10/04/2021 05:10:05 GMT + 00: 00 – Aaron Judge scored a winning goal in the ninth inning and the New York Yankees took a playoff spot at the visiting Tampa Bay Rays with a dramatic 1-0 win.
The Yankees will face the Boston Red Sox in a wildcard match after Boston’s 7-5 comeback win against Washington Nationals on Tuesday at Fenway Park. Boston will host after winning the regular season with the Yankees 10-9.
Rougned Odor opened up ninth place by firing a single from Josh Fleming (10-8) into midfield. Pinch runner Tyler Wade was tagged by Gleyber Torres on a flyball warning lane. Wade was held up in third place when Anthony Rizzo put a single into right field, past second baseman Brandon Lowe, and Fleming was replaced by Andrew Kittredge.
Judge won it when he hosted a single that got sidetracked from Kittredge to Lowe. Lowe made a dive stop and Wade hit the throw home with an upside down slide.
Red Sox 7, Nationals 5
Rafael Devers’ second homer of the game, a two-run shot in the ninth inning, brought the Boston visit to a win over Washington and first place in the American League wildcard playoffs.
The Red Sox bounced back from a 5-1 deficit to end the series sweep. Kyle Schwarber finished ninth for the Red Sox on Sunday due to a mistake. Xander Bogaerts struck, but Devers hit the middle with a 2-1 pitch from Kyle Finnegan (5-9) for his 38th home run of the season.
Ryan Zimmerman, who hasn’t said if he’ll be back next season, stood 0-on-3 with an RBI walk for Washington before being ovated in the eighth inning, and catcher Alex Avila had a double run in his last major league game.
Braves 5, Mets 0
Atlanta-based Jorge Soler rounded up the end of the first inning with a home run and six pitchers to limit New York’s visit to three hits in victory to wrap up the regular season.
Soler lined the second pitch of New York starter Noah Syndergaard in the left field stand for his 27th homer. It was his 14th since joining the Braves, his fourth in 11 games as a leadoff hitter, and his second to start a game.
The win went to Reliever Spencer Strider (1-0), a tough rookie who made his Major League debut on Friday. NL East winners Braves open the Division Series in Milwaukee on Friday. The loss went to Noah Syndergaard (0-1), who pitched an inning in his second start since elbow surgery. He allowed two runs on three hits.
Astros 7, athletics 6
Yuli Gurriel delivered a walk-off single in the ninth inning and Houston won a rubber match of its three-game series with a visit to Oakland.
Kyle Tucker beat a go-ahead homer with two runs and two outs in the sixth inning, giving the Astros a 4-3 lead. Tucker hit his 30th home run against athletics left-handed Cole Irvin, joining Alvarez, 33, and Jose Altuve, 31, with 30 homers for the Astros this season. Gurriel ended the season batting .319 to claim the American League flattering crown.
Oakland’s Seth Brown completed a three-run rally in race nine when he made his second home run of the game and 20th
Giants 11, Padres 4
San Francisco put in a solemn performance, riding right-handed Logan Webb’s arm and bat to visit San Diego to crown the National League West.
With a franchise record and 107 major league wins, the Giants have earned their home advantage through the NL playoffs, which start for them on Friday in Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the winner of the NL on Wednesday at home between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Webb (11-3) ran his undefeated streak to 20 straight starts and limited the Padres to four runs and six hits in seven-plus innings. He stroked eight and didn’t spend a step. On the record, he turned down his first home run of his career and hit a one-out single in a third inning with two runs, which opened the scoring.
Cubs 3, Cardinals 2 (7 innings)
Matt Duffy drove in two runs when Chicago’s visit defeated St. Louis in seven innings in a rain-curtailed game.
Frank Schwindel went 2 to 3 with an RBI and the Cubs scored two runs, who ended their season by winning four of their last five games. Pups starting pitcher Alec Mills allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in four innings.
The Cardinals lost three of their last five games after reaching a wildcard playoff spot in the National League with their 17-game winning streak. Cardinal starting pitcher Jake Woodford (3-4) allowed three runs on six hits in five innings.
Blue jay 12, Orioles 4
George Springer scored a grand slam and a solo home run, and Toronto completed a three-game sweep on a visit to Baltimore, but fell one game behind in its wildcard pursuit in the American League.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. scored a double home run for the Blue Jays, earning him 48 for the season. It gives him the most home runs for a player 22 or younger, beating Eddie Mathews’ 47 of the Milwaukee Braves in 1953. Guerrero also tied for the American League lead with Salvador Perez of Kansas City in the American League , and it was his 12th of the season against Baltimore.
Marcus Semien added his 45th homer of the season for Toronto, which was eliminated when the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees each won their games to claim the AL wildcard spots.
Marlins 5, Phillies 4
Rookie Nick Fortes gave Miami the lead with a two-time homer in the fourth inning en route to a win of the season over visiting Philadelphia.
Philadelphia finished second in NL East and Miami finished fourth. Reliever Hector Neris (4-7) suffered the loss and allowed two runs in 1 2/3 innings. Zach Thompson (3-7) earned the win with a scoreless inning in relief.
Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer and Freddy Galvis added a solo shot for Philadelphia.
Reds 6, pirates 3
Joey Votto hit a three-run homer and Aristides Aquino also had a homer and ran two-run when Cincinnati beat hosts Pittsburgh.
Nick Castellanos added an RBI double for the Reds. He finished the season with 100 RBIs and Votto finished with 99. Cincinnati’s Reiver Sanmartin (2-0) – in his second start in the Major League, both in less than a week and against Pittsburgh – opened six innings. He allowed one run and seven hits, with six strikeouts and one walk.
Oneil Cruz homered for the Pirates, who won the first two games of the series and were the only team to complete the majors without opponents. Cody Ponce (0-6), the second Pittsburgh pitcher, was rocked for four runs and six hits in 1 1/3 innings.
Indians 6, rangers 0
Aaron Civale threw six strong innings and Yu Chang hit a two-run homer when the Cleveland guest won his last game as an Indian.
Bradley Zimmer had two hits and an RBI for the Indians, who have been nicknamed the Indians since 1915 but will be known as the Guardians from 2022.
Civale (12-5) only delivered three singles, going one, and beating four to help Cleveland end its first losing season since 2012 by winning two out of three in Texas.
Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 4
Josh VanMeter made a walk-off home run and Arizona returned to beat Colorado in a three-game series rubber match at the end of the season in Phoenix.
VanMeter beat Carlos Estevez (3-5) with two outs to right field when Arizona avoided setting the worst record in franchise history.
JB Wendelken (4-3) put on a goalless ninth inning for the D-Backs, who bounced back from an early four runs behind to 52-110. The 2004 team went 51-111.
Tiger 5, White Sox 2
Daz Cameron made a solo home run in the ninth inning, and Willi Castro hit three goals when he won the American League Central champions Chicago title in Detroit in the teams’ regular season finals.
Cameron scored against Reynaldo Lopez (4-4) the Reynaldo Lopez to open up ninth place before Dustin Garneau and Akil Baddoo took a double and sacrificial flight home, respectively.
Michael Fulmer threw a hit in the pouring rain in ninth place for his 14th parade. Joe Jimenez (6-1) was the winner who scored two goals and made a goalless eighth.
Twins 7, Royals 3
Jorge Polanco scored a three-run home run to highlight a first five-run inning, and Minnesota defeated hosts Kansas City.
It was the 33rd home run of the season for Polanco and thus extended his club record for a switch hitter. Byron Buxton homered and also doubled, and Luis Arraez went 3-for-4 with two runs for Minnesota, who finished last in AL Central, one game behind fourth-placed Kansas City.
Nick Vincent (1-0) took the win with two hitless innings of relief while Jorge Alcala celebrated his first major league save. Carlos Santana went 3 for 4 with an RBI and Michael A. Taylor added two hits and an RBI for Kansas City. Jackson Kowar (0-6) took the loss and allowed five runs with five hits over four innings while dropping six.
Dodgers 10, Brewers 3
Trea Turner scored a Grand Slam and hosts Los Angeles ended the regular season with a win over Milwaukee.
However, the Dodgers were unable to beat the San Francisco Giants for the National League West title.
The Dodgers (106-56), who set the franchise record for one-season wins, won their last seven games and their last 15 at home, but fell one game behind their ninth straight league title. Los Angeles will host the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Wildcard game on Wednesday.
LA also lost first baseman Max Muncy in the third inning to a left elbow injury. Muncy initially collided with Jace Peterson of the Brewers near the sack when he reached for a throw. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters it was “very unlikely” that Muncy will play on Wednesday.
Angel 7, Seafarer 3
Shohei Ohtani led the game with a home run and Jared Walsh added a shot from two runs as Los Angeles hosts beat Seattle, defeating the Mariners’ bid for their first postseason appearance since 2001.
The Mariners had a chance to force their way into a playoff for second and final wildcard place in the American League, but had to beat the Angels and lose either Boston or the New York Yankees. None of that happened.
After the Red Sox victory in Washington was over and the fate of the Mariners was decisive, Seattle manager Scott Servais pulled veteran third baseman Kyle Seager off the field with a failure in the ninth inning to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd. Despite 35 homers and 101 RBIs this season, the Mariners are not expected to pick up the option on Seager’s contract.
–Field-level media
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