Sept. 22—Iván Herrera hit a three-run homer and drove in two runs, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 6–5 on Saturday night.
However, the Guardians still captured the AL Central. They had the magic number one before Saturday’s game, and the No. 2 Kansas City Royals’ earlier loss to the San Francisco Giants was enough to get the job done.
Jordan Walker hit a two-pointer for the Cardinals, giving them their fourth win in the last six games.
José Ramírez hit a three-run homer and Bo Naylor drove in a run for the Guardians.
Red Army 7, Pirates 1
Eli De La Cruz had three hits and drove in four runs and scored two runs to help Cincinnati defeat Pittsburgh.
The Reds won the first of their three games on Friday and have won five of the last eight. Cincinnati starting pitcher Rhett Loder (2-2) held the Pirates scoreless on five hits in five innings, and De La Cruz’s triple to right field in the fourth provided a run.
Billy Cook also had two hits for the Pirates, who have lost seven of nine games.
Nationals 5 times, Cubs 1 time
MacKenzie Gore leads Washington to an eight-run win over Chicago in his eighth no-hitter in franchise history.
The Cubs didn’t hold Gore (10-12) at even strength until Patrick Wisdom’s single in the seventh inning. It was the only run allowed by the left-hander in seven innings. Meanwhile, Joey Gallo hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning to start the game for the Nationals, who have lost five in a row. Josh Turner went 3 for 4 and scored a run.
Chicago is officially on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs. Kyle Hendricks (4-12) started for the Cubs, allowing four runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Tigers 6, Orioles 4 (10 innings)
Riley Greene singled in a run in the top of the 10th inning and Jack McKinstry completed a sacrifice fly to give Detroit the win over host Baltimore.
The Tigers have won five of their last six games to advance in the American League wild-card bracket. After blowing a two-run lead in the ninth inning, they came back and won the game. Orioles All-Star Gunnar Henderson’s two-run double tied the game in the ninth with the bases loaded and nobody out. After Henderson’s double, Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander, and Colton Cowser’s fly ball to Beau Briscoe (3-4), Beau Briscoe was called out on a single by Jason Foley in four at-bats.
The Orioles had their two-game winning streak snapped as they tried to beat the New York Yankees in the American League East. Starter Cade Povich gave up two runs on two hits and struck out seven in five innings. The Orioles hit five home runs in a 7-1 series opener Friday night but didn’t get any additional hits until Henderson’s ninth home run on Saturday.
Mets 6, Philadelphia 3
Francisco Álvarez hit a home run in the second inning and a crucial two-run double in the seventh inning as host New York defeated Philadelphia in the third game of a four-game series.
The Mets’ win kept the playoff-bound Phillies from winning the National League East title for the first time since 2011. Philadelphia remains within one point of the Magic heading into the final game of the series on Sunday.
New York is one game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and two games ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the third NFC wild card berth.
Braves 6, Marlins 2
Matt Olson hits a two-run homer in the seventh inning and Atlanta beats host Miami.
After Olson, Gio Urcera hit another two-run home run in the seventh inning. Former Marlins star Jorge Soler drove in a run in the second inning.
Marlins starter Adam Oller allowed two runs, eight hits, two walks and seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. He kept Miami in the game but left the game without a decision.
Light 3, Bluebird 2
Jonathan Aranda homered for the second consecutive game, starter Taj Bradley snapped a seven-game losing streak, and Tampa Bay beat Toronto to set its winning home record this season.
Aranda became the star of the Rays offense with a home run against Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios on Friday. He went 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBIs and a walk on Saturday. He continued to show his power with a two-run single in the third inning that sent Yariel Rodriguez’s 95 mph fastball 414 feet to straightaway center. Tampa Bay improved to 41-39 on the road this season and is 4-1 at home.
Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 3 for 5 while Spencer Horwitz had two hits, a run, an RBI and a walk. Alejandro Kirk went 1-4 on a six-game road trip, helping the Blue Jays win their first three-game winning streak. Rodriguez (1-7) gave up three runs and four hits in four innings.
Giants 9 times, Royals 0 times
Lamont Wade Jr. and Matt Chapman each hit solo home runs and Mike Yastrzemski also hit a long shot to put San Francisco ahead of Kansas City.
Landon Ropp (1-1) earned his first career major league win after giving up three hits in five innings. He issued three walks and struck out three. The 26-year-old made his 22nd appearance (third start) for the Giants this season.
The beleaguered Royals gave up five hits and went 0-9 with runners in scoring position and lost their sixth consecutive game. Kansas City has also lost 15 of its last 22 games.
Diamondbacks 5, Brewers 0
Joc Pederson and Kotel Marte each hit two-run homers and Merrill Kelly pitched five innings of two-hit ball to give visiting Arizona its third consecutive win over Milwaukee.
The Diamondbacks trail the first-place San Diego Padres by two games in the NFC wild-card round.
The Brewers have lost three games in a row since winning the NFC Central series on Wednesday. The Brewers trail the Phillies and Dodgers by four games for the best record in the National League. The top two teams get a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
Sailors 8, Rangers 4
Julio Rodriguez had a home run and four RBI. Seattle improved to 4–6, scored two runs, Jorge Polanco had two hits and three hits, and Seattle won over Texas in Arlington, keeping Texas’ playoff hopes alive.
J.P. Crawford had a triple and two hits, and Cal Raleigh and Justin Turner had two hits each to help Seattle move ahead by 1 1/2 games and beat Minnesota State by a scoreless margin to secure the American League’s final wild-card spot. The Twins won the tiebreaker.
Josh Smith had a home run and two RBIs. Travis Jankowski went 2-5 with an RBI single. And had two doubles and scored a run, while Ezequiel Duran also had two hits and an RBI. And scored, giving Texas its third consecutive loss.
Astros 10, Angels 4
Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker each had four hits and a homer to help Ronel Blanco make his 14th quality start and Houston beat Los Angeles.
Tucker went 4-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs, his second consecutive four-hit game, and Alvarez went 4-for-5 with a double and two runs. The Astros lowered their magic number to win the American League West with three wins. Blanco (12-6) won for the third time in a row.
Logan O’Hope went 4-for-4 with a home run for the Angels, who have lost three in a row. Angels starter Reid Detmers (4-8) allowed seven runs on nine hits in two innings, striking out three and walking three.
Yankees 10, Athletics 0
Aaron Judge hit his 54th major league home run, Carlos Rodon pitched six scoreless innings and New York bombed Oakland, giving manager Aaron Boone his 600th career win.
After the Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles earlier in the day, the Yankees lowered their magic total to three and took control of the American League East. Giancarlo Stanton drove in a triple and Anthony Volpe singled to score.
Judge hit his first home run in the seventh inning, giving the Yankees a 7-0 lead. New York beat Oakland veteran J.P. Sears (11-12) through five innings, allowing six runs and nine hits. Rodon (16-9) allowed five hits, walked one and tied a career high with four strikeouts.
Padres 6, White Sox 2
Xander Bogaerts, David Peralta and Elias Díaz hit home runs and San Diego pushed Chicago to the brink of modern major league history.
The Padres are three games behind the Dodgers for first place in the NL West after Los Angeles lost to the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.
Chicago starter Chris Friesen (2-15) allowed eight hits, four runs, two walks and three strikeouts in five innings. The result left the White Sox with a 36-119 record in 2024, one short of matching the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a season in modern major league history.
Rockies 6 games, Dodgers 3 games
Ryan McMahon hit a perfect home run in the fifth inning and Charlie Blackmon hit a perfect home run in the ninth inning, helping Colorado defeat Los Angeles.
McMahon hit 20 home runs for the fourth consecutive season and fifth consecutive 20-homer season (excluding the pandemic-affected 2020 season).
Mookie Betts hit a two-run homer for the Dodgers, who won their 11th division title in 12 seasons by five games.
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