NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016, getting mathematically eliminated with a rainy 7-1 loss Sunday to the Arizona Diamondbacks as Zac Gallen got his 17th win.
Arizona won for the sixth time in seven games and remained in position for the NL’s second wild card, a half-game ahead of the Chicago Cubs. The Diamondbacks also clinched their first winning season since 2019.
On a windy, raining afternoon when fly balls became unpredictable, Gallen (17-8) allowed three hits in six innings, struck out eight and walked two. He won for the third time in four starts and had his eighth scoreless outing this season.
Tommy Pham and Christian Walker produced sacrifice flies on consecutive pitches in the first inning off Carlos Rodón (3-7). Rodón allowed five runs — three earned — and five hits in 6 1/3 innings.
NATIONALS 3, BRAVES 2, GAME 1
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jackson Rutledge earned his first major league victory while combining with three relievers on a six-hitter, and Washington defeated Atlanta in the first game of a doubleheader.
Sean Murphy homered for Atlanta, which was denied in its first attempt to win its 100th game of the season.
Jacob Young drove in two runs for last-place Washington, which had lost two in a row and eight of its last 11.
Rutledge (1-1) allowed three hits and struck out four over five innings in his third career start. Kyle Finnegan allowed a homer in the ninth, but earned his 27th save.
Atlanta starter Allan Winans (1-2), who was recalled Sunday from Triple-A Gwinnett, surrendered two runs and seven hits in five innings. He struck out six in his fifth start for the Braves.
ORIOLES 5, GUARDIANS 1
CLEVELAND (AP) — Kyle Gibson pitched seven strong innings, Adley Rutschman reached base four times and Baltimore moved closer to clinching the AL East title.
Baltimore has a 2 1/2-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the division and reduced its magic number to three. Baltimore has six games remaining and holds the tiebreaker over the Rays.
Gibson (15-9) allowed one run and five hits while striking out four. The right-hander was pulled after a leadoff double in the eighth.
The Guardians’ Triston McKenzie (0-2), activated from the 60-day injured list before the game, issued a career-high six walks in 1 2/3 innings. He allowed three runs and didn’t strike out a batter.
BLUE JAYS 9, RAYS 5
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — George Springer hit an inside-the-park, three-run homer, made a diving catch and threw out a runner, helping Toronto beat Tampa to take two of three in a series of potential playoff opponents.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered twice, making an impressive bat flip after the second, and Bo Bichette also went deep for the Blue Jays. Toronto extended its lead for the second AL wild card to two games over Houston and 2 1/2 games ahead of Seattle.
Isaac Paredes hit his 30th homer for Tampa Bay, which has clinched at the least the AL’s top wild card.
Rays starter Taj Bradley (5-8) retired 10 in a row after Springer’s homer. The rookie allowed six runs and seven hits in a career-high seven innings.
Toronto starter Yusei Kikuchi was pulled after allowing three runs and nine hits over four innings. Trevor Richards (2-1) worked two scoreless innings for the win.
MARLINS 6, BREWERS 1
MIAMI (AP) — Jon Berti had his second career multihomer game, and Miami beat Milwaukee, the second straight day they prevented the Brewers from clinching the NL Central.
Josh Bell also went deep, Jorge Soler had three hits and Jazz Chisholm Jr. doubled twice for the Marlins, who remained one game behind the Chicago Cubs for the third NL wild card spot. Milwaukee’s division lead over the second-place Cubs was cut to six games.
Marlins starter Edward Cabrera (7-7) allowed one run and five hits in five-plus innings with five strikeouts.
Berti homered in the second on a slider from Freddy Peralta (12-10), who gave up four runs and nine hits in three innings.
RANGERS 6, MARINERS 8
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Marcus Semien homered twice, Corey Seager had a go-ahead, two-run shot and Texas held on to finish a three-game sweep in a crucial AL West series.
Adolis García, Leody Taveras and rookie Evan Carter also went deep as the Rangers hit a season-high six homers, their most at four-season-old Globe Life Field.
AL West-leading Texas (85-70) won its fifth consecutive game and moved 2 1/2 games ahead of defending World Series champion Houston, which was swept at home by Kansas City. Seattle (84-71) trails Houston by a half-game for the third and final wild card.
Nathan Eovaldi (12-4) won for the first time since July 18, making his fifth start since missing seven weeks with a right forearm strain. He left with the bases loaded and a 7-2 lead in the sixth, but ended up allowing five runs in five innings. José Leclerc finished for his fourth save.
Mariners starter Bryan Woo (4-5) matched the six runs he allowed his debut against the Rangers in 3 1/3 innings.
ROYALS 6, ASTROS 5
HOUSTON (AP) — Nelson Velázquez hit two home runs and Salvador Perez and Matt Duffy also homered as Kansas City built a big lead early and held on for a win over slumping Houston.
Kansas City has won six straight games and 10 of 11. The Royals raced to a 6-2 lead after tagging rookie Hunter Brown (11-13) for all four homers in just three innings.
Yordan Alvarez hit a solo homer to cut the lead to one run in the fifth. But the defending World Series champions couldn’t do anything after that on a day they went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and lost for the fifth time in six games.
Steven Cruz opened the game for the Royals and allowed three hits and run in an inning before Alec Marsh (3-8) took over. He allowed three hits and four runs — three earned — with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings for the win.
It’s the fifth win in a row for the 102-loss Royals, who took five of six from the Astros this season.
TWINS 9, ANGELS 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Ryan Jeffers homered, tripled and drove in three runs to back a strong outing by Joe Ryan as Minnesota pulled away late to beat Los Angeles.
After a 50-minute rain delay, Jeffers and Max Kepler each hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to help the Twins expand a one-run lead.
Los Angeles reliever Carson Fulmer (0-1), making his first major league appearance since 2021, allowed three runs over four innings to take the loss.
Ryan (11-10) tied Pablo López for the team lead in wins. He pitched six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts — one shy of his career high. It was the sixth time Ryan struck out 10 batters this seasons.
CUBS 4, ROCKIES 3
CHICAGO (AP) — Patrick Wisdom put Chicago ahead with a two-run homer in the sixth inning, Seiya Suzuki had two hits and scored twice, and the Cubs helped their playoff chances by beating Colorado.
Yan Gomes also drove in two runs for the Cubs, who remained a game in front of Miami for the National League’s final postseason berth. Chicago is a half-game behind Arizona for the second of three wild cards.
Jordan Wicks (4-1) allowed three runs over six innings for Chicago in its final home game of the regular season. The Cubs have won three straight after dropping seven of eight.
Brendan Rodgers and Nolan Jones homered for the Rockies in their franchise-record 99th loss.
Gomes’ sacrifice fly pulled the Cubs within 3-2 in the sixth. Wisdom followed with his 22nd homer of the season, a 432-foot drive that chased Ty Blach (3-3). Blach gave up four runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
REDS 4, PIRATES 2
CINCINNATI (AP) — TJ Friedl hit a two-run homer and drove in the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning as Cincinnati bounced back from a historic collapse the night before to beat Pittsburgh.
Joey Votto received ovations from the crowd all day and singled in what could be his final home at-bat for the Reds.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand added a solo homer for Cincinnati, which stayed 2 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs for the final National League wild card. The Reds have five games remaining, all on the road.
Jose Hernandez (1-2) took the loss. Lucas Sims (7-3) earned the win for Cincinnati. Ian Gibaut earned his second save.
Reds left-hander Brandon Williamson retired 12 of his first 14 batters before Jack Suwinski led off the fifth with a home run, his 26th of the season.
PADRES 12, CARDINALS 2
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Juan Soto hit a 461-foot homer and had four RBIs for San Diego, which was pushed closer to elimination from the playoff picture even as it beat St. Louis in its home finale.
Right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. made a spectacular leaping catch to rob pinch-hitter Michael Siani of a home run in the sixth. Tatis did a little dance and acknowledged the crowd’s ovation.
Jose Azocar also homered for the Padres, who had nine extra-base hits in winning for the ninth time in 10 games. Their best stretch of the season is likely coming too late as they moved closer to elimination from the wild-card race after the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks both won.
Soto hit a three-run homer off lefty Drew Rom (1-4) in the first inning, his 33rd. Rom allowed eight runs, six earned, and 11 hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Michael Wacha (13-4) held the Cardinals to two runs and six hits in seven innings while striking out six and walking one against his original team. His only big mistake was allowing Luken Baker’s two-run homer in the seventh, his second.
WHITE SOX 3, RED SOX 2
BOSTON (AP) — Mike Clevinger pitched six solid innings, Elvis Andrus had a two-run double and Chicago beat Boston in a rain-shortened game, ending a string of 12 straight series losses.
Adam Duvall and Wilyer Abreu each hit a solo homer for the Red Sox, who are on pace to finish in the AL East basement for the third time in four years.
The umpires called for the tarp after the sixth and it was called after a 1 hour, 43-minute delay.
Clevinger (9-8) gave up two runs and five hits without striking out or walking a batter.
Playing with rain falling most of the time for the second straight day, the White Sox scored twice with just one hit against Kutter Crawford (6-8).
TIGERS 2, ATHLETICS 0
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Eduardo Rodriguez threw seven scoreless innings and Detroit beat the last-placed Oakland in its last home game.
Spencer Torkelson had two hits and drove in the only runs in the game with a two-run single in the third.
The A’s (48-108) lost for the ninth time in 11 games and tied the Oakland-era record for most losses in a season, initially set in 1979. The A’s also tied the franchise mark of 55 home losses.
Rodriguez (12-9) left his previous outing last Monday due to back spasms. He was mostly sharp in his return despite four walks. He allowed five hits and did not allow a run while pitching seven innings or more for the sixth time this season.
Jason Foley retired two batters and Alex Lange got the final four outs for his 25th save.
Athletics starter JP Sears (5-13) had seven strikeouts and allowed two runs and six hits in five innings. The ironman of the A’s rotation, Sears threw 97 pitches and walked two in his 31st start of the season.
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