SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to clinch a playoff spot in the pandemic-shortened season, beating the San Diego Padres 7-5 Wednesday behind Dustin May’s gutty effort out of the bullpen and home runs from AJ Pollock and Chris Taylor.Will Smith drove in three runs for the seven-time defending NL West champion Dodgers, who opened a 3 1/2-game lead in the division by winning two of three in the matchup of the NL’s two best teams.Mookie Betts tied his career high with three stolen bases, had two hits and scored a run.At 35-15, the Dodgers breezed into the expanded 16-team postseason field. Los Angeles is seeking its first World Series title since 1988.San Diego has lost two straight for the first time since mid-August.Manny Machado hit a solo homer in the eighth, his 14th of the season.Starter Brusdar Gasterol allowed a hit and a run in 1 1/3 innings before Adam Kolarek (3-0) allowed a hit and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. Pedro Baez got the final two... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Jorge Alfaro homered twice before he took a foul ball to his helmet and the Miami Marlins beat the Boston Red Sox 8-4 on Wednesday night.Garrett Cooper also homered and scored twice for Miami, which moved within 2 1/2 games of first-place Atlanta in the NL East.Alfaro, the Marlins’ catcher, was removed in the seventh inning as a precaution after Christian Vázquez’s foul ball beaned him.Miami chased Boston starter Michael Kickham with a four-run third. Alfaro hit his first of two two-run blasts. Brian Anderson had a run-scoring single and scored from first on Lewis Brinson’s RBI double to make it 6-1.Alfaro also went deep in the fifth, a 412-foot shot to left-center off Robinson Leyer.Yimi Garcia (2-0) pitched a perfect eighth and was credited with the win even though he entered with an 8-4 lead. Brandon Kintzler was the sixth Miami reliever and worked a scoreless ninth.Miami starter Trevor Rogers was lifted after three innings and 76 pitches. Rogers allowed one run on three... [More]

Marlins first. Miguel Rojas flies out to center field to Alex Verdugo. Jesus Aguilar singles to left field. Brian Anderson called out on strikes. Garrett Cooper homers to center field. Jesus Aguilar scores. Lewis Brinson grounds out to third base, Rafael Devers to Bobby Dalbec.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on. Marlins 2, Red sox 0.Red sox third. Alex Verdugo singles to shallow center field. Rafael Devers hit by pitch. Alex Verdugo to second. Xander Bogaerts grounds out to shallow infield, Brian Anderson to Garrett Cooper. Rafael Devers to second. Alex Verdugo to third. J.D. Martinez out on a sacrifice fly to deep right field to Lewis Brinson. Rafael Devers to third. Alex Verdugo scores. Christian Vazquez walks. Yairo Munoz lines out to shallow infield, Trevor Rogers to Garrett Cooper.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 left on. Marlins 2, Red sox 1.Marlins third. Miguel Rojas doubles. Jesus Aguilar strikes out swinging. Brian Anderson singles to right field. Miguel Rojas scores. Garrett Cooper... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Braxton Garrett allowed three hits over five innings to win his major league debut, and the Miami Marlins beat the Phillies 8-1 to complete doubleheader sweep and leapfrog Philadelphia for second place in the NL East.Rookie Sixto Sánchez pitched a three-hitter over seven innings to win the opener 2-1, his first complete game in five major league starts.Garrett, a 23-year-old left-hander, was recalled as Miami’s 29th man. Garrett (1-0) allowed one run, struck out six and walked two, giving up a second-inning homer to Alex Bohm, who is 10 for 20 in the series.Starling Marte had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and Jesús Aguilar had two hits and two RBIs.Miami (23-21) has won four of the first six-games against the Phillies (23-22) in the major leagues’ first seven-game, regular-season series since 1967. The teams play again Monday.Zach Eflin (2-2) allowed four runs, eight hits and two walks in four-plus innings for the Phillies, who have lost five of seven.Aguilar, Matt... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Rookie Sixto Sánchez pitched a three-hitter over seven innings for his first complete game in five major league starts, leading the Miami Marlins over Philadelphia 2-1 Sunday in a doubleheader opener to close on the second-place Phillies in the NL East.Facing the organization that traded him before the 2019 season, Sanchez (3-1) struck out four, walked three and hit a batter. He became the second Marlins pitcher to go the distance by his fifth game. The Marlins acquired Sanchez and catcher Jorge Alfaro for catcher J.T. Realmuto, who did not play after getting banged up Saturday.Miami (22-20), in line for a playoff berth as a wild card, moved within a half-game of the Phillies (23-21). Zach Eflin (2-1) was to start the second game for Philadelphia, the next-to-last game of the major leagues' first seven-game, regular-season series since 1967.Rookie Ramón Rosso (0-1) made his first big league start after five relief appearances and allowed two runs, two hits and three walks in... [More]

Phillies second. Alec Bohm doubles to deep right field. Phil Gosselin grounds out to shallow infield, Isan Diaz to Garrett Cooper. Alec Bohm to third. Andrew Knapp out on a sacrifice fly to deep center field to Starling Marte. Alec Bohm scores. Adam Haseley lines out to second base to Isan Diaz.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Phillies 1, Marlins 0.Marlins third. Jazz Chisholm walks. Jorge Alfaro walks. Jazz Chisholm to second. Corey Dickerson singles to right field. Jorge Alfaro to second. Jazz Chisholm scores. Starling Marte singles to center field. Corey Dickerson to second. Jorge Alfaro scores. Matt Joyce flies out to deep right field to Bryce Harper. Corey Dickerson to third. Brian Anderson walks. Starling Marte to second. Garrett Cooper strikes out swinging. Isan Diaz called out on strikes.2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 left on. Marlins 2, Phillies 1.

Sept. 141903 — Red Ames’ debut with the New York Giants was a five-inning, 5-0, no-hit victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The game was called in mid-afternoon because of unusual darkness.1923 — Red Sox first baseman George Burns pulled off an unassisted triple play against the Cleveland Indians.1951 — Bob Nieman of the St. Louis Browns hit home runs in his first two at-bats in the majors. Both came off Boston Red Sox pitcher Maury McDermott. The Red Sox won 9-6.1968 — Denny McLain of the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland A’s 5-4 to become the first pitcher since Dizzy Dean in 1934 to win 30 games.1986 — Bob Brenly of San Francisco tied a major league record with four errors in one inning, but atoned with two homers, including the game-winner, to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Brenly, a catcher, was playing third base.1987 — Ernie Whitt hit three of Toronto’s major league record 10 home runs as the Blue Jays rolled to an 18-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore... [More]

Phillies first. Andrew McCutchen called out on strikes. Rhys Hoskins reaches on error. Fielding error by Brian Anderson. Bryce Harper walks. J.T. Realmuto walks. Bryce Harper to second. Rhys Hoskins to third. Didi Gregorius homers to right field. J.T. Realmuto scores. Bryce Harper scores. Rhys Hoskins scores. Jean Segura strikes out swinging. Alec Bohm grounds out to second base, Isan Diaz to Jesus Aguilar.4 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 left on. Phillies 4, Marlins 0.Phillies third. Bryce Harper homers to left field. J.T. Realmuto grounds out to shortstop, Miguel Rojas to Jesus Aguilar. Didi Gregorius grounds out to shallow infield, Miguel Rojas to Jesus Aguilar. Jean Segura lines out to left center field to Corey Dickerson.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 left on. Phillies 5, Marlins 0.Marlins fourth. Corey Dickerson strikes out swinging. Starling Marte strikes out on a foul tip. Jesus Aguilar singles to right center field. Matt Joyce walks. Jesus Aguilar to second. Brian Anderson homers to left field.... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Nate Lowe hit two homers and drove in four runs as Tampa Bay fielded a lineup of all lefties, Blake Snell worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings and the AL East-leading Rays routed the cellar-dwelling Boston Red Sox 11-1 on Friday night.Tampa Bay became the first major league team since at least 1900 to use a batting order with only left-handed batters, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.Snell (4-1) gave up five hits and two walks. He struck out five.Yoshi Tsutsugo also homered for the Rays, who stopped a three-game skid. Boston rookie Bobby Dalbec had his five-game home run streak end but had an RBI double in the ninth.Rays manager Kevin Cash stacked his lineup with lefties against right-hander Andrew Triggs, who made his second start with Boston.Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke quickly countered by removing Triggs after he allowed a hit and walk in a scoreless first. However, Tsutsugo started the second with a homer off lefty Matt Hall (0-3).Kevin Kiermaier had an RBI... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Aaron Nola gives his seven-inning complete game victory an asterisk. As for the doubleheader nightcap, the Philadelphia Phillies' bullpen remains a big question mark.Nola struck out 10 and went the distance for the first time in his career as Philadelphia handed the Miami Marlins their worst drubbing in two days, winning Friday's opener 11-0.The Phillies went with a bullpen game in the nightcap, and their struggling relief corps had another rocky night in a 5-3 loss. Jorge Alfaro had his fourth consecutive two-RBI game for the Marlins, who scored on three relievers.Officially, Nola's performance went in the books as a complete game.“I don’t feel like it counts,” he said. “Nine innings is a complete game. But I felt good today. I’m glad I finished it out.”With the split, the second-place Phillies remained half a game ahead of the third-place Marlins in the NL East. Miami's split came two days after they got routed 29-9 in Atlanta.GAME 1Nola (5-3) didn't allow a hit until Brian... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Nate Lowe hit two homers and drove in four runs as Tampa Bay fielded a lineup of all lefties, Blake Snell worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings and the AL East-leading Rays routed the cellar-dwelling Boston Red Sox 11-1 on Friday night.Tampa Bay became the first major league team since at least 1900 to use a batting order with only left-handed batters, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.Snell (4-1) gave up five hits and two walks. He struck out five.Yoshi Tsutsugo also homered for the Rays, who stopped a three-game skid. Boston rookie Bobby Dalbec had his five-game home run streak end but had an RBI double in the ninth.Rays manager Kevin Cash stacked his lineup with lefties against right-hander Andrew Triggs, who made his second start with Boston.Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke quickly countered by removing Triggs after he allowed a hit and walk in a scoreless first. However, Tsutsugo started the second with a homer off lefty Matt Hall (0-3).Kevin Kiermaier had an RBI... [More]

Phillies third. Andrew Knapp singles to right center field. Ronald Torreyes lines out to center field to Starling Marte. Andrew McCutchen singles to second base. Andrew Knapp to third. Rhys Hoskins grounds out to shallow infield, Daniel Castano to Garrett Cooper. Andrew McCutchen to second. Andrew Knapp scores. Bryce Harper walks. J.T. Realmuto pops out to shallow center field to Isan Diaz.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Phillies 1, Marlins 0.Marlins third. Miguel Rojas grounds out to shallow infield, Ronald Torreyes to Rhys Hoskins. Lewis Brinson homers to left field. Jorge Alfaro lines out to shallow right field to Rhys Hoskins. Corey Dickerson singles to first base. Starling Marte walks. Corey Dickerson to second. Jesus Aguilar pinch-hitting for Matt Joyce. Jesus Aguilar lines out to center field to Bryce Harper.1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on. Phillies 1, Marlins 1.Marlins fourth. Brian Anderson singles to shallow infield. Garrett Cooper singles to right field. Brian Anderson... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Jorge Alfaro had his fourth consecutive two-RBI game, and the Miami Marlins salvaged a split of their doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies by winning 5-3 Friday night.Alfaro's two-run single capped a three-run fourth for the Marlins. Yimi Garcia gave up a run for the first time this season but earned his first save since 2015.In the opener, Aaron Nola struck out 10 and went the distance for the first time in his career as the Phillies handed the Marlins their worst drubbing in two days, winning 11-0. Officially, the performance went in the books as a complete game.“I don’t feel like it counts,” Nola said. “Nine innings is a complete game. But I felt good today. I'm glad I finished it out.”While Nola cruised, Game 1 was another rough outing for Marlins pitchers, who gave up a National League record 29 runs against Atlanta on Wednesday.With the split, third-place Miami remained half a game behind the second-place Phillies in the NL East.GAME 1Nola (5-3) didn't allow... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Royals rookie Brady Singer allowed just one hit — a two-out single through an infield shift in the eighth inning — while pitching Kansas City to an 11-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.Making his ninth career start, the 24-year-old Singer (2-4) was four outs from becoming the 36th rookie to throw a no-hitter when Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges, who came in batting .148, bounced a single through a wide-open right side. The hit came on a full count and Singer’s 116th pitch.Maikel Franco and Adalberto Mondesi each hit a three-run homer for the Royals. Edward Olivares added a solo shot off Aaron Civale (3-5). Kansas City has won three straight since a seven-game losing streak.Franco also had a two-run single, giving him five RBIs.BRAVES 7, NATIONALS 6WASHINGTON (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered twice, Dansby Swanson hit a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning and Atlanta rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat Washington. Freeman tied the game at 6 in the seventh... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Royals rookie Brady Singer allowed just one hit — a two-out single through an infield shift in the eighth inning — while pitching Kansas City to an 11-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.Making his ninth career start, the 24-year-old Singer (2-4) was four outs from becoming the 36th rookie to throw a no-hitter when Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges, who came in batting .148, bounced a single through a wide-open right side. The hit came on a full count and Singer’s 116th pitch.Maikel Franco and Adalberto Mondesi each hit a three-run homer for the Royals. Edward Olivares added a solo shot off Aaron Civale (3-5). Kansas City has won three straight since a seven-game losing streak.Franco also had a two-run single, giving him five RBIs.BRAVES 7, NATIONALS 6WASHINGTON (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered twice, Dansby Swanson hit a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning and Atlanta rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat Washington. Freeman tied the game at 6 in the seventh... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Royals rookie Brady Singer allowed just one hit — a two-out single through an infield shift in the eighth inning — while pitching Kansas City to an 11-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.Making his ninth career start, the 24-year-old Singer (2-4) was four outs from becoming the 36th rookie to throw a no-hitter when Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges, who came in batting .148, bounced a single through a wide-open right side. The hit came on a full count and Singer’s 116th pitch.Maikel Franco and Adalberto Mondesi each hit a three-run homer for the Royals. Edward Olivares added a solo shot off Aaron Civale (3-5). Kansas City has won three straight since a seven-game losing streak.Franco also had a two-run single, giving him five RBIs.BRAVES 7, NATIONALS 6WASHINGTON (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered twice, Dansby Swanson hit a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning and Atlanta rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat Washington. Freeman tied the game at 6 in the seventh... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered twice, Dansby Swanson hit a go-ahead shot in the eighth inning and the Atlanta Braves rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Washington Nationals 7-6 on Thursday night. Freeman tied the game at 6 in the seventh with a 443-foot, two-run drive to right-center off Will Harris. Swanson’s solo shot off Tanner Rainey gave the Braves their first lead. After a scary bout with COVID-19 during the Braves’ summer camp, Freeman is among the major league leaders in OPS. He has five homers and 20 RBIs in his past seven games.Chris Martin got the win and Mark Melancon worked the ninth for his ninth save in 10 chances. Ronald Acuña Jr. also hit a two-run homer for the Braves, who weathered another ineffective outing from their makeshift rotation. Spot starter Robbie Erlin got five outs and allowed five extra-base hits.TIGERS 6, CARDINALS 3ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jeimer Candelario capped a two-homer day with a two-run, bases-loaded single in the seventh inning to help... [More]

Phillies first. Andrew McCutchen grounds out to shallow left field, Miguel Rojas to Jesus Aguilar. Rhys Hoskins singles to shallow infield. Bryce Harper walks. Rhys Hoskins to third. J.T. Realmuto grounds out to shortstop, Miguel Rojas to Jesus Aguilar. Rhys Hoskins scores. Didi Gregorius pops out to shallow right field to Jazz Chisholm.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on. Phillies 1, Marlins 0.Marlins first. Corey Dickerson walks. Starling Marte doubles to third base. Corey Dickerson scores. Jesus Aguilar walks. Matt Joyce called out on strikes. Brian Anderson strikes out swinging. Garrett Cooper lines out to deep left field to Andrew McCutchen.1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 left on. Phillies 1, Marlins 1.Phillies second. Jean Segura lines out to shortstop to Miguel Rojas. Andrew Knapp reaches on error. Fielding error by Jesus Aguilar. Alec Bohm singles to right center field, advances to 3rd. Andrew Knapp scores. Fielding error by Starling Marte. Adam Haseley singles to left center field. Alec... [More]

Marlins second. Garrett Cooper doubles to left field. Lewis Brinson strikes out swinging. Monte Harrison strikes out swinging. Jorge Alfaro singles to left field. Garrett Cooper scores. Jazz Chisholm triples to deep right center field. Jorge Alfaro scores. Miguel Rojas grounds out to second base, Ozzie Albies to Freddie Freeman.2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on. Marlins 2, Braves 0.Braves second. Dansby Swanson singles to deep left field. Austin Riley walks. Dansby Swanson to second. Adam Duvall walks. Austin Riley to second. Dansby Swanson to third. Ozzie Albies grounds out to first base, Garrett Cooper to Pablo Lopez. Adam Duvall to second. Austin Riley to third. Dansby Swanson scores. Ender Inciarte out on a sacrifice fly to deep left center field to Starling Marte. Adam Duvall to third. Austin Riley scores. Ronald Acuna Jr. walks. Freddie Freeman singles to right field. Ronald Acuna Jr. to third. Adam Duvall scores. Marcell Ozuna singles to left field. Freddie Freeman to third. Ronald... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Lance Lynn pitched seven strong innings, Elvis Andrus homered and the Texas Rangers snapped a six-game losing streak with a 7-1 win Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Angels, who had won five in a row.Lynn (5-2), the first major league pitcher to make 10 starts this season, struck out six, walked two and limited the Angels to one run on four hits. The right-hander had lost his previous two starts, allowing 10 runs (nine earned) — more than he had allowed combined his first seven starts. Andrus put the Rangers ahead to stay with a solo shot in the second. They went ahead 3-0 with two unearned runs in the fourth on second baseman Matt Thaiss’ two-out error. Andrew Heaney (3-3) allowed five runs (three earned) in five innings. He struck out four and walked one. Heaney had won his last two starts and had pitched 10 consecutive scoreless innings before Andrus went deep. The lefty also gave up five runs (over 3 2-3 innings) in his first start at the Rangers’ new ballpark... [More]