By Field Level Media
Sep 23 (Field Level Media) – Drew Rasmussen allowed one hit in 6 2/3 outstanding innings and the visiting Tampa Bay Rays clinched the American League East with a 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night in the nightcap of a day-night doubleheader.
The Rays won for the 20th time in 28 games and clinched their fifth division title. Tampa Bay last won the AL East in 2021 when it won a team-record 100 games. Yandy Diaz drove in four runs on a pair of singles.
Rasmussen (16-5) took a no-hitter into the seventh until Heliot Ramos opened the inning with a double to left for New York. Ramos eventually scored on an RBI single by rookie George Lombard Jr. off Kevin Kelly.
Rasmussen finished with 11 strikeouts for his fourth career double-digit strikeout performance. He finished two shy of his career-high set June 10 against the Boston Red Sox and the Rays won his 12th consecutive start.
Yankees 2, Rays 0 (Game 1)
Cody Bellinger hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning as host New York recorded a shutout over Tampa Bay in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.
With the victory, the Yankees temporarily prevented the Rays from clinching the AL East and moved six games ahead of the Boston Red Sox for the American League’s top wild-card spot.
New York’s Carlos Rodon (7-3) scattered three singles over eight innings as the Yankees finished off the victory in a brisk 2 hours, 2 minutes. Rodon struck out eight in his 100th career win and also reached 1,500 strikeouts for his career. Rays right-hander Nick Martinez (15-5) allowed two runs on five hits over six innings with seven strikeouts to take his first loss since July 9.
Dodgers 7, Padres 0
Freddie Freeman drove in three runs, Will Smith and Tommy Edman hit home runs, and Los Angeles inched closer to the best record in the National League with a shutout of visiting San Diego.
Eight Dodgers pitchers held down the red-hot Padres offense in a bullpen game, with Justin Wrobleski (12-5) earning the win. Roki Sasaki struck out two in one inning in his return from a blister issue. The Dodgers extended their home winning streak to 11 games.
Los Angeles moved to within one game of the NL-best Milwaukee Brewers and reduced its magic number for a top-two NL spot and a bye into the National League Division Series to one. Luis Campusano had two hits for the Padres, whose magic number to clinch a playoff spot remained at two.
Phillies 6, Brewers 4
Bryson Stott delivered the tiebreaking hit in the eighth inning to guide Philadelphia to a victory over visiting Milwaukee. Brandon Marsh homered and knocked in three runs as the Phillies lowered their magic number to two to clinch a postseason berth.
Zack Wheeler ended up with a no-decision after striking out 11 while giving up three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings. Wheeler struck out the first seven batters he faced, setting a Phillies record for consecutive strikeouts to begin a game. His first-inning strikeout of Brice Turang was the 2,000th of his career.
The Brewers saw their lead over the Dodgers for the top record in the majors shrink to one as they lost just the third time in their last 13 games. William Contreras knocked in three runs.
Marlins 8, Cubs 2 (12 innings)
Griffin Conine plated the go-ahead run that ignited a six-run 12th inning for visiting Miami, which snapped a three-game losing by beating Chicago and postponing the Cubs’ playoff celebration for at least a day.
On a night when runs were scarce until the final inning, both teams endured a pair of scoreless extra frames before Conine broke the drought with a leadoff, golf-shot single off Caleb Thielbar that fell just inside the left field line. Esteury Ruiz, the automatic runner, scored from second to make it 3-2 as the Marlins sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning.
The Cubs could have clinched a wild-card playoff spot with a win or Arizona loss, but neither of those happened keeping the Diamondbacks mathematically alive. Josh Ekness (3-4) struck out a pair in the 11th inning to get the win while Thielbar (3-4) gave up three runs — two earned — in his inning of work.
Guardians 3, Red Sox 2
Nathaniel Lowe drove in Chase DeLauter with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning and Cleveland held on to beat host Boston in the first game of a three- game series.
Cleveland not only extended its winning streak to six but maintained its one- game lead over the Chicago White Sox for first place in the AL Central.
Parker Messick held Boston to one run on five hits in five innings, his 14th straight start allowing three runs or fewer. Payton Tolle started for the Red Sox and gave up two runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings as the Guardians went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 15.
White Sox 14, Royals 11
Chase Meidroth smacked a three-run home run among his three hits and drove in five, and Brenton Doyle, Randal Grichuk and Munetaka Murakami also homered to power Chicago past host Kansas City.
Chicago won for the fourth time in five games to remain one game behind the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians. The White Sox, who hold the third and final AL wild-card spot, reduced their magic number to earn a playoff berth to three.
Vinnie Pasquantino hit a ninth-inning grand slam for the Royals, who lost their fifth straight. He went 3-for-5 with a double and also drove in five.
Nationals 3, Tigers 1
CJ Abrams hit a pair of home runs and drove in all three runs as visiting Washington topped Detroit. Abrams reached 100 RBIs for the season with his solo shot in the second inning, then broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh with his 33rd long ball of the season, a two-run blast.
Dylan Crews had two hits and scored the other run for the Nationals. Rookie Jackson Kent (2-4) earned the win in long relief. He allowed one run on six hits over four innings and struck out three. Opener Riley Cornelio lasted 2 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking three.
Ben Malgeri scored the Tigers’ only run. Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark each had two hits.
Pirates 2, Cardinals 0
Jared Jones and two relievers combined on a one-hitter as Pittsburgh beat visiting St. Louis for a fifth straight win. Jones (5-6) lowered his ERA to 1.08 in four September starts and struck out nine with zero walks over seven innings while throwing 63 of his 86 pitches for strikes.
Pittsburgh broke a scoreless tie with two outs in the sixth inning on Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI single against Andre Pallante (12-8). Pallante allowed one run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts over six innings.
St. Louis struck out 14 times and lost for the fifth time in its last six games.
Astros 7, Mariners 0
Christian Walker hit a three-run home run, Yordan Alvarez launched a two-run homer and Isaac Paredes added a solo shot as Houston slugged and pitched its way past host Seattle.
Jose Altuve, Yainer Diaz, Alvarez and Paredes each collected two hits for the Astros, who pulled into a first-place tie with the Texas Rangers in the West. Five Astros pitchers combined to throw a four-hit shutout. Miguel Ullola (1-0) earned his first major league win, allowing one hit and striking out two over two innings of relief.
Julio Rodriguez notched two hits for Seattle. The Mariners went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine.
Reds 4, Braves 0
Brandon Williamson fired six scoreless innings and Cincinnati supported him with three solo homers to defeat host Atlanta in the opener of a three-game series.
Cincinnati ended a two-game losing streak and evened the season series with Atlanta at 2-2. Williamson (5-4) worked six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two strikeouts. Elly De La Cruz (29), Dane Myers (8) and Eugenio Suarez (25) each hit a home run for the Reds. It was Suarez’s 350th career homer, making him the 10th active player to reach that mark.
Atlanta starter JR Ritchie (1-4) pitched five innings and allowed one run on four hits and three walks. The rookie struck out a career-high eight batters.
Mets 6, Rangers 3
Francisco Alvarez laced a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth, then scored an insurance run on an unusual sacrifice fly for visiting New York, who damaged Texas’ playoff hopes with a win in the opener of a three-game interleague series in Arlington.
Juan Soto had an RBI single in the third, and Carson Benge capped the scoring with a run-scoring double in the seventh for the Mets. The club won hours after removing the interim tag from manager Andy Green and signing him to a three-year extension.
Josh Jung had an RBI double in the third, and Elias Diaz and Wyatt Langford lofted sacrifice flies in the fourth for the Rangers, who entered Tuesday with a one-game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL West.
Diamondbacks 7, Rockies 2
Nolan Arenado homered and doubled among his three hits, Michael Soroka tossed seven strong innings, and Arizona kept its slim postseason hopes alive with a win over host Colorado in Denver.
Geraldo Perdomo also had three hits and Ildemaro Vargas finished with two hits for Arizona, which remains alive in the NL wild-card race, sitting four games behind Philadelphia, San Diego and the Chicago Cubs for the third and final spot with five games to go.
Mickey Moniak homered for Colorado, which finished with just three hits and just one after the third inning. The Rockies (57-100) are the first team to lose 100 or more games in four straight seasons since the 1962-65 New York Mets.
Twins 3, Giants 2
Walker Jenkins homered, Luke Keaschall contributed both offensively and defensively, and Minnesota evened its road interleague series against San Francisco.
Taj Bradley (12-6) combined with four relievers on a six-hitter for the Twins, who used two late diving catches by Keaschall in right field to prevent the Giants from taking the first two of the series.
Bradley allowed just one other hit — a fifth-inning single by Drew Gilbert — in his six innings. He walked three and struck out six. Keaschall’s one-out triple scored Ryan Kreidler, then Brooks Lee gave Minnesota the lead for good with a run-scoring single to plate Keaschall.
A’s 9, Angels 7
Carlos Cortes hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Athletics overcame a six-run deficit to beat Los Angeles in West Sacramento, Calif.
In addition to the homer off Sam Bachman, Cortes also delivered a pinch-hit RBI triple in the seventh, helping the Athletics end a six-game losing streak. Zack Gelof hit a two-run homer later in the eighth for the A’s. Shea Langeliers and Lawrence Butler each had three hits and an RBI for the Athletics.
Denzer Guzman homered and drove in four RBIs for the Angels, who have lost four of their last six games. Mike Trout added three hits and two runs for Los Angeles (60-97), which has never lost 100 games in a season.
Blue Jays at Orioles, ppd.
The scheduled game between Toronto and host Baltimore was postponed due to ongoing inclement weather. The game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Wednesday, with games starting at 1:35 p.m. and 6:35 p.m. ET.
(–Field Level Media)
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