The Toronto Blue Jays avoided elimination for one more day thanks to a rainy day in Baltimore, but results in other games have all but ended Toronto's playoff hopes.
The Cleveland Guardians (83-75) and Chicago White Sox (82-76) both picked up wins on Tuesday, inching one step closer to the playoffs.
Those results mean the Blue Jays (77-80) will only make the playoffs if they win all five of their remaining games and either the Guardians or White Sox lose all five of theirs.
The Blue Jays will return to the field for a doubleheader at Camden Yards on Wednesday, then have a day off Thursday before three final home games against the Cincinnati Reds.
Here is how the standings look after Tuesday's results:
Toronto: at Baltimore, 1:35 p.m. and 6:35 p.m., Sportsnet, Sportsnet+
Cleveland: at Boston, 7:10 p.m.
Chicago White Sox: at Kansas City, 7:40 p.m., Sportsnet+
Texas: vs. NY Mets, 8:05 p.m.
Houston: at Seattle, 10:10 p.m.
GUARDIANS 3, RED SOX 2
BOSTON — Nathaniel Lowe had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly off reliever Erik Miller in the ninth inning, and the Cleveland Guardians maintained their slim first-place lead in the AL Central with a 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.
Angel Martínez had three hits for the Guardians, who entered the day with a one-game lead over the White Sox atop the Central. Chicago owns the tiebreaker by winning the season series. Cleveland stranded 15 baserunners.
The loss was Boston’s eighth in 12 games, spoiling Chad Tracy’s first game as manager after the club named him its 49th in team history.
Adley Rutschman added three hits for Boston, which clinched one of the AL’s wild-card spots Sunday.
Boston pinch hitter Mickey Gasper hit Hunter Gaddis’ first pitch, tying it at 2-2 leading off the eighth.
Gaddis (5-3) got the win and Cade Smith the final three outs for his 40th save.
Miller (4-2) hit a batter and gave up two hits in an inning.
A strong candidate for the AL Rookie of the Year, Cleveland left-hander Parker Messick gave up a run over five innings. He lowered his ERA to 2.55 and is on pace to become the fourth rookie starting pitcher in MLB history with an ERA under 2.60 and averaging 9.0 or more strikeouts per nine innings.
In his tune-up for a likely playoff start next week, Boston lefty Payton Tolle struggled with his control over 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on eight hits. In his previous start on Sept. 13, he had Boston’s second recorded immaculate inning that opened a game.
WHITE SOX 14, ROYALS 11
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chase Meidroth hit a three-run homer and had a career-high five RBIs, Randal Grichuk added a three-run shot among his four hits, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 14-11 on Tuesday night to stay a game behind Cleveland in the AL Central.
The Guardians, who end the regular season with three games in Kansas City, beat the Red Sox 3-2 earlier Tuesday.
Brenton Doyle and Munetaka Murakami added home runs for the White Sox, who also helped their wild-card cause should they fail to catch Cleveland. They have two more games against the Royals before finishing with three against last-place Colorado.
Anthony Kay had a two-run lead before he even took the mound Tuesday night, and the Chicago left-hander ended up allowing four runs while pitching into the fifth. Noah Schultz (4-9) and the bullpen finished the game, though it wasn't pretty — White Sox relievers coughed up three runs in the eighth and allowed Vinnie Pasquantino's first career grand slam in the ninth.
Daniel Lynch IV wasn't exactly pretty, either. He allowed a career-worst nine earned runs in just four innings for Kansas City.
Lynch was shaky from the start, walking Tommy Pham in the first and giving up a single to Grichuk before hitting Murakami with a 94 mph sinker. Meidroth followed with a two-run single, extending his on-base streak to 13, and the White Sox were on their way.
Doyle made it 3-0 when he sent Lynch's first pitch of the second inning over the right-field wall. But the big blow came in the third, when Grichuk doubled and Murakami walked to set up Meidroth again. This time, the second-year second baseman hit changeup over the middle of the plate into the left-field seats to give the White Sox a 6-0 lead.
Grichuk's own 3-run shot in the fourth came after Miguel Vargas hit a two-out single and Pham drew his second straight walk, while Murakami added his two-run homer during a five-run seventh that effectively put the game away.
YANKEES 2, RAYS 0, GAME 1
RAYS 6, YANKEES 1, GAME 2
NEW YORK — Drew Rasmussen allowed his only hit in the seventh inning and struck out 11 as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 6-1 on Tuesday in the second game of a day-night doubleheader to clinch their fifth AL East title.
The Rays (96-61) secured home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs and took their first division crown since 2021, when they won 100 games. Tampa Bay also earned AL East championships in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season along with 2010 and 2008, when the team had its first winning season after entering the league as an expansion franchise in 1998.
Yandy Díaz hit two-run single off reliever John Schreiber in the seventh and had another two-run single in the ninth for his AL-leading 175th hit. Tampa Bay opened a six-game lead over the second-place Yankees (90-67) with five to play.
In the opener, Carlos Rodón allowed three hits in eight sharp innings as New York delayed Tampa Bay's division celebration with a 2-0 victory.
Taylor Walls started the three-run seventh with a bunt single against Max Fried (5-5) when first base was left uncovered. Ryan Vilade hit an RBI groundout in the third after Díaz’s flyball moved runners to second and third.
Rasmussen (16-5) was nine outs from joining Matt Garza as Tampa Bay pitchers with a no-hitter when he gave up a leadoff double to Heliot Ramos on his 97th pitch. Garza held the Detroit Tigers hitless at Tropicana Field on July 26, 2010.
After allowing Ramos’ hit to left field, Rasmussen got the next two outs before walking Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a full count. Kevin Kelly entered and permitted rookie George Lombard Jr.’s RBI single before retiring Austin Wells on a groundout.
Rasmussen threw a career-high 114 pitches, 72 for strikes. He threw first-pitch strikes to 17 of 24 hitters and notched his fourth career double-digit strikeout game.
Rasmussen allowed one hit for the fourth time this year. He also yielded just one hit in six innings against the Yankees on April 12.
Cam Booser and Bryan Baker pitched an inning apiece to finish the three-hitter.
Fried allowed four runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings.
The Yankees were held to three hits or fewer for the 13th time this year.
METS 6, RANGERS 3
ARLINGTON, Texas — Sean Manaea struck out nine in six innings, Francisco Alvarez doubled and scored twice while driving in two runs, and the New York Mets beat the AL West-leading Texas Rangers 6-3 on Tuesday night in their first game with Andy Green as their full-time manager.
Earlier in the day, the Mets (71-86) gave Green a three-year contract. He had been their interim manager since Carlos Mendoza was fired on June 26.
Texas (78-79) began the day with a one-game lead in the division over Houston. The Astros, who own the head-to-head tiebreaker, were playing at Seattle when the Rangers finished their game.
Manaea (6-7) allowed three runs — two earned — and three hits. Kodai Senga worked the ninth for his eighth save.
Carson Benge, who has a Mets rookie record 159 hits, also had two doubles, scored twice and drove in a run.
PHILLIES 6, BREWERS 4
PHILADELPHIA — Zack Wheeler struck 11, including a franchise-record seven in a row to start the game, Bryson Stott hit a tiebreaking RBI single with two out in the eighth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies inched closer to clinching a playoff spot with a 6-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.
Brandon Marsh homered, doubled and drove in three runs for Philadelphia, which began play holding the final NL wild-card spot with a four-game cushion over Arizona.
William Contreras had three RBIs for NL Central-leading Milwaukee. The Brewers, by virtue of Cincinnati's 4-0 win over Atlanta, clinched a bye in the wild-card round and earned home-field advantage for the NLDS.
After the Brewers scored twice in the sixth off Wheeler to tie the game at 3, Stott singled to centre off Colton Gordon (0-1). Garrett Mitchell’s throw went to third base to try to get Alec Bohm running from first. But the ball ricocheted off Bohm’s foot, and both he and Luis Arraez scored to make it 5-3.
Jhoan Duran earned his 33rd save after José Alvarado (5-3) got the final out of the eighth.
Wheeler was unhittable at the outset and had sights on Pablo López’s MLB record of nine K’s in a row to open a contest before Cooper Pratt grounded out to third base for the second out of the third inning. Watching Wheeler from the dugout was teammate Aaron Nola, who has a share of the MLB record with 10 consecutive strikeouts of the Mets in 2021.
The Phillies began Tuesday trailing the Padres and Cubs by one game for the top spot in the NL wild card. Philadelphia holds the tiebreaker over San Diego but not Chicago.
The Brewers dropped to 13-6 this month and were not able to extend their franchise record of 98 wins, set in Sunday’s 3-0 victory at Baltimore.
MARLINS 8, CUBS 2 (12 INNINGS)
CHICAGO — Griffin Conine drove in Esteury Ruiz with a tiebreaking single in Miami's six-run 12th inning, and the Marlins stymied Chicago's push for an NL wild card with an 8-2 victory over the Cubs on Tuesday night.
Conine put Miami ahead to stay with his well-placed blooper to left field. Jakob Marsee added a run-scoring single, and Joe Mack capped the outburst with a two-run single.
Kyle Stowers hit a solo homer for the Marlins (77-80), who had lost three in a row. Josh Ekness (3-4) pitched a scoreless inning for the win.
The Cubs (87-70) could have clinched a playoff berth with a win or an Arizona loss, but the Diamondbacks won 7-2 at Colorado.
Chicago and San Diego were tied at the top of the wild-card standings going into Tuesday’s action, and Philadelphia was one game back in the third slot. The Phillies posted a 6-4 victory over Milwaukee, and the Padres were at the Los Angeles Dodgers later Tuesday night.
The Cubs had a chance to win the game in the 10th, loading the bases with two down. But Miami second baseman Javier Sanoja robbed Pedro Ramírez of a game-ending single with a terrific sliding stop.
Chicago played without third baseman Alex Bregman, who is recovering from multiple facial fractures after he was struck in the face by a foul ball. The three-time All-Star could return to the lineup before the end of the regular season this weekend.
Miami jumped in front when Stowers doubled and scored on Agustín Ramírez's single in the fourth. Stowers added his 20th homer in the sixth.
Chicago rallied in the bottom half, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Michael Busch then hit a hard grounder to first, but Mack mishandled Deyvison De Los Santos' throw to the plate and Pete Crow-Armstrong scampered home with the Cubs' first run. One batter later, Ian Happ hit a tying single off Calvin Faucher.
DIAMONDBACKS 7, ROCKIES 2
DENVER — Nolan Arenado had his team-leading 28th homer of the season among his three hits, Michael Soroka struck out nine in seven innings of one-run ball and Arizona beat Colorado, sending the Rockies to their 100th loss of the season.
The victory kept the Diamondbacks four games behind Philadelphia in the race for the third and final NL wild-card spot with five regular-season games remaining for both teams.
The Rockies’ loss made Colorado the first franchise to lose at least 100 games in four consecutive seasons since the New York Mets from 1962-65.
Arenado, a four-time All-Star in his time with Colorado, extended his on-base streak to 16 games. During that stretch, he is batting .379 with seven homers and 14 RBIs.
Gabriel Moreno drove in two runs, giving him 10 RBIs in Arizona’s past 16 games. Geraldo Perdomo added three hits and an RBI for the Diamondbacks.
In four starts against the Rockies this season, Soroka (9-5) has allowed just four earned runs in 23 innings, with 23 strikeouts and six walks.
Kyle Freeland (4-11) took the loss for Colorado, allowing five earned runs in three innings. The Denver native made his final home start of the season for Colorado, where he has played his entire 10-year MLB career.
PIRATES 2, CARDINALS 0
PITTSBURGH — Jared Jones allowed one hit over seven dominant innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates inched closer to the franchise's first winning season in eight years with a 2-0 win over St. Louis on Tuesday night.
The hard-throwing Jones (5-6) retired the first 16 batters he faced before Nathan Church's bloop landed just beyond the outstretched glove of Pirates third baseman Jacob Gonzalez with one out in the sixth. Church sprinted to second for a double but remained there after Masyn Wynn lined out and J.J. Wetherholt struck out to end the inning.
Jones, who returned from Tommy John surgery in late May, tied a season high with nine strikeouts in seven innings and improved to 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in four starts in September. Gregory Soto worked around a leadoff walk to record his 16th save.
Ryan O'Hearn delivered an RBI-single for the Pirates and rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin had two hits for Pittsburgh, and Bryan Reynolds added his major league-leading 40th double. The Pirates have won five straight to improve to 80-77 with five games remaining. Pittsburgh is seeking its first winning campaign since going 82-79 in 2018.
Andre Pallant (12-8) nearly matched Jones pitch for pitch in six innings of work. The right-hander's only hiccup came in the sixth, when Oneil Cruz walked with one out, moved to second on a fielder's choice and scored on O'Hearn's sharp single to left. Pallant is just 2-2 in 10 starts since the All-Star break despite pitching to a 3.00 ERA over that span.
The Cardinals fell to 76-81 with the loss. If St. Louis doesn't win out, the franchise will experience consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1958 and 1959, the second-longest stretch between consecutive losing years in the history of major North American professional sports.
NATIONALS 3, TIGERS 1
DETROIT — CJ Abrams hit a tiebreaking two-run homer and added a solo shot to give the Washington Nationals a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.
The Nationals won for the seventh time in 10 games, while Detroit dropped to 2-5 in its last seven. The Tigers have scored exactly one run in all five losses, while scoring nine and 11 runs in the two wins.
Both teams are 74-84 with four games left in the season.
Jackson Kent (2-4) picked up the win in relief of Nationals opener Riley Cornelio. Kent pitched four innings, allowing one unearned run on six hits and two walks. Erik Tolman pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
Tigers starter Drew Anderson (5-7) took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out five without walking a batter.
Washington took a 1-0 lead in the second on a long homer to right-centre field by Abrams. That gave him 100 RBIs to go along with his 30 homer/30 stolen base season.
The Tigers tied the game in the sixth when Ben Malgeri scored on Kent's second wild pitch of the inning. Washington also missed two opportunities to turn double plays in the inning.
Abrams then hit a two-run homer in the seventh, his 33rd of the season, to end Anderson's night.
REDS 4, BRAVES 0
ATLANTA — Elly De La Cruz closed in on a 30-30 season, Brandon Williamson threw six sharp innings and the Cincinnati Reds blanked the NL East champion Atlanta Braves 4-0 on Tuesday night.
De La Cruz got his 29th stolen base in the first inning and opened the scoring with his 29th homer in the third. He tacked on a run-scoring single in the seventh.
Dane Myers and Eugenio Suárez also homered for Cincinnati. It was Suárez's 350th career homer.
Braves slugger Ronald Acuña Jr. left the game in the third after fouling a ball off his left leg. He went down with a big grimace, hobbled out of the batting circle and dropped to his knees again while attended to by manager Walt Weiss and an athletic trainer for several minutes.
X-rays were negative and Acuña was listed as day-to-day, a big relief for the Braves with the playoffs just a week away.
Williamson (5-4) permitted just three hits, with no walks and two strikeouts over his 68-pitch outing. He didn't allow a runner past first base — an unlikely performance from a pitcher who has largely struggled during an injury-plagued season and worked out of the bullpen in his last three appearances for the last-place Reds.
Brock Burke, Tejay Antone and Emilio Pagán worked a scoreless inning apiece to finish the seven-hitter.
De La Cruz hit a two-out shot into the right-field seats on a 2-0 pitch from Braves rookie JR Ritchie (1-4), who took the loss despite allowing just one run while recording a career-best eight strikeouts in five innings.
De La Cruz has a chance in the final week of the regular season to become only the fourth player in Reds history to reach the 30-30 club after Eric Davis (1987), Barry Larkin (1996) and Brandon Phillips (2007).
The Braves clinched their seventh NL East title in nine years on Sunday. They are likely to host a best-of-three series against the lowest-seeded wild card next week.
