Freddie Freeman homered twice, Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages also went deep and the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled to their 12th National League West title in 13 seasons with an 8-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon in Phoenix.
The Dodgers clinched home-field advantage for a best-of-three wild-card series that opens Tuesday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-8) allowed four hits and two walks in six innings to drop his ERA to 2.49, second best in the National League.
Ohtani’s two-run homer in the fourth was his 54th, giving him 108 in his first two seasons with the Dodgers. He is one short of Alex Rodriguez (Texas Rangers, 2001-02) for the second most by a player in his first two seasons with an organization. Babe Ruth had 113 for the New York Yankees in 1920-21.
Diamondbacks opener Jalen Beeks (5-3) departed after allowing Freeman’s leadoff homer in the second. Nabil Crismatt came in and surrendered seven hits and seven runs (five earned) over three innings as the Diamondbacks dropped two games behind the New York Mets for the NL’s final wild-card spot.
Tigers 4, Guardians 2
Jahmai Jones, Wenceel Perez and Riley Greene hit solo homers in the first four innings as Detroit defeated Cleveland to snap an eight-game losing streak and forge a first-place tie in the AL Central. The Guardians hold the tiebreaker.
Six Tigers pitchers combined for a five-hitter. Brant Hurter (4-3) got four outs, and Will Vest struck out the side in the ninth for his 22nd save.
Jose Ramirez stroked an RBI double in the eighth, which set the Guardians’ career record for most extra-base hits with 726. Parker Messick (3-1) allowed six hits and four runs over five innings.
Yankees 5, White Sox 3
Giancarlo Stanton hit a go-ahead bases-clearing double with one out in the fifth inning and New York stayed tied atop the American League East with a victory over visiting Chicago.
The Yankees won their fifth straight game and remained even with Toronto atop the division. Aaron Judge had two hits and drew two intentional walks. He ended the night with a major-league-best .330 average and an AL-record 36 intentional free passes. Carlos Rodon (18-9) allowed three runs on four hits in six innings.
Michael A. Taylor hit a two-run homer for the White Sox, who have lost five in a row. Chicago reliever Tyler Gilbert (4-2) gave up one run in 1 2/3 innings.
Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 1
Daulton Varsho hit a grand slam as Toronto defeated visiting Boston to salvage the finale of the three-game series.
Varsho’s second grand slam of the season snapped a 0-0 tie in the sixth. George Springer added a two-run homer later in the inning.
The Red Sox needed a win to clinch a postseason spot after taking the first two games of the series. Jarren Duran led off the seventh with a double to break a 0-for-12 personal drought and give the Red Sox their first runner of the game. Trevor Story followed with an RBI single.
Reds 2, Pirates 1
Nick Lodolo threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings and Noelvi Marte robbed a game-tying home run in the ninth as host Cincinnati remained a game behind the New York Mets for the final National League wild-card spot.
Lodolo (9-8) posted a career-high-tying 12 strikeouts while scattering two hits and one walk before leaving in the seventh with a groin injury. Emilio Pagan set down the side in the ninth for his 30th save — highlighted by Marte’s leaping grab over the right field wall to take away a homer from Bryan Reynolds.
Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft (4-4) allowed two runs and eight hits over 4 1/3 innings. Spencer Horwitz’ pinch-hit double in the eighth set the table for Pittsburgh’s lone run.
Mets 8, Cubs 5
Brett Baty belted a three-run homer, Francisco Lindor also went deep and rookie Nolan McLean struck out 11 batters, fueling visiting New York to a victory over Chicago.
Lindor recorded his second career 30-homer, 30-stolen base season after his solo shot in the third inning. Brandon Nimmo had three hits and an RBI. McLean (5-1) gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings, and Edwin Diaz secured his 28th save of the season.
The Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki launched a solo shot in the fourth inning and added a three-run blast in the sixth. Shota Imanaga (9-8) permitted eight runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Phillies 1, Marlins 0
Walker Buehler and three relievers combined on a five-hitter as Philadelphia nipped visiting Miami. With its second straight loss, the Marlins were eliminated from postseason contention.
Buehler (10-7) pitched five scoreless innings to help Philadelphia move within two games of idle Milwaukee for the top seed in the National League playoffs. David Robertson earned his second save. Alec Bohm, who went 2-for-4, drove in the lone run of the game with a first-inning groundout.
Miami starter Janson Junk (6-4) allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings. Troy Johnston had two of the Marlins’ five hits.
Astros 11, Athletics 5
Framber Valdez allowed just one run over seven innings and Christian Walker’s homer highlighted a 12-hit attack as Houston snapped a five-game losing streak and earned a crucial win over the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif.
Houston remains one game behind Detroit for the final American League wild-card spot. Valdez (13-11) fanned 10 and scattered seven hits while snapping a personal four-start losing streak. Walker produced two hits and three RBIs while Jose Altuve, Isaac Paredes and Carlos Correa drove in two runs apiece.
Nick Kurtz cracked his 34th and 35th homers for the Athletics while Shea Langeliers went 4-for-5 out of the leadoff spot. J.T. Ginn (4-7) surrendered seven runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Orioles 6, Rays 5
Dylan Beavers homered on the first pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to complete a comeback as Baltimore defeated Tampa Bay to win its home finale. Ryan Mountcastle and Coby Mayo also homered for the Orioles, who trailed 5-2 in the eighth.
Reliever Keegan Akin (5-4) earned the win with a scoreless inning in the rubber match. Kevin Kelly (2-5), who gave up two home runs and a triple among the four batters he faced, took the loss.
Drew Rasmussen started for the Rays, leaving after 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Orioles starter Cade Povich was charged with five runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Twins 4, Rangers 0
Byron Buxton drove in all four runs with a pair of homers and Bailey Ober faced just one batter over the minimum during his six-inning stint as Minnesota took the rubber match of the three-game set in Arlington, Texas.
For the second day in a row, Buxton led off the game with a home run. He added a three-run shot in the eighth. Ober (6-9) scattered two hits and one walk while fanning five in his only scoreless outing of the season.
Rangers starter Tyler Mahle (6-4) gave up five hits and one walk over five innings as he finished with an 0.84 ERA in 10 starts at home. Texas managed just three hits.
