MLB roundup: Guardians clinch third straight AL Central title

By Field Level Media

Sep 27 (Field Level Media) – Patrick Bailey and Brayan Rocchio homered twice and Chase DeLauter also went deep as the Cleveland Guardians beat the host Kansas City Royals 11-5, and with the Chicago White Sox’s loss to the Colorado Rockies, clinched their third consecutive American League Central title Saturday night.

Rocchio, who posted back-to-back homers with Bailey in the ninth, and Steven Kwan and Travis Bazzana had three hits apiece, while Nathaniel Lowe added four RBIs for the Guardians, who have won nine of 10 and will receive a bye into the AL Division Series as the No. 2 seed.

Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee (7-15) yielded three first-inning runs, then did not allow another run over his six-inning outing.

Jac Caglianone had a pair of RBI doubles for the Royals, who are in a 6-18 rut. Starter Michael Wacha (9-10) allowed six runs (two earned) and six hits over 6 1/3 innings.

Padres 10, Diamondbacks 7

Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts homered and San Diego clinched home-field advantage in the first round of the National League playoffs with a victory over visiting Arizona.

Machado’s 30th homer of the season, a three-run opposite field shot off Jose Cabrera (0-4) in the fourth, gave the Padres a 6-4 lead they never lost. Jake Cronenworth had two hits and two RBIs for San Diego, which has won eight of 10 and 16 of 19 and will host the fifth-seeded Chicago Cubs in a best-of-three wild-card series starting on Tuesday.

The D-backs remain in the race for the final NL wild-card spot despite the loss but will need to win and have the Phillies lose to Tampa Bay Sunday to clinch their spot. James McCann hit a two-run homer, Tim Tawa had three hits and Ketel Marte added two hits for Arizona, which had a season-high six-game winning streak broken.

Rays 12, Phillies 1

Richie Palacios drove in four runs and Victor Mesa Jr. had four hits and two RBIs as Tampa Bay crushed host Philadelphia, which has been outscored 23-3 during a four-game slide.

Griffin Jax and six relievers took care of matters on the mound for the Rays, who already have clinched the top spot in the AL playoffs. Other standouts included Junior Caminero, who slugged his 42nd homer, and Yandy Diaz, who collected three hits and scored three runs. Tampa Bay had more hits, 17-7.

In the midst of a late-season freefall, the Phillies gave the starting nod to Aaron Nola (7-12), who allowed three runs on four hits in one inning of work. Philadelphia (87-74), which entered the night with a magic number of two to clinch an NL wild-card spot, once again failed to cut into that number itself and now needs either to win or see Arizona lose Sunday in order to make its fifth straight postseason appearance.

Astros 13, Athletics 2

Jeremy Pena went 4-for-6 with two homers and four RBIs, Yordan Alvarez smacked a three-run homer and Houston remained tied for first place in the AL West with a rout of the Athletics at West Sacramento, Calif.

Isaac Paredes had three hits, including a homer, and Lucas Spence hit his fourth homer of the series for Houston (80-81). The Astros hold the AL West tiebreaker and will win the division if they win or if the Rangers lose on Sunday. Hayden Wesneski (6-2) gave up two runs (one earned) and six hits over seven innings for Houston.

Jack Perkins (3-13) of the A’s allowed six runs and five hits (three homers) in five innings. The Athletics scored an unearned run in the fourth and once again in the seventh on Tommy White’s RBI single.

Rangers 6, Twins 2

Danny Jansen went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs, Jake Burger also homered and Texas jumped ahead early in its victory over Minnesota in Minneapolis.

The Rangers (80-81) ended up needing this win to stay alive for postseason contention after Houston’s win later in the day but still need two results to go their way Sunday to make their first postseason appearance since 2023, when they won the World Series.

Rangers left-hander Robert Garcia (2-1) earned the victory with 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. Evan Carter and Alejandro Osuna each finished with two hits and an RBI for Texas. Kody Clemens and Josh Bell had one RBI apiece for the Twins. Right-hander Bailey Ober (7-7) surrendered six runs on 10 hits in five innings.

Rockies 9, White Sox 6

Hunter Goodman went deep twice to surpass 40 home runs and visiting Colorado eliminated Chicago from the AL Central race.

The White Sox are locked into the AL’s sixth seed for the postseason. They will start the playoffs at the AL West champion, either Houston or Texas. Andrew Benintendi hit a three-run homer in the ninth and Brenton Doyle and Luisangle Acuna also went deep for Chicago.

Goodman is the first National League catcher to hit at least 40 homers since 2003. He reached the mark with a solo shot in the third and added a three-run long ball in the ninth. Ezequiel Tovar homered among his two hits and Cole Carrigg added three hits for the Rockies, who snapped a five-game skid.

Tigers 4, Pirates 3

Eduardo Valencia hit a two-out, two-strike, two-run home run in the ninth inning to lift host Detroit to a win over Pittsburgh in Justin Verlander’s final start.

The Tigers were down 3-1 in the ninth with Verlander on the hook for the loss. Facing Pirates closer Mason Montgomery (6-4), Max Clark singled with one out and Hao-Yu Lee doubled him to third. Kevin McGonigle brought Lee in with a groundout to make it 3-2. Valencia ended the game with a homer just over the fence in left.

Verlander gave up five hits and two runs in 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander walked one and struck out six in 91 pitches in his first start since March 30 and his first home start with the Tigers since Aug. 20, 2017, ending his career with a 266-159 record. Brandon Lowe and Jacob Gonzalez hit solo homers off Verlander for Pittsburgh.

Mets 7, Nationals 1

Ronny Mauricio homered twice, A.J. Ewing hit a three-run home run and New York beat host Washington.

Carson Benge had three hits and scored twice for New York. Juan Soto was hit by a pitch on the right hand, but postgame X-rays showed no fractures. Dedniel Nunez (2-1) struck out the side in the sixth to earn the win. Rookie Jonah Tong fanned a career-high nine in a solid five-inning start.

Nationals reliever Jake Irvin (2-10) had retired eight straight Mets entering the seventh. Benge led off with a single and, with two outs, Francisco Alvarez walked. Ewing then hit an 0-2 curve out to right-center to give the Mets a 3-1 lead. Mauricio, the next batter, followed with a homer to right.

Reds 5, Blue Jays 1

Rhett Lowder pitched six scoreless innings and visiting Cincinnati defeated Toronto.

Lowder (7-12) allowed three hits and two walks with two strikeouts. JJ Bleday hit a solo home run for the Reds, who gained a split of the first two games of the season-ending three-game set with the Jays. Hector Rodriguez added a two- run triple and went 2-for-4.

Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead against Trey Yesavage (5-6) when Bleday led off the second by pounding a 1-0 fastball to right-center for his career-best 24th homer. Yesavage, who was making his second start after arthroscopic knee surgery, allowed one run, two hits and one walk with three strikeouts in two innings.

Braves 8, Marlins 3

Michael Harris II had four hits and Dominic Smith and Drake Baldwin each hit a two-run home run, leading Atlanta to a win over host Miami as it continues to tune up for the NL wild-card series it will host starting on Tuesday.

Brent Suter started the Braves’ bullpen game and pitched three innings, allowing only one hit with three strikeouts. Victor Mederos (6-1) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win.

Jack Ralston (0-3) allowed three runs on three hits in 1 1/3 innings as the opener for the Marlins. Otto Lopez had two hits to raise his batting average to .305 and increase his major league-leading hit total to 191. He ended the day third in the NL batting race.

Dodgers 4, Giants 3

Enrique Hernandez launched the second pitch of the ninth inning for a tiebreaking home run, Blake Snell made a healthy return to the mound and playoff-bound Los Angeles outlasted host San Francisco.

After watching the Giants twice rally into ties following 1-0 and 3-1 deficits, the Dodgers kept their hopes alive for a 100-win regular season on Hernandez’s fourth homer of the year, a no-doubt blast to left-center field against Trent Harris (0-1), San Francisco’s seventh pitcher.

Tanner Scott protected the one-run lead, stranding the potential tying run at second base in the ninth by striking out Christian Koss to lock up his 25th save. Evan Phillips (3-2), who served up the Giants’ game-tying run in the eighth, was credited with the win.

Brewers 3, Cardinals 2

Brice Turang’s two-run homer provided the go-ahead run and Milwaukee’s bullpen combined for six hitless innings to preserve a victory over visiting St. Louis.

Milwaukee (102-59), which has won four straight National League Central titles, has clinched a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Brewers, who have had a winning record each month, improved to 17-6 in September.

Turang put Milwaukee in front 3-2 in the fifth with a two-run homer off Cardinals starter Quinn Mathews (2-4). Alec Burleson put St. Louis up 2-0 in the third with his 26th homer and third in three games, a two-out solo shot to right-center off starter Dustin May.

Mariners 8, Angels 4

Pinch hitter Taylor Ward hit a tiebreaking two-run single against his former team in the seventh inning and J.P. Crawford homered on the next pitch as Seattle defeated visiting Los Angeles.

Michael Arroyo had three hits and Cole Young scored three times. Seattle got a scare when left-hander Kade Anderson, their prized pitching prospect, was hit near his pitching elbow by a 103.8 mph liner. Anderson, who pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings, was immediately taken out, and the Mariners later announced he sustained a bruised left forearm.

Mariners reliever Carlos Vargas (3-0) got the victory and Angels reliever Mitch Farris (1-4) took the loss. Los Angeles will need to win its season finale to avoid the first 100-loss campaign in franchise history. The Angels are the only major league team that has not lost 100 games in a season.

(–Field Level Media)