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Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sanó and Josh Donaldson homered as the Minnesota Twins clinched a second straight postseason berth with an 8-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night.
The Twins are guaranteed at least a wild-card berth. They trail the Chicago White Sox by three games in the AL Central with six games to play. The White Sox have eight games remaining.
Coming off a no-hitter on Sunday against Milwaukee, Cubs starter Alec Mills (5-4) allowed four runs and six hits in six-plus innings. He struck out seven and walked one as Chicago’s five-game winning streak ended.
Rosario and Mitch Garver had a two-run pinch-hit single as Minnesota rebounded after dropping four of five on the current road trip against both Chicago teams.
The Twins, who won the division last year, will make back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 2009-10.
Minnesota starter Michael Pineda (2-0) permitted one run on four hits in five innings.
Donaldson added a solo shot in the ninth.
WHITE SOX 5, REDS 0
CINCINNATI (AP) — Tim Anderson hit two of Chicago’s five solo homers, and the White Sox — already guaranteed a playoff spot — took another step toward the AL Central title by overpowering Cincinnati.
Chicago has won eight of its last 10 games, securing at least a wild card and its first postseason appearance since 2008.
José Abreu hit his fifth homer in eight games as the White Sox piled them up, including three in a row in the eighth off Robert Stephenson. Abreu has 18 homers overall.
The Reds managed six hits as they had their season-high winning streak snapped at six games.
Nomar Mazara was in a 3-for-25 slump with 11 strikeouts when he connected off Trevor Bauer (4-4) in the fifth inning for his first homer. One out later, Anderson’s ninth homer made it 2-0.
Bauer went seven innings and gave up five hits while throwing 107 pitches.
Matt Foster (5-0) retired the six batters he faced in relief of Dallas Keuchel.
YANKEES 8, RED SOX 0
BOSTON (AP) — J.A. Happ pitched eight scoreless innings, Clint Frazier hit a two-run home run and accounted for three of New York's 11 hits as the Yankees beat Boston for their 10th consecutive win.
The victory is New York’s 12th straight over Boston dating to last season, tying the Yankees’ longest winning streak in baseball’s most historic rivalry. It also dropped New York’s magic number to one to clinch its fourth consecutive postseason berth.
The Yankees improved to 31-21 and ensured their 28th consecutive winning season, the second-longest streak in big league history behind their 39 in a row from 1926-64.
Happ (2-2) allowed four hits and struck out nine. Happ has a 3.25 ERA over 44 1/3 innings pitched this season.
Boston starter Chris Mazza (1-2) lasted four innings, giving up four runs on five hits and three walks.
ASTROS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 2
HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve drove in two, Kyle Tucker had a tiebreaking single and Houston beat Arizona to get back to .500.
Altuve tied it at 2 in the sixth with an RBI double, and Tucker put Houston ahead with his single three batters later, chasing starter Luke Weaver (1-8). Altuve also had a run-scoring groundout in the third.
Kole Calhoun hit his sixth homer in five games, leading off the second inning with a solo shot to right.
Josh Rojas increased the lead to 2-0 in the third on a sacrifice fly.
Weaver allowed three runs and five hits with five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings in losing his fifth straight decision.
Enoli Paredes (3-2) threw two scoreless innings for the win. Josh James threw a scoreless seventh. Ryan Pressly finished the ninth for his 11th save.
ATHLETICS 6, GIANTS 0
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Jake Lamb hit a two-run homer and Oakland beat San Francisco for the second straight game.
Lefty starter Jesús Luzardo (3-2) gave up five hits over six innings, striking out seven without a walk. He ended a four-start winless stretch.
The A’s clinched their third straight postseason berth with a 6-0 win Friday night and were closing in on the club’s first AL West crown since 2013.
Kevin Gausman (3-3) struck out six in six innings and stymied the slugging A’s.
RAYS 3, ORIOLES 1
BALTIMORE (AP) — Charlie Morton pitched five effective innings and AL East-leading Tampa Bay used homers by Yoshi Tsutsugo and Randy Arozarena to beat Baltimore.
Arozarena’s two-run drive in the fifth off Jorge López (2-1) put the Rays up 3-1, and that was enough offense to ring up another win over the skidding Orioles.
Morton (2-2) allowed one run and five hits, walking two and striking out six.
Ryan Thompson got two outs for his first career save.
The Orioles were 20-21 on Sept. 8 and in contention for a playoff spot. They have since lost 10 of 12.
MARLINS 7, NATIONALS 3
MIAMI (AP) — Miguel Rojas and Garrett Cooper each had a double and a homer and Miami beat Washington and maintained its hold on second place in the NL East.
Starling Marte and Brian Anderson each singled twice for the Marlins, who had 14 hits against Washington starter Patrick Corbin (2-6). Miami also got two hits from Lewis Brinson and Chad Wallach.
Pablo Lopez (5-4) went 5 1/3 innings and allowed two runs and three hits, struck out seven and walked three.
Andrew Stevenson had a two-run single in the fourth for Washington.
Corbin was lifted after six innings. The left-hander allowed seven runs and struck out seven.
TIGERS 5, INDIANS 2
DETROIT (AP) — Eric Haase and Daz Cameron hit RBI singles during a four-run eighth inning, and Detroit won their first game following manager Ron Gardenhire’s retirement.
Gardenhire abruptly stepped down before the game, saying it had been a stressful season for him and that he needed to focus on his health.
Jose Cisnero (3-3) earned the win. Bryan Garcia struck out three in the ninth for his third save. Phil Maton (2-3) took the loss.
The loss snapped a streak of 12 straight victories for Cleveland at Detroit’s Comerica Park.
Bench coach Lloyd McClendon took over as Detroit’s manager for the remainder of the season.
PHILLIES 3, BLUE JAYS 1
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Vince Velasquez pitched six strong innings, Andrew McCutchen hit the go-ahead single in the fifth inning and Philadelphia beat slumping Toronto.
Velasquez (1-1) allowed a run, two hits and three walks with six strikeouts.
Andrew Knapp and Adam Haseley each had two hits and an RBI for Philadelphia.
Travis Shaw homered for the Blue Jays, who have lost six straight but still hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the AL.
Toronto right-hander Hyun Jin Ryu (4-2) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings with eighth strikeouts and a walk.
BREWERS 5, ROYALS 0
MILWAUKEE (AP) —Corbin Burnes threw six solid innings of four-hit ball and Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer in Milwaukee’s four-run eighth inning in a win over Kansas City.
With the win, Milwaukee moved into a tie with the Cincinnati Reds, one game behind second-place St. Louis in the NL Central.
Burnes continues as the best starting pitcher on the Brewers’ staff. He is 4-0 in his last five starts, with 47 strikeouts and six walks in that span. Against the Royals, he struck out nine.
Devin Williams retired the side in order in the seventh and eighth, including four strike outs. He has 47 strikeouts in 23 innings of relief. Drew Rasmussen retired the side in order in the ninth to preserve the shutout.
Jacob Nottingham’s two-base hit off Royals reliever Scott Barlow in the eighth tacked on a big insurance run. Orlando Arcia singled and took third on Barlow’s errant pickoff throw.
Kris Bubic (1-6) allowed just a hit and an unearned run in 5 1/3 innings. The 23-year-old left-hander struck out seven, but tied his season-high with four walks.
CARDINALS 5, PIRATES 4
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tyler O’Neill hit a two-run double to end a no-hit bid started by Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller, and St. Louis rallied to beat the Pirates.
Keller threw 84 pitches over six no-hit innings and was pulled from the game leading 4-0, but the Cardinals scored five runs off relief pitchers Geoff Hartlieb and Sam Howard in the seventh. O’Neill broke up the no-hit bid and keyed the inning with his bases-loaded double against Howard (2-3).
St. Louis improved to 25-24 and is a game ahead of Cincinnati and Milwaukee for second place in the NL Central.
The 24-year-old Keller walked two and hit O’Neill with a pitch before retiring his final 14 batters, finishing with six strikeouts.
Jake Woodford (1-0) retired the last two batters in the sixth and was credited with his first major league win. Genesis Cabrera notched his first save of the season by getting the last five outs.
The Pirates took a 2-0 lead on solo home runs by rookie Ke’Bryan Hayes in the first and Jose Osuna in the third.
DODGERS 6, ROCKIES 1
DENVER (AP) — Clayton Kershaw held Colorado to four hits and a run over seven strong innings to lead Los Angeles to the win.
Chris Taylor homered, tripled and drove in three runs, and AJ Pollock also hit a home run for the NL West leaders.
Kershaw (6-2) threw just 86 pitches -- 59 for strikes -- while striking out six and not walking a batter.
Kevin Pillar had two hits and Raimel Tapia doubled and scored for the scuffling Rockies. Colorado has lost four straight.
Chi Chi Gonzalez (0-2) went five innings.
METS 7, BRAVES 2
NEW YORK (AP) — Rookie David Peterson struck out NL batting leader Freddie Freeman three times and fanned a career-high 10 in six sharp innings as the Mets beat Atlanta.
Atlanta saw its NL East lead over second-place Miami drop to 2 1/2 games. The Braves have eight games remaining, the Marlins nine. The Mets moved to within 1 1/2 games of the NL’s last playoff spot with eight games left.
Peterson (5-2) fanned Freeman in the first, third and fifth innings. He allowed one run and three hits and threw a career-high 102 pitches in six innings.
Adam Duvall homered in the Atlanta sixth.
Freeman’s 12-game hitting streak ended and his batting average dropped to .349. He leads Washington’s Juan Soto by 11 points in the batting race.
Robinson Canó had three hits, including a two-run double off rookie Ian Anderson (3-1) after the Mets opened the game with three straight walks. He added a solo homer in the eighth after Dominic Smith opened the inning with a homer off Shane Greene, who allowed multiple runs for the first time in 31 appearances.
Brandon Nimmo had a two-run single and Chirinos added an RBI single for the Mets.
ANGELS 4, RANGERS 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mike Trout delivered a tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth inning, and the Angels rebounded from a rough start for their third straight victory, beating Texas.
Shohei Ohtani homered in his first plate appearance in eight days for the Angels (23-30), who have won 11 of 16 to stay on the fringes of the AL playoff race. Los Angeles is 3 1/2 games behind Houston for second place in the AL West with seven games left.
Leody Taveras and Rougned Odor homered in a three-run first inning for the Rangers, who dropped to 5-21 on the road. Texas has lost three straight overall, including the first two in this four-game series at the Big A.
David Fletcher led off the eighth with a walk from Brett Martin (0-1) and got to third on a fielding error at first by Sherten Apostel. Trout then lined a clean single left, extending the three-time AL MVP’s hitting streak to five games.
Taylor Ward and Fletcher drove in runs in the fifth inning for Los Angeles. Mike Mayers (2-0) pitched the final two innings, striking out pinch-hitter Joey Gallo looking to end it.
Lance Lynn pitched seven innings of seven-hit ball for the Rangers, yielding three runs with five strikeouts.
MARINERS 4, PADRES 2
SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego will have to wait at least one more day to clinch its first playoff berth in 14 seasons after former teammates Ty France and Luis Torrens led Seattle Mariners to a victory.
The Padres, who have the NL’s second-best record behind the rival Los Angeles Dodgers, were in position to clinch a spot in the expanded playoffs after the Cincinnati Reds lost 5-0 to the Chicago White Sox. But France hit an RBI single in the first inning off rookie Luis Patiño, who started after Mike Clevinger was scratched with biceps tightness, and Torrens had a two-run double in the third off former Mariners reliever Dan Altavilla (1-3).
Kyle Lewis homered off Adrian Morejon in the fifth, his 11th, and left-hander Justus Sheffield (4-3) held San Diego to one run and six hits in six innings, struck out five and walked two. He threw a career-high 99 pitches.
Yoshihisa Hirano picked up his third save in three tries.
San Diego’s magic number remains at one going into Sunday’s finale in the series that was moved from Seattle because of poor air quality due to wildfires.
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