Ceddanne Rafaela hit a walk-off triple off the center-field wall in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Red Sox a 4-3 win over the visiting Detroit Tigers and clinching a playoff berth for Boston on Friday night.
The Red Sox (88-72) scored in each of the last three innings while overcoming a 3-0 deficit and ending a three-year postseason drought with the win.
The Tigers (86-74), who have lost nine of 10, remained tied for first place in the American League Central with the Guardians (86-74), who hold the tiebreaker advantage over Detroit. The Tigers retained a one-game lead for the third and final American League wild card over the Astros (85-75). Detroit has the tiebreaker edge over Houston. If the Tigers win twice this weekend to tie Boston for the second AL wild card, Detroit would capture that tiebreaker.
Romy Gonzalez hit a one-out single into center field and scored the winning run. It was Boston’s 12th walk-off win of the season, tied for the second most in franchise history. Rafaela (2-for-4) had a pair of extra-base hits, while Masataka Yoshida was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Spencer Torkelson, Dillon Dingler and Javier Baez each had two hits for Detroit (86-74), which has lost nine of 10. Tommy Kahnle (1-5) allowed two hits, including the deciding run in the ninth.
Yankees 8, Orioles 4
Giancarlo Stanton hit two-run homers in consecutive at-bats and drove in five runs as host New York beat Baltimore and remained tied for first place in the American League East.
The Yankees won their sixth straight and are tied with the Toronto Blue Jays in first place for the third straight day. Stanton and Aaron Judge homered in the same game for the 58th time. New York is 51-7 when the sluggers go deep in the same game.
Baltimore starter Trevor Rogers allowed a season-high six runs on three hits in three innings to snap a personal five-game winning streak.
Blue Jays 4, Rays 2
Nathan Lukes homered and drove in three runs to help Toronto defeat visiting Tampa Bay in the opener of a three-game series. Lukes’ two-run blast in the fifth broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Blue Jays their second consecutive win after they had lost six out of seven.
The Blue Jays remained tied for first atop the American League East after the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. Toronto holds the tiebreaker with New York.
Junior Caminero had two hits, including a homer, and Jonathan Aranda also homered for the Rays.
Reds 3, Brewers 1
Gavin Lux doubled twice to start two rallies as visiting Cincinnati pulled into a tie for the final National League wild-card spot with a victory over Milwaukee.
Cincinnati is now level with the New York Mets, who lost at Miami 6-2 on Friday, and the Reds hold the tiebreaker. Zack Littell and four Cincinnati relievers combined on a three-hitter. Littell allowed one run on three hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Milwaukee, which previously won the NL Central and clinched a first-round bye, has a magic number of one over Philadelphia to secure the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage for the entire postseason. Quinn Priester (13-3), who had won a franchise-record 12 consecutive decisions, gave up three runs on nine hits in five-plus innings.
Cubs 12, Cardinals 1
Powered by four home runs, Chicago crushed visiting St. Louis and moved closer to securing home-field advantage in next week’s National League wild-card series.
Chicago reduced its magic number to earn the top NL wild card to one. One more win by the Cubs or one more defeat by San Diego would mean the two teams would play their wild-card series in Chicago. Colin Rea (11-7) struck out seven and allowed just two hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, earning his first win since Aug. 20. Cardinals starter Mike Mikolas (8-11) went five innings, allowing four runs and four hits.
The Cubs took full advantage of the wind blowing out to center field, with Nico Hoerner, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki all going deep. Three of those blasts came off Mikolas, who gave up six homers in a July 4 loss, also in Chicago.
Marlins 6, Mets 2
Heriberto Hernandez lofted a game-tying triple and pinch hitter Connor Norby smashed a homer that capped a six-run fifth inning as host Miami rallied to hand New York a costly loss.
The Mets ended the night tied with Cincinnati in the battle for the final National League wild-card spot. The Reds, who beat the Milwaukee Brewers, hold the tiebreaker over New York. Miami has been eliminated from contention, but the Marlins are 6-5 against the Mets this season.
Sandy Alcantara (11-12) earned the win, pitching seven-plus innings and allowing six hits and two runs. New York took a lead on the game’s second pitch as Francisco Lindor pulled a 392-foot homer to right-center. It was Lindor’s 31st homer of the season and his 31st career leadoff dinger.
Phillies 3, Twins 1
Aaron Nola pitched eight terrific innings and Jhoan Duran earned the save against his former team as Philadelphia edged visiting Minnesota.
Nola (5-10) allowed just one run and two hits while striking out nine, helping Philadelphia move within one game of Milwaukee for the top spot in the National League playoffs. Duran allowed a pair of singles in the ninth before closing the door for his 32nd save, his 16th for the Phillies. Philadelphia’s Edmundo Sosa homered and singled.
Twins starter Joe Ryan (13-10) struck out nine batters in five innings while yielding two runs. Christian Vazquez went 2-for-3 with a home run.
Rangers 7, Guardians 3
Alejandro Osuna belted a three-run homer in a four-run first inning and Jack Leiter matched his career high with 10 strikeouts, sending visiting Texas to a victory over Cleveland.
The Guardians remained tied with the Detroit Tigers atop the American League Central Division and had their magic number for clinching a playoff berth stay at two.
Leiter (10-10) worked a career-high tying seven innings, limiting the Guardians to two runs on four hits and a walk. Rangers starter Slade Cecconi lost for the first time in eight starts since an Aug. 16 defeat to the Atlanta Braves, giving up four runs on five hits.
White Sox 10, Nationals 9
Colson Montgomery hit a two-run ninth-inning homer and visiting Chicago rallied past Washington, overcoming six home runs for a win after blowing a seven-run lead.
With one out in the ninth, Kyle Teel grounded to reliever Jose A. Ferrer (4-4), who dropped the ball while running toward first for an error. Montgomery then homered to right-center to give Chicago the lead. Lenyn Sosa had a homer, double and single and drove in three runs for the White Sox, who had lost five straight.
For the Nationals, who committed four errors, Luis Garcia Jr. hit three home runs while CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile and Josh Bell also went deep.
Pirates 9, Braves 3
Spencer Horwitz hit two home runs to help visiting Pittsburgh roll to a win at Atlanta.
Horwitz finished 3-for-3 with two walks and four RBIs to pace the Pirates’ 14-hit attack. Tommy Pham also went deep. Reliever Yohan Ramirez (3-3) got one out for the win.
Braves starter Joey Wentz (5-7) pitched four-plus innings and allowed four runs on eight hits. Matt Olson and Michael Harris II homered for Atlanta, with Harris reaching the 20-homer, 20-steal mark.
Padres 7, Diamondbacks 4
Fernando Tatis Jr. belted a grand slam and San Diego kept its hopes of hosting a wild-card series alive with a win over visiting Arizona.
The Padres are two games behind the Chicago Cubs with two games left. San Diego has to sweep Arizona and hope the Cubs lose twice to the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend or else the Padres will have to play the wild-card round in Chicago.
Tatis unloaded in the bottom of the fourth on a 3-2 fastball from Zac Gallen, drilling the pitch into the second deck in left for his 24th homer of the year. The blast capped a five-run inning that included an RBI single from Ryan O’Hearn. The Diamondbacks were eliminated from playoff contention.
Dodgers 3, Mariners 2
Enrique Hernandez hit a two-run homer as Los Angeles won at Seattle Mariners in a matchup of West Division champions.
Justin Wrobleski (5-5) pitched two scoreless innings of relief as the Dodgers earned a third straight win. Tanner Scott got his 23rd save despite a hairy ninth inning.
The Mariners had a seven-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the second time in 19 games. Seattle also had a franchise-record-tying streak of 11 straight home wins come to an end. George Kirby (10-8) gave up two runs and fanned 10 in five innings.
Angels 4, Astros 3
Mike Trout hit a pair of solo homers, including a tiebreaking shot to begin the eighth inning, and Los Angeles dealt Houston a critical blow to its playoff hopes with a victory in Anaheim, Calif.
Trout has homered three times in his last two games for Los Angeles, which battled back from an early 3-0 deficit in the opener of a three-game series. Denzer Guzman had two hits, including an RBI double. Brock Burke (7-1) pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the win. Kenley Jansen struck out the side in the ninth for his 29th save.
Houston lost for the sixth time in its last seven games and trails the Detroit Tigers by one game for the final American League wild-card spot with two games to play. The Astros must win both of their final regular-season games and have either Detroit or the Cleveland Guardians lose their last two games in order to reach the postseason.
Athletics 4, Royals 3
Shea Langeliers hit the tiebreaking double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Athletics a walk-off victory over Kansas City at West Sacramento, Calif.
Jacob Wilson delivered a three-run double to help the cause as the Athletics won for the 10th time in their past 14 games.
Jonathan India smacked a three-run homer for the Royals, who lost for the third time in five games.
Giants 6, Rockies 3
Willy Adames and Heliot Ramos hit home runs, Trevor McDonald recorded his first career win and San Francisco overpowered visiting Colorado in the opener of a season-ending three-game series.
Adames launched a two-run homer in the first inning and Ramos a three-run shot in the second, giving the Giants a comfortable lead in a second straight win that kept their hopes of a .500 season alive. The homer by Adames was his 29th of the season as he attempts to become the first Giant since Barry Bonds in 2004 to reach 30 in a single season.
Ezequiel Tovar produced all the Colorado scoring with a three-run homer, his ninth, in the fifth, one of just six hits the Rockies mustered against McDonald and two relievers. Colorado starter German Marquez (3-16) suffered his seventh straight defeat.
–Field Level Media
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