MLB SCOREBOARD… Three division titles and two wild card spots remain unclaimed with the 2021 Major League Baseball regular season coming to a close on Sunday.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
ST. LOUIS 6 – Milwaukee 2… The Cardinals cruised past the NL Central-champion Brewers to clinch the NL’s second wild card and extend their winning streak to 17 games. Nolan Arenado, Dylan Carlson, and Jose Rondon homered. Adam Wainwright (17-7) gave up two runs on seven hits over six innings.
ATLANTA 2 – Philadelphia 1…. The Braves held on at the end to edge the Phillies and extend their lead to 3-1/2 games over Philadelphia in the race for the NL East crown. Jorge Soler’s two-run single in the bottom of the third inning provided all the offense Atlanta needed. Charlie Morton (14-6) pitched three-hit ball over seven scoreless innings.
SAN FRANCISCO 6 – Arizona 4… The Giants used a four-run bottom of the sixth inning to get past the Diamondbacks and maintain their two-game lead over the second-place L.A Dodgers in the NL West. Wilmer Flores sparked the uprising with an RBI single.
L.A DODGERS 2 – San Diego 1… Walker Buehler (15-4) limited the Padres to three hits over seven scoreless innings and the Dodgers hung on to edge the Padres. Trea Turner double home a run and AJ Pollock added an RBI single.
N.Y. METS 5 – Miami 2 (7 innings)… Francisco Lindor homered and drove in three runs as the Mets took the opener of a doubleheader and snapped their five-game losing streak. Marcus Stroman (10-13) allowed two runs on five hits over five innings.
N.Y. METS 2 – Miami 1 (9 innings)… Javier Báez raced home with the winning run on Brian McCann’s infield grounder in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Mets completed a sweep of the twinbill. Starter Noah Syndergaard worked just one inning in his first appearance in two years following Tommy John surgery but struck out two of the three batters he faced.
PITTSBURGH 8 – Chi. Cubs 6… Michael Chavis singled home Hoy Park with a go-ahead run to cap a four-run bottom of the seventh inning that carried the Pirates past the Cubs. Park tied the game with a two-run triple. Colin Moran opened the scoring with a three-run first-inning homer and singled home an insurance run in the ninth.
COLORADO 3 – Washington 1… Kyle Freeland (7-8) held the Nationals to a run on six hits over 6-2/3 innings and the Rockies won at home for the first time in six tries. Trevor Story cracked a solo homer for Colorado.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
N.Y Yankees 7 – TORONTO 2… The Yankees handled the Blue Jays to win their seventh straight and move two games ahead of Boston in the AL wild-card race. Giancarlo Stanton belted a three-run homer and Aaron Judge smacked a solo shot for New York. Toronto dropped three games behind the Yankees but remains a game behind Boston for the second wild card.
BALTIMORE 4 – Boston 2… Ryan Mountcastle hit a game-tying two-run homer and Pedro Severino added an RBI single during a three-run bottom of the sixth inning and the Orioles dealt the Red Sox their fourth straight loss. Severino was 3-for-4 on the night.
SEATTLE 4 – Oakland 2… The Mariners topped the Athletics and moved with a half-game of Boston in the race for the AL’s second wild card. Mitch Haniger’s seventh-inning homer was the 100th of his career and third in two games. Seattle has beaten Oakland 11 straight times.
HOUSTON 4 – Tampa Bay 3… The Astros drew two bases-loaded walks in the bottom of the ninth inning to squeak past the AL East-Champion Rays and lower their magic number for clinching the AL West to one. Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve homered for Houston.
MINNESOTA 3 – Detroit 2… The Twins took a 3-0 lead into the ninth inning and escaped with a win over the Tigers. Miguel Sanó homered with the baes empty. Mitch Carver and Max Kepler lifted sacrifice lies.
TEXAS 5 – L.A. Angels 2… The Rangers came up with four runs in the bottom of the second inning and breezed past the Angels. Andy Ibanez stroked a two-run single and finished with three hits. A.J. Alexy (3-1) surrendered two runs on three hits over five innings.
KANSAS CITY 6 – Cleveland 4… Nicky Lopez tripled home a tie-breaking run in the bottom of the eighth inning and scored on a wild pitch to push the Royals past the Indians. Salvador Perez hit his major league-leading 47th home run with the bases empty.
INTERLEAGUE
CHI. WHITE SOX 7 – Cincinnati 1… The AL Central-champion White Sox thrashed the Reds on the day Cincinnati was eliminated from the postseason. Luis Robert homered twice and drove in three runs. Gavin Sheets hit a solo homer and singled home a run. Yoan Moncada also went deep. Reynaldo Lopez (4-3) gave up just a run on two his over six innings.