homer and Cody Bradford pitched seven scoreless innings to lead Texas past Toronto in Arlington, Texas.
Rookie Wyatt Langford singled in the bottom of the sixth inning, then Garcia drove a sinker over the wall off Bowden Francis (8-5) for the game’s only score. The home run was Garcia’s 23rd of the season and his first since Sept. 5.
The Blue Jays got only five hits on Wednesday compared to 13 in the series opener. Francis had his three-game win streak snapped, allowing only two runs on five hits in six innings, striking out six and allowing one four-base hit.
Cardinals 10, Pirates 5
Jordan Walker hit a game-breaking three-run double in the seventh inning to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat Pittsburgh.
Brandon Donovan hit a two-run homer and Masien Winn drove in a run for the Cardinals, who won the first three games of this four-game series. Nolan Arenado went 3-for-3 with two walks, two runs and an RBI, and Cardinals starter Sonny Gray struck out nine in 5 2/3 innings, allowing 4 runs on one hit.
Billy Cook hit a three-run homer for the Pirates, who lost for the fifth time in six games.
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