Marlins claim 1st playoff spot since '03; Reds in postseason
NEW YORK (AP) — The Marlins clinched an improbable playoff berth in their coronavirus-decimated season, beating the New York Yankees 4-3 in 10 innings Friday night to seal a postseason trip.
Miami earned its first postseason trip since 2003 when it won the World Series as the Florida Marlins, capped by a Game 6 victory in the Bronx over Miami owner Derek Jeter and his New York teammates at the previous version of Yankee Stadium.
The Marlins had the worst record in the NL last year at 57-105, then was beset by a virus outbreak early this season that prevented it from playing for more than a week.
After Jesús Aguilar hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th, Marlins reliever Brandon Kintzler got major league batting leader DJ LeMahieu to ground into a game-ending double play with the bases loaded.
Miami players ran onto the field, formed a line and exchanged non socially-distant hugs.
Miami is second in the NL East at 30-28 and improved to 19-13 on the road, The Marlins will play 34 road games due to the schedule disruption caused by the coronavirus.
REDS 7, TWINS 2
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mike Moustakas homered twice, Freddy Galvis hit a solo shot and Cincinnati clinched its first playoff spot since 2013, beating AL Central-leading Minnesota.
The Reds (30-28), who can finish as high as the fifth seed in the eight-team NL field, leaned on their bullpen and raised their record to two games above .500 for the first time since May 13, 2017.
After Wade Miley wrapped up a scoreless ninth, Cincinnati players roared from the dugout and ran out for team-wide hugs on the mound.
The Twins failed to secure home-field advantage for the wild-card series, when Cleveland rallied to beat Pittsburgh and forge a second-place tie with Chicago in the division race. Minnesota leads the White Sox and Indians by one game, with two to play.
Reds reliever Michael Lorenzen (2-2) had four strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings. The Twins left 11 men on base.
BRAVES 8, RED SOX 7, 11 inn.
ATLANTA (AP) — Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer to lead off the 11th inning and Atlanta beat Boston to clinch the No. 2 seed in the National League playoffs.
Freeman’s homer off Jeffrey Springs (0-2) drove in Ender Inciarte, who started the inning on second base, and bolstered the Braves slugger’s case for the NL MVP Award.
Alex Verdugo’s sacrifice fly off Shane Greene (1-0) drove in Rafael Devers in the top of the 11th, giving Boston a 7-6 lead.
Kevin Plawecki had three hits, including a tiebreaking single in Boston’s two-run 10th. The Braves answered with two runs off Springs, including Dansby Swanson’s two-out, run-scoring double to right field that tied it.
Ronald Acuña Jr. hit the longest homer in the majors this season — 495 feet to the top of the left-field seats — to lead off the game.
INDIANS 4, PIRATES 3
CLEVELAND (AP) — César Hernández ripped an RBI double into the right-field corner with two outs in the ninth inning as Cleveland rallied for its third walk-off win in four days, keeping the Indians’ hopes alive for winning the AL Central.
Tyler Naquin drew a leadoff walk off Chris Stratton (2-1) and pinch-hitter Jordan Luplow hit an RBI double high off the wall in left. Delino DeShields — who broke up Pittsburgh’s no-hit bid with a bunt single in the seventh — hit an RBI single one out later. After Francisco Lindor lined out, it was Hernández’s turn to be a hero, and after he delivered, he was chased around the infield by his celebrating teammates.
Mitch Keller didn’t allow a hit for the second straight start, but he walked eight and was relieved after five erratic innings and 98 pitches. He’s the first NL pitcher with back-to-back no-hit outings of at least five innings since Johnny Vander Meer threw consecutive no-hitters in 1938.
Gregory Polanco hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning off Indians starter Carlos Carrasco, but the Pirates couldn’t hold on and dropped to 2-16 against AL Central teams.
RAYS 6, PHILLIES 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Joey Wendle had a go-ahead two-run single in the eighth inning and AL East champion Tampa Bay rallied to hurt Philadelphia’s playoff hopes.
The Rays would clinch the top seed in the American League with an Oakland loss later Friday night; the A’s were hosting Seattle. Tampa Bay is looking to finish with the AL’s best record for the second time, after topping the league in 2010.
Bryce Harper had a triple and drove in two runs for Philadelphia,which fell two games behind second-place Miami in the NL East and also trailed in the wide-open wild-card race.
Yoshi Tsutsdugo had one-out single in the eighth before Adam Morgan (0-1) loaded the bases on consecutive walks to Hunter Renfroe and Brett Phillips.
Héctor Neris replaced Morgan and retired pinch-hitter Brandon Lowe on a pop fly. Wendle followed with a liner to right that gave Tampa Bay a 5-3 advantage.
Nick Anderson (2-1) worked a scoreless eighth and John Curtiss got the final three outs for his second save.
GIANTS 5, PADRES 4, 1st game
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Wilmer Flores hit a go-ahead homer in the fourth, Mike Yastrzemski launched a two-run shot into McCovey Cove the same inning and San Francisco beat San Diego in the first game of a doubleheader for a key victory in a crowded NL playoff race.
The Padres clinched home-field advantage for the wild-card round next week with the Cardinals’ loss to Milwaukee in the first game of a doubleheader. San Diego secured the National League’s No. 4 seed headed to its first postseason in 14 years.
The Giants (29-28) bounced back. Wild card-leading Cincinnati began the day 29-28 and was playing a night game at Minnesota.
Tyler Anderson (4-3) allowed five hits over six solid innings, striking out four and overcoming four walks. T
Chris Paddack was done after 3 2/3 innings and three home runs among his eight hits surrendered.
DIAMONDBACKS 4, ROCKIES 0, 1st game
PHOENIX (AP) — Zac Gallen had a career-high 10 strikeouts over six scoreless innings, Christian Walker hit a two-run homer and Arizona beat Colorado in the first game of a doubleheader.
Colorado’s loss, coupled with other results Friday night, eliminated the Rockies from playoff contention. Last-place Arizona was already out of the postseason chase.
The 25-year-old Gallen (3-2) allowed five singles and walking two.
Yoan López and Stefan Crichton combined for a scoreless seventh to finish the shutout and further diminish the Rockies’ already minuscule playoff chances.
Colorado’s Antonio Senzatela (5-3) gave up four runs over 4 1/3 innings. He allowed eight hits and four walks while striking out two. Raimel Tapia had three singles for the Rockies.
BLUE JAYS 10, ORIOLES 5
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Randal Grichuk and Travis Shaw homered, Nate Pearson returned from an elbow injury to pitch 1 2/3 scoreless innings and playoff-bound Toronto beat Baltimore.
Shaw narrowly missed a multihomer game, hitting a double in the seventh that struck the top of the wall in right field and bounced back into play.
The Blue Jays are assured of at least a wild card and could still edge out New York for second place in the AL East.
Grichuk hit a leadoff shot off Jorge López in the second, his 11th, and Toronto scored six runs in the inning.
López (2-2) allowed eight runs and nine hits in two-plus innings.
Baltimore’s Ramón Urías and Cedric Mullins hit back-to-back solo home runs off Shun Yamaguchi in the fifth, and José Iglesias connected off the Japanese right-hander in the sixth.
BREWERS 3, CARDINALS 0, 1st game
CARDINALS 9, BREWERS 1, 2nd game
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Daniel Ponce de Leon pitched one-hit ball over six innings, Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer and St. Louis earned a doubleheader split against Milwaukee.
In the opener, Christian Yelich homered and Brent Suter combined with Devin Williams and Josh Hader on a five-hitter for the Brewers in a 3-0 win.
Both teams are among the seven NL clubs still vying for three available postseason spots. Milwaukee is two games behind St. Louis, which opened the day in second place in the NL Central.
The top two teams in each division advance to the playoffs. The Brewers and Cardinals are also in contention for the two NL wild cards up for grabs as they finish the season with this five-game series.
Ponce de Leon (1-3) struck out six, and Dylan Carlson and Matt Wieters each drove in two to back him.
Josh Lindblom (2-4) has lost four of his past five decisions. He allowed three runs and four hits in 2 1/3 innings. He also struck out two and walked one.
In the opener, Yelich’s 12th home run of the season in the third gave Milwaukee a 3-0 lead. It came three pitches after Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty (4-3) crumpled to the ground during his delivery of an 0-2 pitch. Flaherty sat for about a minute, sometimes grimacing in pain, before resuming. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on five hits. He also struck out five and walked four.
ROYALS 3, TIGERS 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Brad Keller threw six scoreless innings, Adalberto Mondesi had three hits and an RBI as Kansas City held off Detroit.
Keller (5-3) gave up four singles and struck out five in six innings. The eighth-round draft pick in 2013 closed out the season allowing one run in 33 innings pitched at home.
The Royals have won three in a row. The Tigers have lost eight of nine.
Mondesi was a homer away from hitting for the cycle. In his last three games, he had nine hits, six runs scored and four RBI’s.
Spencer Turnbull (4-4) went five innings for the Tigers, allowing three runs, six hits and striking out five.
Scott Barlow and Jakob Junis went a combined 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and Jesse Hahn closed the door in the ninth for his second save of the season.
CUBS 10, WHITE SOX 0
CHICAGO (AP) — Yu Darvish pitched seven strong innings for his NL-leading eighth win, Willson Contreras homered twice and the Cubs moved to the brink of clinching the NL Central title by pounding the crosstown White Sox.
Victor Caratini, Kyle Schwarber and Javier Baez also went deep as Cubs used the long ball to break out of an offensive funk and end a three-game losing streak. They reduced their magic number for securing the division crown to one game after St. Louis split a doubleheader with Milwaukee.
The fading White Sox managed just three hits off Darvish and lost their season high sixth straight. Like the Cubs, the South Siders have secured a playoff spot, but slipped into a tie for second place in the AL Central with Cleveland.
Darvish (8-3) struck out five and walked one as he cruised to his first win since beating the Cardinals on Sept. 4.
Contreras hit a three-run shot of Dylan Cease (5-4) in the third. He greeted White Sox utility man Yolmer Sanchez, who pitched the ninth, with a solo shot for his eighth career multi-homer game.
RANGERS 5, ASTROS 4, 10 inn.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Joey Gallo kept Houston from clinching the last playoff spot in the AL playoffs, at least temporarily, driving home the winning run on a fielder’s-choice grounder in the 10th inning.
The Astros were a strike away from going to the postseason for a franchise-best fourth straight year when Ronald Guzman hit a tying homer in the bottom of the ninth off Ryan Pressly.
Now Houston has to wait to see if the Los Angeles Angels lose at the Dodgers. A loss by the Angels, and the Astros (29-29) clinch second place in the AL West. Their three-year reign in the division was already ended by Oakland.
Rookie catcher Sam Huff homered twice, his second and third, for the first two Rangers runs.
Alex Bregman homered and a had a sacrifice fly that put the Astros ahead 4-3 in the top of the 10th.
Enoli Paredes (3-3) took the loss. Brett Martin (1-1) got the win.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports