MLB roundup: Phillies smash Mets, secure playoff berth……..
Alec Bohm hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run fourth inning Friday night for the visiting Philadelphia Phillies, who clinched a playoff berth by beating the New York Mets 12-2 in the second game of a four-game series. Bohm finished 4-for-5 with four RBIs for the Phillies, who have reached the postseason for the third straight year. Philadelphia’s magic number for clinching the National League East for the first time since 2011 is one as the Phillies wrapped up the head-to-head tiebreaker vs. the Mets. The Phillies scored the final 12 runs Friday to cool off the red-hot Mets, who had their four-game winning streak snapped but remained two games ahead of the Atlanta Braves in the race for the third and final NL wild-card spot. J.T. Realmuto also homered for Philadelphia, and Nick Castellanos collected three hits. Cristopher Sanchez (11-9) tossed five innings of two-run ball to earn the win over David Peterson (9-3), who gave up five runs (four earned) in a season-low 3 2/3 innings. Dodgers 6, Rockies 4 Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run home run to move one off the major league lead as Los Angeles rallied past visiting Colorado. Andy Pages and Teoscar Hernandez also homered for the Dodgers. Ohtani remained hot one day after going 6-for-6 with three homers and 10 RBIs while becoming the first player to reach 50 homers and 50 steals in a season. His homer and steal totals both rose to No. 52 on Friday. Alex Vesia (4-4) got the win, and Michael Kopech registered his 14th save. Charlie Blackmon, Sam Hilliard and Michael Toglia each hit home runs for the Rockies.
Kyle Freeland (5-8) gave up four runs in six innings. Orioles 7, Tigers 1 Colton Cowser and James McCann each hit two of host Baltimore’s five home runs. Anthony Santander also homered, for the second consecutive game, to give him 43 and Corbin Burnes (15-8) pitched seven shutout innings against Detroit for the second time in six days. The Orioles have won two straight games since losing eight of 10. The Tigers were trying to build on their three-game sweep at Kansas City. Giants 2, Royals 1 Heliot Ramos went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run to help visiting San Francisco beat Kansas City. Mason Black (1-4) pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his first major league victory. Patrick Bailey also drove in a run as the Giants won for the third time in the past four games. Bobby Witt Jr. had three hits for Kansas City to raise his major league-leading average to .334. The Royals have dropped five straight games and 14 of their past 21 but remain in possession of the American League’s second wild-card spot. Yankees 4, Athletics 2 Juan Soto, held out of the starting lineup because of a bruised knee, lined a pinch-hit double in the middle of a three-run, 10th-inning uprising as New York outlasted host Oakland in the opener of a three-game series. The Yankees retained their four-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles atop the American League East. New York’s magic number to win the division title dropped to five with eight games remaining. The Athletics were held to three hits and have lost four of their past six games. Guardians 5, Cardinals 1 Jose Ramirez went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs as visiting Cleveland defeated St. Louis and reduced its magic number to clinch the American League Central title to one. Andres Gimenez and Lane Thomas also hit home runs for the Guardians, who won for the sixth time in seven games. Ben Lively (13-9) allowed one run in five innings, and Erik Sabrowski worked the last 2 1/3 innings to earn his first career save. Cardinals starter Kyle Gibson (8-8) gave up four runs (three earned) in six innings. Cubs 3, Nationals 1 Jameson Taillon scattered two hits across six scoreless innings as host Chicago topped Washington. Taillon (11-8) walked two and struck out four while throwing 50 of his 80 pitches for strikes. He retired the final 10 batters he faced. Meanwhile, Dansby Swanson clubbed a solo shot to center and Mike Tauchman hit a two-run single as a pinch hitter for the Cubs, who have taken the first two games of a four-game series. The Nationals’ sputtering offense failed to come through for starter Trevor Williams (5-1), who held the Cubs to one run and three hits in five innings. James Wood provided the only Washington offense with an eighth-inning homer, the only hit among the top five batters of the Nationals’ lineup (1-for-16). Reds 8, Pirates 3 Tyler Stephenson had three hits, five RBIs and scored three times to help host Cincinnati top Pittsburgh in the opener of a three-game series. Reds starter Nick Martinez (10-6) threw six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out nine without walking a batter. Meanwhile, after giving Cincinnati a 1-0 lead with a first-inning solo shot to center field, Stephenson smacked a three-run double in the third. Pirates starter Mitch Keller (11-11) had a rough night, allowing eight runs (all earned) on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. He walked five and fanned one. The Pirates struggled to get on base against Martinez, but finally got a run across on Oneil Cruz’s solo homer off reliever Brent Suter in the seventh inning. Pittsburgh then added two in the ninth. Marlins 4, Braves 3 Jake Burger and Kyle Stowers each had two hits and an RBI to power Miami, which damaged visiting Atlanta’s playoff hopes with a narrow victory. The Marlins, who have the worst record in the National League, have had some success against Atlanta this season, going 4-7 with two games remaining this weekend. Valente Bellozo (3-4) earned the win, allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings. Miami used four relievers to lock it down as Jesus Tinoco earned his second save with a perfect ninth inning. The Marlins got to Braves starter Charlie Morton (8-9) right away with a three-run, first-inning rally on Burger’s RBI double, Stowers’ run-scoring single and Jonah Bride’s sacrifice fly. Morton allowed four walks, seven hits and four runs in six innings. Rays 1, Blue Jays 0 Jonathan Aranda ended Toronto starting pitcher Jose Berrios’ seven-game winning streak with one swing of the bat as Tampa Bay topped the Blue Jays in St. Petersburg, Fla. Down 1-2 while facing Berrios (16-10) in the sixth inning, Aranda struck for the game’s lone run when he golfed an 85 mph slurve 411 feet out to right-center, his fourth homer this season and first in a week after homering in Cleveland last Friday. The Blue Jays managed five hits and fell to 4-7 against the Rays this season. Berrios gave up just the solo homer — his 30th surrendered — and five other hits. He struck out six and issued a walk. Mariners 8, Rangers 2 Julio Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs and Josh Rojas homered and had two RBIs to lead Seattle past host Texas in the opener of a three-game series. It was the fourth multi-homer game of Rodriguez’s career, while the five RBIs tied a career high. Victor Robles also had two hits, a stolen base and an RBI for Seattle. George Kirby (13-11) improved to 7-0 in nine career starts against Texas, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings while striking out four. Adolis Garcia went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored, Nathaniel Lowe had a two-run single and Ezequiel Duran also had three hits, including a ground-rule double for Texas. Jack Leiter (0-3), who entered at the start of the fourth inning in relief of Jacob deGrom, suffered the loss, allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits over five innings. Astros 9, Angels 7 Alex Bregman, Jake Meyers and Kyle Tucker hit home runs to power Houston past visiting Los Angeles, a win that reduced the Astros’ magic number to four to clinch the American League West. Bregman and Meyers keyed a five-run third inning that lifted Houston to a 6-1 lead. Bregman hit his 24th home run to center field, a two-run blast, before Meyers added a three-run shot to left field, his 13th. Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson (10-14) surrendered both homers. Anderson allowed six runs (three earned) on eight hits with four strikeouts and no walks over 2 2/3 innings. Diamondbacks 7, Brewers 4 Ketel Marte hit his career-high 33rd homer and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. added a solo shot as Arizona kept pace in the National League wild-card race with a victory over host Milwaukee. The Diamondbacks snapped a 4-all tie with three runs in the sixth, highlighted by Gurriel’s 18th homer. Zac Gallen (13-6) allowed four runs, all on three homers in the fifth. He gave up seven hits, striking out five and walking one in five innings. Arizona is two games behind the San Diego Padres for the NL’s top wild-card spot. The Mets dropped a game behind the Diamondbacks with a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Milwaukee, which has lost two straight to Arizona since clinching the NL Central on Wednesday, got homers from William Contreras, Joey Ortiz and Garrett Mitchell. DL Hall (1-2) took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits in 1 1/3 innings. Twins 4, Red Sox 2 Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner each had RBI singles during a three-run top of the 12th inning, helping to propel Minnesota over host Boston in the opener of a three-game series. The Twins moved to a game ahead of the Detroit Tigers for the final American League wild-card spot. Detroit lost 7-1 to the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. Connor Wong and Trevor Story each had two hits and an RBI for the Red Sox, who have lost four of five games. Padres 3, White Sox 2 (10 innings) Fernando Tatis Jr. ripped an RBI double in the bottom of the 10th inning as San Diego nipped visiting Chicago, reducing the Padres’ magic number for earning a playoff berth to three. With pinch runner Brandon Lockridge serving as the automatic runner at second, Tatis lined an 0-1 offering from Justin Anderson (1-2) to the gap in right-center. It was his second game-winning hit in his career, both this month. Chicago fell to 36-118, two losses away from tying the 1962 New York Mets for the single-season record in the major leagues’ modern history. The White Sox, who have lost three straight, will have to win seven of their final eight games to avoid 120 defeats. –Field Level Media
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