The second-to-last Saturday of the MLB season featured multiple key results that will impact the playoff race.
In the American League, the Tigers continued to push for a wild-card spot after a dramatic extra-innings win over the Orioles. The Tigers now trail the Twins (idle due to a rainout) by just half a game and the Royals by two. While these three division rivals battle for position, the Guardians secured the Central Division title after the Royals lost to the Giants.
In the National League, the Mets defeated the Phillies to block Philadelphia from clinching the NL East title. The win also kept the Mets two games ahead of the Braves, who defeated the Marlins on Saturday.
TIGERS 6, ORIOLES 4 (10 innings)
BALTIMORE — Beau Brieske pitched out of a jam in the ninth inning, Riley Greene drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th and Detroit inched closer in the AL wild-card chase by beating Baltimore.
Detroit moved within a half-game of the Twins for the final American League playoff spot. Minnesota’s game at Boston was rained out and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Sunday.
The surging Tigers have won 10 of 13 to put themselves in surprise postseason contention after being under .500 a month ago.
METS 6, PHILLIES 3
NEW YORK — Sean Manaea won his fourth straight decision, Brandon Nimmo hit a tiebreaking single in a three-run seventh inning and New York beat Philadelphia to prevent the Phillies from clinching the NL East title.
Francisco Alvarez and Luisangel Acuña hit second-inning home runs that put the Mets ahead 2-1. Alvarez added a two-run double in the seventh against Orion Kerkering (5-3) for a 5-2 lead, and Edwin Díaz got a four-out save.
New York (86-69) won for the 17th time in 22 games. The Mets began the day two games ahead of Atlanta for the final NL wild card and one game behind Arizona, which was in the second wild-card position.
MARINERS 8, RANGERS 4
ARLINGTON, Texas — Julio Rodríguez homered on the first pitch and had a tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth inning of his four-hit game, and the wild card-chasing Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 8-4 on Saturday night.
The Mariners (80-75) pulled within 1 1/2 games of Minnesota for the third AL wild card after the Twins were rained out in Boston. Detroit is a half-game behind Minnesota.
The seventh leadoff homer of the season for the Mariners, and the first for Rodríguez, came off Dane Dunning, who started for Max Scherzer when the three-time Cy Young Award winner was scratched.
Scherzer was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, ending the season for the 40-year-old right-hander who is on an expiring contract. Various health issues limited Scherzer to nine starts.
Josh Smith hit a tying two-run homer in the third for the Rangers a night after the defending World Series champions were eliminated from postseason contention. The loss clinched a seventh losing record in the past eight seasons for Texas (73-82).
ASTROS 10, ANGELS 4
HOUSTON — Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker hit back-to-back home runs and finished with four hits apiece in the Houston Astros’ 10-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night.
Victor Caratini launched an early three-run homer to help back Astros starter Ronel Blanco (12-6). Houston had a season-high 20 hits and lowered its magic number to three for clinching the AL West crown.
Alvarez and Tucker connected off reliever Ryan Miller in a span of three pitches, extending the lead to 10-2 in the seventh inning. It marked the seventh time the team has hit back-to-back home runs this season.
“He didn’t even let me enjoy the homer because as I was getting to the dugout he was already hitting his,” Alvarez said through an interpreter.
Tucker put together his second consecutive four-hit game. Alvarez entered the night hitless in his previous 12 at-bats.
GIANTS 9, ROYALS 0
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — LaMonte Wade Jr. and Matt Chapman hit two home runs each, Landen Roupp pitched five scoreless innings for his first major league win, and San Francisco handed Kansas City their sixth straight loss.
The Royals are clinging to the AL’s second wild-card berth. Kansas City’s lead over the Minnesota Twins — who were rained out Saturday — was reduced to a half-game. The Tigers are another one-half game behind the Twins.
Wade put the Giants ahead with two out in the first inning, lining a first-pitch solo homer above the right-field bullpen.
Wade led off the fourth with a drive down the right field line and Chapman followed with a blast to straightaway center, marking the seventh time the Giants have had back-to-back homers this season. It was the first multi-homer game of Wade’s career.
CARDINALS 6, GUARDIANS 5
ST. LOUIS — Iván Herrera and Jordan Walker hit home runs and St. Louis beat Cleveland after the Guardians had already clinched the AL Central title earlier in the day.
José Ramírez and Bo Naylor homered for Cleveland, which clinched its 12th division title since 1995 when the San Francisco Giants beat the Kansas City Royals 9-0 earlier Saturday.
Miles Mikolas (9-11) allowed one run on four hits in six innings to earn his first win since July 21 when he beat the Braves in Atlanta. He was 0-3 with a 6.80 ERA in his previous nine starts.
Ryan Helsley pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his 46th save in 50 chances to tie Guardians reliever Emmanuel Clase for the major league lead.
BRAVES 6, MARLINS 2
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MIAMI — Matt Olson broke a seventh-inning tie with a two-run homer and Atlanta beat Miami to stay two games behind the New York Mets for the last National League wild card.
New York beat Philadelphia 6-3 at Citi Field, preventing the NL East-leading Phillies from clinching the division crown.
Gio Urshela and Jorge Soler also went deep for the Braves. Marcell Ozuna and Michael Harris II each had three hits.
Atlanta starter Max Fried allowed two runs — one earned — and five hits over six innings. Fried (10-10) walked one, struck out six and reached double-digit wins for the fourth time in his career.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, BREWERS 0
MILWAUKEE — Joc Pederson, Jose Herrera and Ketel Marte homered, and Arizona beat Milwaukee to maintain their position in the NL wild-card standings.
Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly (5-0) struck out six while pitching five innings of two-hit ball. He threw 72 pitches, 48 for strikes, before departing because of a cramp in his right calf.
Arizona (87-68) earned its fourth consecutive win. It stayed one game ahead of the New York Mets for the second NL wild card.
Pederson’s 23rd homer, a two-run shot off Aaron Civale (7-9), staked Kelly to a 2-0 lead in the first.
RAYS 3, BLUE JAYS 2
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jonathan Aranda homered for the second consecutive game, helping Taj Bradley and Tampa Bay beat Toronto.
Aranda connected for a two-run shot in the third inning against Yariel Rodríguez (1-7), giving Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead. He also went deep in a 1-0 victory over Toronto on Friday night. Five of Aranda’s nine career homers have come against the Blue Jays.
Bradley (7-11) pitched five innings of one-run ball in his first win since July 25. The right-hander, who struck out four and walked two, was 0-7 with a 7.88 ERA in his previous nine starts.
Drew Rasmussen struck out three over two perfect innings to get his first save.
NATIONALS 5, CUBS 1
CHICAGO — MacKenzie Gore struck out nine in seven sparkling innings, and Washington beat Chicago.
Joey Gallo hit a three-run homer for Washington, which had dropped five in a row. José Tena had three of the Nationals’ 12 hits.
Washington played without All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams, who was demoted to the minors earlier in the day. Abrams isn’t expected to play for the big league team again this season.
Gore (10-12) earned his second straight win. The 25-year-old left-hander was working on a no-hitter before Patrick Wisdom connected for his eighth homer with one out in the seventh inning.
REDS 7, PIRATES 1
CINCINNATI — Elly De La Cruz hit a three-run homer, drove in four runs and scored twice to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.
De La Cruz, who had three hits, joined Eric Davis and Barry Larkin as the only Reds players with 25 homers and 65 stolen bases in a season.
“It means a lot to me, those are great players,” De La Cruz said. “I feel great. I wanted to finish strong.”
De La Cruz stole his 100th career base in his 251st game on Friday night.
Rookie Rhett Lowder (2-2) made his fifth start for Cincinnati and allowed five hits in five innings. He has a 1.40 ERA through five starts, allowing one earned run or fewer in four of them.