By Field Level Media
Sep 21 (Field Level Media) – Mike Yastrzemski capped a four-run sixth inning with a three-run homer, and the visiting Atlanta Braves clinched the National League East with a 4-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday.
The Braves swept the three-game interleague series and claimed their seventh division pennant over the last nine seasons. Yastrzemski was the last of four batters to reach safely against Astros left-handed reliever Bryan King (3-6), who didn’t record a single out and exited after allowing Yastrzemski’s 12th homer of the season.
Jose Altuve and Yainer Diaz homered for the spiraling Astros, who will enter the final week of the regular season one game behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West.
Astros starter Hunter Brown allowed just three singles and two walks over five shutout innings. Braves starter Martin Perez navigated traffic, allowing just one run on six hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings.
Rays 5, Red Sox 1
Tampa Bay’s Jonny DeLuca and Chandler Simpson drove in two runs apiece during a four-run first inning, Victor Mesa Jr. homered and the Rays defeated visiting Boston in St. Petersburg, Fla.
With the win, the Rays completed their final regular-season homestand with an 8-1 record and wrapped their home schedule with a major league-best 55-26 mark.
Trevor Story homered, and Roman Anthony and Caleb Durbin each went 2-for-4 for the Red Sox, who managed just six hits while losing their second straight game.
Pirates 4, Royals 3
Rafael Flores Jr. belted a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning to cap Pittsburgh’s three-game sweep over visiting Kansas City. With the win, the Pirates improved to 14-6 in their last 20 games.
Oneil Cruz went deep to lead off the fourth inning and Spencer Horwitz had an RBI single in the sixth for Pittsburgh. Carmen Mlodzinski earned the win after allowing two runs on three hits in three innings.
Vinnie Pasquantino had a pinch-hit two-run homer for the Royals, who have lost four in a row and seven of their past eight games.
Phillies 7, Mets 2
Cristopher Sanchez tossed 6 1/3 solid innings and earned the victory for visiting Philadelphia, which earned a much-needed win over New York.
Luis Arraez was 1-for-4 with two RBIs for the Phillies. Justin Crawford provided insurance in the eighth with a bases-clearing triple off Kodai Senga. Sanchez (18-6) gave up two runs on six hits. Philadelphia sits four games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the race for the final National League wild card.
Bo Bichette homered for the Mets, who dropped their home finale for the third time in four years, while Brett Baty had a pinch-hit run-scoring single in the seventh. Francisco Alvarez and A.J. Ewing each singled twice.
Cubs 9, Reds 1
Pete Crow-Armstrong tied the major league lead with his 45th home run, and David Peterson held host Cincinnati to one run on three hits in six innings in Chicago’s win.
Crow-Armstrong was 3-for-5 with two RBIs, three runs, his 30th double and his 38th stolen base. He matched Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber at 45 homers, and he became the first center fielder in history with 40 home runs, 30 doubles and 30 steals in a season.
Michael Conforto and Seiya Suzuki also homered for the Cubs. JJ Bleday hit a home run for the Reds, who have dropped three of four.
Cardinals 5, Nationals 3
Leo Bernal’s two-run home run capped a three-run eighth inning, and St. Louis rallied for a win against visiting Washington to salvage the finale of the three-game series.
Ivan Herrera tied it 3-3 with one out when he hit his second solo homer of the day. Luis Gastelum (5-3) pitched a scoreless inning for the win. Jose Fermin had two hits for the Cardinals, who had lost four straight.
CJ Abrams homered, and Daylen Lile had a double and a single for Washington, which had won six of seven.
Mariners 2, Rockies 1
Kade Anderson threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits in the longest outing of his rookie season, and visiting Seattle stayed alive in the postseason race with a win over Colorado in Denver.
Dominic Canzone had two hits and two RBIs for Seattle, which gained a game on the Texas Rangers in the AL West. Closer Andres Munoz left the game in the ninth with an apparent right arm injury.
Hunter Goodman’s 39th home run of the season couldn’t prevent Colorado from moving within one loss of its fourth consecutive 100-loss season.
Blue Jays 7, Rangers 2
Nathan Lukes and Charles McAdoo each had two RBIs to lead Toronto to a win over Texas in Arlington, Texas.
Kazuma Okamoto broke a 2-2 deadlock with an RBI single in the fifth and gave the Blue Jays a lead they would never relinquish as they remained three games back of the final AL wild-card spot. Spencer Arrighetti (9-9) picked up the win, allowing two runs in 2 1/3 innings during a bullpen game.
Jake Burger delivered the Rangers’ lone runs on a game-tying two-run homer in the fourth. Jacob deGrom (11-10) had a shaky outing, giving up three runs with five hits in 4 1/3 innings for Texas, which maintained its one-game lead in the AL West despite the defeat.
Brewers 3, Orioles 0
Jacob Misiorowski set the tone with three shutout innings and Milwaukee blanked host Baltimore for the second game in a row to complete a three-game sweep and set a franchise record for regular-season victories.
William Contreras homered, and Cooper Pratt provided two run-scoring singles with two outs. Milwaukee is two games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the National League. Misiorowski’s ERA dipped to 1.86.
The Orioles further damaged their fading playoff hopes, losing the first three games of the homestand to fall five games back of the Chicago White Sox for the final American League wild-card spot. Colton Cowser had two of Baltimore’s four hits. Orioles starter Brandon Young (9-5) was charged with two runs in six innings.
Diamondbacks 8, Yankees 4
Nolan Arenado hit his third grand slam of the season to cap a five-run fifth and Arizona kept its slim National League wild-card chances alive with a victory over New York in Phoenix.
Geraldo Perdomo had two hits and two RBIs and five Arizona relievers limited the Yankees to three hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings. The D-backs remained five games behind NL wild-card leaders Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres and four behind the Philadelphia Phillies with six to play.
Heliot Ramos, George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones homered for the Yankees, who fell six games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East. The Yankees lead the American League with 216 homers. Lombard had two hits.
Twins 8, Angels 0
Dean Kremer allowed one hit over six innings and Alan Roden went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs as Minnesota earned a split of its four-game series with Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.
Josh Bell had three hits, a walk, two RBIs and a run while Brooks Lee also had three hits and scored three times for Minnesota, which finished with 13 hits. Kremer (4-5) allowed just a fourth-inning leadoff single to Vaughn Grissom.
Ryan Johnson (5-9) suffered the loss for Los Angeles, which finished the 2026 season with a 34-47 home record.
Guardians 1, Athletics 0
Gavin Williams threw seven shutout innings to lift Cleveland past the visiting Athletics.
Williams (14-8) gave up only three hits while throwing 63 of 89 pitches for strikes. Steven Kwan had three hits and Cade Smith earned his 39th save as the Guardians swept the series and remain atop the American League Central.
A’s starter Jack Perkins (3-12) gave up five hits and one run in six innings. Zack Gelof had two of the team’s six hits as the Athletics suffered their sixth straight loss
Dodgers 3, Giants 1
Emmet Sheehan pitched brilliantly in long relief, Enrique Hernandez broke a seventh-inning tie with a run-scoring double and Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep of visiting San Francisco.
Tommy Edman homered for the Dodgers, who trailed 1-0 after one inning before Sheehan took over to start the second and held the Giants to just one hit with nine strikeouts over the next 5 1/3 scoreless innings.
Jung Hoo Lee and Victor Bericoto singled for the only hits for the Giants, who completed their road schedule with a 28-53 record. Sam Hentges (1-7) allowed a pair of one-out singles in the seventh before Hernandez’s double for a 2-1 edge.
Padres 7, Marlins 3
Jake Cronenworth homered twice and knocked in a season-high five runs while Fernando Tatis Jr. also homered as host San Diego polished off a three-game sweep and finished 6-0 against Miami this season.
The Padres won their fifth straight game and are 13-1 in their last 14 games. Walker Buehler (9-6) worked 6 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and three runs.
Sandy Alcantara (13-11) absorbed the loss for the Marlins after permitting eight hits and four runs over six innings. Alcantara is winless in his last eight starts.
White Sox 8, Tigers 1
Chase Meidroth hit a two-run homer for Chicago and Sam Antonacci’s two-run double highlighted a 2-for-4 performance as the White Sox waited through a rain delay of nearly four hours and played in wet, blustery conditions to beat Detroit.
Five pitchers held the Tigers to six hits and five walks as Detroit was limited to a single run for the third time in the series. Huascar Brazoban (6-2), reinstated prior to the game from the 15-day injured list (left lat strain), pitched for the first time since Aug. 24. He allowed a hit in one inning to get his first victory with the White Sox.
Tigers starter Troy Melton (8-5) allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings, giving up four hits before exiting with a trainer. Detroit pitchers allowed eight walks, with White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas (1-for-2) drawing three of them. Eduardo Valencia went 3-for-4 for the Tigers, who were eliminated from postseason contention.
(–Field Level Media)
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