MIAMI (AP) — William Contreras drove in the go-ahead run with an infield single in the fifth, and the Atlanta Braves clinched their fifth consecutive NL East title Tuesday night by beating the Miami Marlins 2-1.
Atlanta earned a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed in the NL, behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Braves were 10 1/2 games behind the New York Mets at the start of June and lost four of five to New York in early August. After sweeping the Mets over the weekend to take the division lead, Atlanta entered the series needing a win or a Mets loss to clinch the division crown.
Starter Jake Odorizzi (6-6) pitched five innings, struck out six, allowed two hits, and one home run to Jesús Sánchez in the fourth. Kenley Jansen recorded his 41st save, working a perfect ninth.
Miami starter Braxton Garrett (3-7) was pulled in the fifth after Contreras’ two-out grounder to third scored Travis d’Arnaud and allowed Atlanta to retake the lead. Contreras had two hits and an RBI.
YANKEES 5, RANGERS 4, 1ST GAME
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aaron Judge went 1 for 5 with a single and scored the decisive run to lead New York past Texas in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
Judge remained at 61 home runs with two games remaining to break the AL record. He grounded out on the first pitch of the game, and again when he lofted a routine flyout to right in the third. In the fifth, he had an infield popup. Judge singled in the eighth and got another at-bat in the ninth, grounding out on the first pitch.
Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza and Kyle Higashioka hit solo homers for the AL East champion Yankees.
Higashioka homered to straightaway center off reliever Brock Burke (7-5) in the eighth to tie it at 4.
Adolis García hit his 27th homer, a two-run shot in the fifth that gave him 100 RBIs for the Rangers, who lost their seventh consecutive game.
Aroldis Chapman (4-4) worked a perfect seventh for the victory. Jonathan Loaisiga worked the ninth for his second save.
METS 4, NATIONALS 2
NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Nimmo homered and drove in three runs as New York kept its NL East hopes alive by winning the first game of a doubleheader, only to lose the division to Atlanta during the nightcap.
The Braves clinched the division with a 2-1 victory in Miami. The Mets will host a best-of-three wild-card playoff series this weekend and the Braves get a bye.
The playoff-bound Mets led the division for 175 days, held a 10 1/2-game lead on June 1 and led by seven games on Aug. 12.
Nimmo hit his 15th homer, a two-run single and a double. Jeff McNeil opened a three-point lead on Dodgers star Freddie Freeman in the NL batting race with two hits to raise his average to .328.
Adam Ottavino (6-3) pitched 1 2/3 innings and Edwin Díaz got four outs for his 32nd save.
Riley Adams hit a two-run homer for Washington. Washington’s Cory Abbott (0-5) allowed four runs and five hits in four innings.
RED SOX 6, RAYS 0, 5 INNINGS
BOSTON (AP) — Xander Bogaerts hit a grand slam and Nathan Eovaldi pitched five scoreless innings in what could be his final appearance in a Red Sox uniform to help Boston beat the playoff-bound Tampa in a rain-shortened game.
Christian Arroyo added an RBI single for Boston (77-84), which won its fifth straight home game.
Boston took a 6-0 lead with two outs in the fifth inning when rain started to fall heavily, prompting a delay. The game was called 52 minutes later.
The Rays (86-75) lost their fourth straight game since clinching a playoff berth. They will be the AL’s No. 6 seed and get a wild-card matchup with AL Central champion Cleveland.
Rays left-hander Jeffrey Springs (9-5) allowed one run off two hits and struck out three over three innings.
Eovaldi (6-3), who will be a free agent at the end of the season, allowed just two hits and struck out four in his second start since returning from the injured list due to right shoulder inflammation.
MARINERS 7, TIGERS 6, 1ST GAME
SEATTLE (AP) — Catcher Luis Torrens became the first position player in Seattle history to earn a pitching win by working the 10th inning, and the Mariners locked up their postseason matchup by beating Detroit in the first game of a doubleheader.
Preserving arms with the playoffs on the horizon, Torrens (1-0) took the mound when the game went to extra innings and got the unlikely victory when Abraham Toro drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly.
Victor Reyes opened the 10th as Detroit’s automatic runner on second and Torrens allowed two deep flyouts, with the second by Riley Greene scoring Reyes with the go-ahead run.
Carlos Santana then singled off Gregory Soto (2-10) in the bottom of the 10th to score automatic runner Eugenio Suarez and tie it. Jarred Kelenic followed with a base hit to advance Santana to third and Toro hit a fly ball that was deep enough for Santana to score from third base.
Seattle’s win, coupled with Tampa Bay’s loss at Boston, locking up the No. 5 seed for the American League playoffs and a date in Toronto against the Blue Jays in the wild-card series.
Mitch Haniger and Curt Casali homered earlier in the game for Seattle. Reyes and Spencer Torkelson both hit two-run homers for Detroit and Greene had an RBI double.
GUARDIANS 5, ROYALS 3
CLEVELAND (AP) — Cal Quantrill finished the regular season unbeaten at home, improving to 14-0 in his career at Progressive Field after Owen Miller hit a two-run homer in Cleveland’s win over Kansas City.
Quantrill (15-5) was in danger of his unblemished run at home ending before Miller’s shot off Daniel Lynch (4-13) capped Cleveland’s five-run fifth. Quantrill’s 14-game winning streak is the longest in the ballpark’s history. It also matches the longest unbeaten streak for a pitcher in any ballpark since 1901. Vic Raschi went 14-0 at Chicago’s Comiskey Park from 1947-55.
José Ramírez hit a two-run double and Andrés Giménez had an RBI single in the fifth.
Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase gave up a run in the ninth before getting his MLB-leading 42nd save.
Cleveland will host Tampa Bay in the wild-card round beginning Friday.
REDS 3, CUBS 2
CINCINNATI (AP) — Spencer Steer doubled off Brandon Hughes in the ninth inning to score Stuart Fairchild and Cincinnati avoided its 100th loss, beating Chicago.
The Reds (62-99) are trying to avoid the second 100-loss season in franchise history. They were 61-101 in 1982 while in the process of dismantling the dominant Big Red Machine clubs.
Chuckie Robinson tied it for Cincinnati in the seventh with a two-run homer in the seventh off Keegan Thompson. Alexis Diaz (7-3) was the winner.
Willson Contreras and Nico Hoerner homered for the Cubs. Hughes (2-3) took the loss.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
