Baseball Capsules
September 25, 2015
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Kansas City clinched the AL Central for its first division title in 30 years, beating Seattle 10-4 on Thursday night.
Johnny Cueto picked up his first victory in nearly six weeks, and the win, coupled with Minnesota's loss to Cleveland, ensured the title. The Royals have dominated the division, leading by as many as 14 games.
It's the Royals' first division title since 1985, when they won the AL West en route to their only World Series championship.
The Kauffman Stadium announced crowd of 32,244 cheered when the Twins' final score was shown on the scoreboard in the top of the ninth.
Kansas City became the first team to wrap up a division title this year. St. Louis and Pittsburgh have secured playoff berths in the NL.
Cueto (3-6) was 0-5 in his previous six starts. Logan Kensing (1-1) took the loss.
ORIOLES 5, NATIONALS 4
Jonathan Schoop and Matt Wieters hit two-run homers and the Baltimore Orioles completed a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 5-4 victory Thursday.
Baltimore entered Thursday four games out of the second AL wild-card spot, while Washington began the day 6 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading New York Mets.
This was a makeup of a game postponed Monday because of rain.
Manny Machado's RBI single in the first inning and Schoop's two-run shot in the fourth gave the Orioles a 3-0 lead.
But Wilson Ramos' homer and Yunel Escobar's two run-scoring hits helped the Nationals go up 4-3.
Blake Treinen (2-4) came on for the eighth as Washington's fourth pitcher. Steve Pearce singled and Wieters followed with his seventh homer.
Mike Wright (3-5) got two outs in the seventh for the victory. Brad Brach threw a scoreless eighth, and Darren O'Day pitched the ninth for his sixth save of the season and third of the series.
DODGERS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 3
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Chris Heisey hit a grand slam in a six-run fifth inning and Los Angeles trimmed its magic number to four for the NL West.
Los Angeles increased its division lead to 7 1-2 games over the San Francisco Giants, who faced San Diego later.
Clayton Kershaw (15-7) had nine strikeouts while yielding six hits and three runs over five innings. He left trailing 3-0, but ended up with his fifth victory in six starts when the Dodgers rallied for their second straight win.
Howie Kendrick had a two-run single for the Dodgers.
Rookie Brandon Drury homered off Kershaw, and Paul Goldschmidt got his 19th RBI in his last 19 games against the Dodgers. Arizona would have to win its final nine games to avoid its fourth consecutive non-winning season.
Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 34th save.
Patrick Corbin (6-5) was in control until the fifth inning of his second loss to the Dodgers in 12 days.
YANKEES 3, WHITE SOX 2
NEW YORK (AP) - Carlos Beltran hit a three-run homer off White Sox ace Chris Sale to lead New York in its push for a playoff spot.
After a tribute before their first home game since Yogi Berra died, the Yankees closed within three games of idle Toronto in the AL East. New York cut its magic number to six for clinching at least a wild-card slot.
Beltran connected in the third inning for his 18th homer.
Michael Pineda (12-8) gave up one run, Trayce Thompson's homer, in six innings. He improved the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the AL, fanning six without a walk.
All-Star setup man Dellin Betances entered in the seventh with two on and two outs. He walked Melky Cabrera and Thompson to force home a run before striking out Adam LaRoche.
Andrew Miller pitched the ninth for his 35th save.
Sale (12-11) fell to 0-4 in his last six starts and the White Sox dropped their third straight.
METS 6, REDS 4
CINCINNATI (AP) - Daniel Murphy had three hits, including a tiebreaking triple in the seventh inning, as New York closed in on its first playoff appearance in nine years.
The victory, combined with Washington's loss to Baltimore, reduced the Mets' magic number for clinching the NL East title to three.
Steven Matz tried to extend his record-setting start with the Mets, but couldn't hold a 3-1 lead. He had allowed two or fewer runs in each of his first five starts - a club record - but gave up two RBI singles by Brandon Phillips and left with the game tied 3-all in the sixth.
Murphy's two-out triple off left-hander Manny Parra (1-2) started a three-run rally in the seventh. Yoenis Cespedes singled for another run, and Lucas Duda followed with his second RBI double of the game.
Erik Goeddel (1-1) retired the only batter he faced in the sixth. Jay Bruce hit a solo homer off Hansel Robles in the eighth, cutting it to 6-4. Jeurys Familia pitched the ninth for his 42nd save, one shy of Armando Benitez's club record from 2001.
CARDINALS 7, BREWERS 3
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Jhonny Peralta and Stephen Piscotty hit back-to-back homers and combined for seven RBIs to power St. Louis.
St. Louis has won five straight and holds a four-game lead over Pittsburgh for the NL Central lead.
The Cardinals trailed 3-0 in the fourth when Peralta hit a three-run homer into the bleachers in center field, and Piscotty followed two pitches later with a homer into the seats in left-center. The homer by Peralta, St. Louis' cleanup hitter, was his first since Aug. 1.
Piscotty added a two-run, two-out single off Taylor Jungmann (9-7) in the fifth and a run-scoring single in the seventh.
St. Louis, a major league-best 97-56, went 41 games over .500 for the first time.
Michael Wacha (17-6) worked five innings and allowed three runs, all in a 28-pitch first inning when he gave up three hits and walked two. Rookie Jason Rogers singled in Milwaukee's first run, and Hernan Perez drove in two with an opposite-field double grounded just fair down the right field line.
Five Cardinals relievers limited the Brewers to three singles over the final four innings.
RANGERS 8, ATHLETICS 1
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Cole Hamels pitched six innings to earn his fifth consecutive win and Prince Fielder hit his 22nd homer as Texas completed a three-game sweep.
The Rangers moved a season-high 14 games over .500 and extended their lead to 3 1/2 games over the idle Houston Astros in the AL West.
Adrian Beltre drove in three runs, and Delino DeShields had three hits and two RBIs for Texas.
Hamels (11-8) gave up an unearned run in the second and improved to 5-1 in 10 starts with the Rangers. Hamels allowed four hits, walked three and struck out two.
Josh Reddick singled and scored for Oakland, which has lost five straight and dropped 25 games under .500 for the first time since 1997.
Chris Bassitt (1-7) gave up three runs and six hits in three innings.
PIRATES 5, ROCKIES 4
DENVER (AP) - Pedro Alvarez hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning, and Pittsburgh earned their 10,000th win since joining the National League.
A day after clinching a playoff spot for the third straight season, the Pirates reached another momentous milestone.
Starling Marte collected four singles and finished 13 for 20 in the four-game sweep. It's the most hits in a four-game series for a Pirates player since Pie Traynor had 13 in 1928.
Alvarez had the big hit when he homered off Jairo Diaz (0-1).
Reliever Joe Blanton (5-0) earned the win for a second straight game. Mark Melancon pitched a perfect ninth to pick up save No. 50.
Nolan Arenado had a two-run double in his return to the Rockies' lineup. He sat out Wednesday after banging his head on the dirt when he dived for a ground ball Tuesday.
INDIANS 6, TWINS 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Jason Kipnis hit a leadoff homer and Carlos Santana connected for a three-run shot as Cleveland helped its slim playoff chances.
Francisco Lindor had three hits for Cleveland, which is four games behind Houston in the race for the second AL wild card with 11 to play. But the Twins, Angels and Orioles are between the Indians and Astros in the standings.
The Twins and Angels are 1 1/2 games behind Houston. Baltimore is 3 1/2 back.
Torii Hunter and Eddie Rosario homered for Minnesota, which finished a 4-6 homestand.
In earning his fourth straight win, Cody Anderson (5-3) allowed 10 hits and one earned run. Since coming off the disabled list on Aug. 26, the rookie has held all six opponents to two or fewer runs. Cody Allen pitched a perfect ninth for his 32nd save.
Kyle Gibson (10-11) went 2 2-3 innings and allowed seven hits and six earned runs.
PADRES 5, GIANTS 4
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Pinch-hitter Alexi Amarista's RBI single in the ninth inning lifted San Diego.
Derek Norris opened the inning with a double off Mike Broadway (0-2), Norris' third extra-base hit of the game. Travis Jankowski ran for Norris and advanced to third on Melvin Upton Jr.'s sacrifice bunt. Pinch-hitter Brett Wallace was walked intentionally before Amarista's hit to left-center.
Craig Kimbrel (4-2) pitched the ninth to earn the win.
Matt Kemp's one-out double off reliever Sergio Romo tied the score at 4-4 in the eighth.
Matt Duffy had three hits for San Francisco, which fell eight games behind NL West-leading Los Angeles with 10 games left.
Giants starter Madison Bumgarner went seven innings and was charged with three runs, three hits and three walks while striking out nine.
Ian Kennedy went five innings for San Diego and was charged with four runs and 11 hits.
RAYS 4, RED SOX 2
BOSTON (AP) - Erasmo Ramirez pitched seven solid innings, and Evan Longoria's solo home run sparked a three-run sixth for Tampa Bay.
Longoria's homer off Wade Miley (11-11) was his 20th, giving him seven seasons with at least that many. He also had a double and single.
Kevin Kiermaier hit a solo homer for the Rays, who have won five of their last seven games.
Boston's David Ortiz hit his 36th homer - a two-run shot - and increased his RBI total to 101, reaching the century mark for the ninth season with the Red Sox to tie Hall of Famer Ted Williams for most times in club history.
Last-place Boston lost three of four to the Rays, falling 2 1-2 games behind them for fourth place in the AL East.
Erasmo Ramirez (11-6) gave up two runs and four hits. Brad Boxberger worked the ninth for his 38th save.
MARLINS 1, PHILLIES 0
MIAMI (AP) - J.T. Realmuto's RBI triple in the seventh inning broke a scoreless tie and Miami held on.
Bryan Morris (5-3) picked up the win by retiring both batters he faced.
A.J. Ramos pitched the ninth for his 29th save. Ramos hit Odubel Herrera with a pitch to lead off the inning, but retired the next three batters.
Alec Asher (0-5) pitched seven innings allowing one run and three hits for the Phillies. He struck out four and walked one.
Derek Dietrich singled with one out in the seventh and scored on Realmuto's triple to deep center field.
It was the seventh triple of the season for the Marlins catcher, the most by a major league catcher with a minimum of 80 games caught since Darrell Porter of the Kansas City Royals had 10 in 1979, according to STATS.
September 25, 2015
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Kansas City clinched the AL Central for its first division title in 30 years, beating Seattle 10-4 on Thursday night.
Johnny Cueto picked up his first victory in nearly six weeks, and the win, coupled with Minnesota's loss to Cleveland, ensured the title. The Royals have dominated the division, leading by as many as 14 games.
It's the Royals' first division title since 1985, when they won the AL West en route to their only World Series championship.
The Kauffman Stadium announced crowd of 32,244 cheered when the Twins' final score was shown on the scoreboard in the top of the ninth.
Kansas City became the first team to wrap up a division title this year. St. Louis and Pittsburgh have secured playoff berths in the NL.
Cueto (3-6) was 0-5 in his previous six starts. Logan Kensing (1-1) took the loss.
ORIOLES 5, NATIONALS 4
Jonathan Schoop and Matt Wieters hit two-run homers and the Baltimore Orioles completed a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 5-4 victory Thursday.
Baltimore entered Thursday four games out of the second AL wild-card spot, while Washington began the day 6 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading New York Mets.
This was a makeup of a game postponed Monday because of rain.
Manny Machado's RBI single in the first inning and Schoop's two-run shot in the fourth gave the Orioles a 3-0 lead.
But Wilson Ramos' homer and Yunel Escobar's two run-scoring hits helped the Nationals go up 4-3.
Blake Treinen (2-4) came on for the eighth as Washington's fourth pitcher. Steve Pearce singled and Wieters followed with his seventh homer.
Mike Wright (3-5) got two outs in the seventh for the victory. Brad Brach threw a scoreless eighth, and Darren O'Day pitched the ninth for his sixth save of the season and third of the series.
DODGERS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 3
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Chris Heisey hit a grand slam in a six-run fifth inning and Los Angeles trimmed its magic number to four for the NL West.
Los Angeles increased its division lead to 7 1-2 games over the San Francisco Giants, who faced San Diego later.
Clayton Kershaw (15-7) had nine strikeouts while yielding six hits and three runs over five innings. He left trailing 3-0, but ended up with his fifth victory in six starts when the Dodgers rallied for their second straight win.
Howie Kendrick had a two-run single for the Dodgers.
Rookie Brandon Drury homered off Kershaw, and Paul Goldschmidt got his 19th RBI in his last 19 games against the Dodgers. Arizona would have to win its final nine games to avoid its fourth consecutive non-winning season.
Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 34th save.
Patrick Corbin (6-5) was in control until the fifth inning of his second loss to the Dodgers in 12 days.
YANKEES 3, WHITE SOX 2
NEW YORK (AP) - Carlos Beltran hit a three-run homer off White Sox ace Chris Sale to lead New York in its push for a playoff spot.
After a tribute before their first home game since Yogi Berra died, the Yankees closed within three games of idle Toronto in the AL East. New York cut its magic number to six for clinching at least a wild-card slot.
Beltran connected in the third inning for his 18th homer.
Michael Pineda (12-8) gave up one run, Trayce Thompson's homer, in six innings. He improved the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the AL, fanning six without a walk.
All-Star setup man Dellin Betances entered in the seventh with two on and two outs. He walked Melky Cabrera and Thompson to force home a run before striking out Adam LaRoche.
Andrew Miller pitched the ninth for his 35th save.
Sale (12-11) fell to 0-4 in his last six starts and the White Sox dropped their third straight.
METS 6, REDS 4
CINCINNATI (AP) - Daniel Murphy had three hits, including a tiebreaking triple in the seventh inning, as New York closed in on its first playoff appearance in nine years.
The victory, combined with Washington's loss to Baltimore, reduced the Mets' magic number for clinching the NL East title to three.
Steven Matz tried to extend his record-setting start with the Mets, but couldn't hold a 3-1 lead. He had allowed two or fewer runs in each of his first five starts - a club record - but gave up two RBI singles by Brandon Phillips and left with the game tied 3-all in the sixth.
Murphy's two-out triple off left-hander Manny Parra (1-2) started a three-run rally in the seventh. Yoenis Cespedes singled for another run, and Lucas Duda followed with his second RBI double of the game.
Erik Goeddel (1-1) retired the only batter he faced in the sixth. Jay Bruce hit a solo homer off Hansel Robles in the eighth, cutting it to 6-4. Jeurys Familia pitched the ninth for his 42nd save, one shy of Armando Benitez's club record from 2001.
CARDINALS 7, BREWERS 3
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Jhonny Peralta and Stephen Piscotty hit back-to-back homers and combined for seven RBIs to power St. Louis.
St. Louis has won five straight and holds a four-game lead over Pittsburgh for the NL Central lead.
The Cardinals trailed 3-0 in the fourth when Peralta hit a three-run homer into the bleachers in center field, and Piscotty followed two pitches later with a homer into the seats in left-center. The homer by Peralta, St. Louis' cleanup hitter, was his first since Aug. 1.
Piscotty added a two-run, two-out single off Taylor Jungmann (9-7) in the fifth and a run-scoring single in the seventh.
St. Louis, a major league-best 97-56, went 41 games over .500 for the first time.
Michael Wacha (17-6) worked five innings and allowed three runs, all in a 28-pitch first inning when he gave up three hits and walked two. Rookie Jason Rogers singled in Milwaukee's first run, and Hernan Perez drove in two with an opposite-field double grounded just fair down the right field line.
Five Cardinals relievers limited the Brewers to three singles over the final four innings.
RANGERS 8, ATHLETICS 1
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Cole Hamels pitched six innings to earn his fifth consecutive win and Prince Fielder hit his 22nd homer as Texas completed a three-game sweep.
The Rangers moved a season-high 14 games over .500 and extended their lead to 3 1/2 games over the idle Houston Astros in the AL West.
Adrian Beltre drove in three runs, and Delino DeShields had three hits and two RBIs for Texas.
Hamels (11-8) gave up an unearned run in the second and improved to 5-1 in 10 starts with the Rangers. Hamels allowed four hits, walked three and struck out two.
Josh Reddick singled and scored for Oakland, which has lost five straight and dropped 25 games under .500 for the first time since 1997.
Chris Bassitt (1-7) gave up three runs and six hits in three innings.
PIRATES 5, ROCKIES 4
DENVER (AP) - Pedro Alvarez hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning, and Pittsburgh earned their 10,000th win since joining the National League.
A day after clinching a playoff spot for the third straight season, the Pirates reached another momentous milestone.
Starling Marte collected four singles and finished 13 for 20 in the four-game sweep. It's the most hits in a four-game series for a Pirates player since Pie Traynor had 13 in 1928.
Alvarez had the big hit when he homered off Jairo Diaz (0-1).
Reliever Joe Blanton (5-0) earned the win for a second straight game. Mark Melancon pitched a perfect ninth to pick up save No. 50.
Nolan Arenado had a two-run double in his return to the Rockies' lineup. He sat out Wednesday after banging his head on the dirt when he dived for a ground ball Tuesday.
INDIANS 6, TWINS 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Jason Kipnis hit a leadoff homer and Carlos Santana connected for a three-run shot as Cleveland helped its slim playoff chances.
Francisco Lindor had three hits for Cleveland, which is four games behind Houston in the race for the second AL wild card with 11 to play. But the Twins, Angels and Orioles are between the Indians and Astros in the standings.
The Twins and Angels are 1 1/2 games behind Houston. Baltimore is 3 1/2 back.
Torii Hunter and Eddie Rosario homered for Minnesota, which finished a 4-6 homestand.
In earning his fourth straight win, Cody Anderson (5-3) allowed 10 hits and one earned run. Since coming off the disabled list on Aug. 26, the rookie has held all six opponents to two or fewer runs. Cody Allen pitched a perfect ninth for his 32nd save.
Kyle Gibson (10-11) went 2 2-3 innings and allowed seven hits and six earned runs.
PADRES 5, GIANTS 4
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Pinch-hitter Alexi Amarista's RBI single in the ninth inning lifted San Diego.
Derek Norris opened the inning with a double off Mike Broadway (0-2), Norris' third extra-base hit of the game. Travis Jankowski ran for Norris and advanced to third on Melvin Upton Jr.'s sacrifice bunt. Pinch-hitter Brett Wallace was walked intentionally before Amarista's hit to left-center.
Craig Kimbrel (4-2) pitched the ninth to earn the win.
Matt Kemp's one-out double off reliever Sergio Romo tied the score at 4-4 in the eighth.
Matt Duffy had three hits for San Francisco, which fell eight games behind NL West-leading Los Angeles with 10 games left.
Giants starter Madison Bumgarner went seven innings and was charged with three runs, three hits and three walks while striking out nine.
Ian Kennedy went five innings for San Diego and was charged with four runs and 11 hits.
RAYS 4, RED SOX 2
BOSTON (AP) - Erasmo Ramirez pitched seven solid innings, and Evan Longoria's solo home run sparked a three-run sixth for Tampa Bay.
Longoria's homer off Wade Miley (11-11) was his 20th, giving him seven seasons with at least that many. He also had a double and single.
Kevin Kiermaier hit a solo homer for the Rays, who have won five of their last seven games.
Boston's David Ortiz hit his 36th homer - a two-run shot - and increased his RBI total to 101, reaching the century mark for the ninth season with the Red Sox to tie Hall of Famer Ted Williams for most times in club history.
Last-place Boston lost three of four to the Rays, falling 2 1-2 games behind them for fourth place in the AL East.
Erasmo Ramirez (11-6) gave up two runs and four hits. Brad Boxberger worked the ninth for his 38th save.
MARLINS 1, PHILLIES 0
MIAMI (AP) - J.T. Realmuto's RBI triple in the seventh inning broke a scoreless tie and Miami held on.
Bryan Morris (5-3) picked up the win by retiring both batters he faced.
A.J. Ramos pitched the ninth for his 29th save. Ramos hit Odubel Herrera with a pitch to lead off the inning, but retired the next three batters.
Alec Asher (0-5) pitched seven innings allowing one run and three hits for the Phillies. He struck out four and walked one.
Derek Dietrich singled with one out in the seventh and scored on Realmuto's triple to deep center field.
It was the seventh triple of the season for the Marlins catcher, the most by a major league catcher with a minimum of 80 games caught since Darrell Porter of the Kansas City Royals had 10 in 1979, according to STATS.
