MLB roundup: Cubs win, close in on second straight division title
Addison Russell hit a three-run double in the first inning, then made a food run for a fan in enemy territory as Chicago beat St. Louis 10-2 in St. Louis to move within a victory of clinching its second straight N.L. Central Division title.
Kris Bryant and Javier Baez homered for the Cubs, who can wrap up the division with a win Tuesday against the Cardinals or a loss by Milwaukee against Cincinnati.
Russell helped the Cubs get to starter Luke Weaver (7-2) early, then made some friends out of rival fans. After diving into the stands chasing a foul ball down the third-base line and spilling a fan’s tray of chips, Russell emerged from the dugout a few innings later with a plate of nachos and delivered it to the fan. Russell stopped to take a selfie before heading back to play shortstop.
The loss eliminated St. Louis from N.L. Central contention and dimmed the Cardinals’ wild-card hopes.
Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was taken out of the game in the seventh after he took two foul balls off his mask. St. Louis announced he is in concussion protocol.
Jon Lester (12-8) allowed one run in six innings. Chicago is 11-2 in its last 13 games.
Weaver gave up eight runs in three innings. He had won seven consecutive starts, the longest by a Cardinals rookie since Ted Wilks in 1944.
Yankees 11, Royals 3: In New York, Aaron Judge broke Mark McGwire’s major league record for home runs by a rookie, hitting a pair for the second straight day to raise his total to 50 and lead New York over Kansas City.
The 6-foot-7, 25-year-old slugger tied the mark with a two-run drive to right-center off Jakob Junis (8-3) in the third inning that put New York ahead 3-0. His solo shot to left against Trevor Cahill in the seventh made it 7-3 and earned him a rare curtain call.
Judge has 13 home runs in September and six in five games, and he is second in the majors behind Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton, who has 57. Judge has four multihomer games this month and seven this season.
McGwire hit 49 homers for Oakland in 1987.
Greg Bird added a two-run homer in the sixth. Gary Sanchez followed Judge in the seventh with back-to-back homers for the third time this year, raising his total to 33.
CC Sabathia (13-5) took a 6-0 lead into the seventh, when Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer and Mike Moustakas chased the left-hander by going deep four pitches later. Sabathia improved to 9-0 in 11 starts this year after Yankees losses.
New York moved within four games of A.L. East-leading Boston with six to play. Kansas City was pushed to the brink of postseason elimination.
Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 4: In Boston, Josh Donaldson homered and drove in three runs, powering Toronto past A.L. East-leading Boston.
Boston’s six-game winning streak was snapped and its magic number to clinch a second straight division title remained at three.
Eduardo Nunez and Mookie Betts both left with injuries for the Red Sox. Nunez aggravated a right knee injury that sidelined him for 13 games, and Betts came out with pain in his left wrist.
Ryan Goins hit a solo homer and Teoscar Hernandez had a two-run double for the Blue Jays. Brett Anderson (2-2) allowed three runs in five innings.
Red Sox lefty Drew Pomeranz (16-6) had his shortest start of the season, giving up five runs and seven hits in two innings. He had only lost once in his last 18 outings.
Roberto Osuna got three outs for his 38th save.
White Sox 4, Angels 2: In Chicago, James Shields tossed seven strong innings, Nicky Delmonico hit a two-run double and Chicago damaged Los Angeles’ slim playoff hopes.
With six games remaining, the Angels trail Minnesota by five games for the second A.L. wild card.
Mike Trout hit his 30th homer for the Angels, who have dropped seven of eight.
Shields (5-7) allowed two runs and four hits. Juan Minaya got three outs for his seventh save.
Ricky Nolasco (6-15) allowed four runs, two earned, in five-plus innings.
Astros 11, Rangers 2: In Arlington, Texas, Marwin Gonzalez had four hits and three RBIs as A.L. West champion Houston put Texas on the brink of elimination in the wild-card race.
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, the American League leader with 199 hits and a .348 batting average, left in the eighth inning after he was hit by a 95 mph fastball. The team said X-rays were negative and Altuve had a bruised forearm.
Gonzalez had two hits and scored twice in an eight-run fourth, including a two-run single that chased starter Andrew Cashner (10-11). Gonzalez later hit his 23rd homer, a solo shot in the sixth.
Collin McHugh (4-2) struck out six while throwing 112 pitches in five innings. The right-hander is 15-0 with a 2.94 ERA in 19 starts in September or October during his four seasons with the Astros.
Texas (76-80), division champs the past two years, had an early 2-0 lead before losing its fourth straight game. The Rangers dropped six games behind idle Minnesota for the second A.L. wild card with six to play.
Only one of the eight runs in the Astros’ fourth was earned.
Nationals 3, Phillies 1: In Philadelphia, Michael Taylor homered, A.J. Cole allowed one run while pitching into the sixth inning and Washington defeated Philadelphia.
The N.L. East champion Nationals extended their franchise record with 50 road wins.
Bryce Harper remained out of Washington’s lineup with flu-like symptoms. The team had said it was possible he would return Monday from a knee injury that’s kept him out since Aug. 12.
Odubel Herrera homered for the last-place Phillies.
Cole (3-5) struck out five and walked two. Sean Doolittle worked a perfect ninth for his 21st save in 21 chances with the Nationals since being acquired from Oakland on July 16.
Aaron Nola (12-11) allowed Taylor’s two-run homer in the second but otherwise pitched well.
Braves 9-2, Mets 2-3: In New York, Seth Lugo pitched two-hit ball over six innings and Travis d’Arnaud hit a record-setting homer for New York in the nightcap of a doubleheader split.
D’Arnaud hit his solo shot in the eighth inning. It was the 219th homer for the Mets, a franchise season mark. The sparse crowd at Citi Field jeered when the home run apple didn’t rise after d’Arnaud’s homer, then cheered when it finally came out of its bin three batters later.
Lugo (7-5) struck out seven and didn’t walk anybody. Jeurys Familia got his fifth save and second since returning from surgery to repair a blood clot in his right arm.
Max Fried (1-1) gave up two runs over 5 1/3 innings for Atlanta.
In the first game, Lucas Sims (3-5) turned in his second strong performance since returning to Atlanta’s rotation, allowing two runs and five hits over a career-high 6 2/3 innings. Chris Flexen (3-5) took the loss.
Giants 9, Diamondbacks 2: In Phoenix, Nick Hundley hit a three-run homer, Johnny Cueto pitched well over six innings and San Francisco beat Arizona.
Arizona sat most of its regulars a day after clinching the top N.L. wild card.
Hunter Pence hit a solo shot in the Giants’ five-run fourth inning off starter Zack Godley (8-9). San Francisco has won five of its last seven games.
Cueto (8-8) held the Diamondbacks to two runs and five hits over six innings. He struck out eight and walked two.
Marlins 5, Rockies 4: In Denver, Miguel Rojas had a career-high four RBIs and Miami held off Colorado, cutting the Rockies’ lead for the second N.L. wild card to 1 1/2 games over Milwaukee.
With five games remaining, the Rockies have lost six of eight and are clinging to a postseason spot as they seek their first playoff berth since 2009. Monday marked a missed opportunity to extend their advantage over the idle Brewers as well as St. Louis, which remained 2 1/2 games back.
The Marlins won even though slugger Giancarlo Stanton went hitless in five at-bats. He remained at 57 homers.
Dodgers 9, Padres 3: In Los Angeles, Yu Darvish pitched two-hit ball over seven innings and Los Angeles reached 100 wins in a season for the first time in 43 years, beating San Diego.
Logan Forsythe went 3 for 3 with a home run and four RBIs as the N.L. West champions moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Cleveland for the best record in the majors and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Los Angeles (100-57) can secure home-field edge for the entire N.L. playoffs Tuesday with a win and a Washington loss.
Austin Barnes hit a three-run homer for the Dodgers, who hadn’t reached the century mark since winning 102 games in 1974.
Darvish was perfect through four innings and didn’t allow a hit until Hunter Renfroe doubled with one out in the fifth. The right-hander permitted one run while striking out nine and walking none.
Mariners 7, A’s 1: In Oakland, California, Mitch Haniger homered twice and Felix Hernandez won for the first time in more than two months as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Oakland Athletics 7-1 on Monday night.
A day after being eliminated from playoff contention, the slumping Mariners snapped Oakland’s season-high seven-game winning streak and its eight-game run at home – the team’s second-longest in 11 years.
The Mariners had lost eight of nine.
Hernandez (6-5) gave up one run in six innings of two-hit ball.
Hernandez hadn’t won since July 15, a stretch that included a stint on the disabled list from Aug. 2 to Sept. 13 with right shoulder bursitis. He was 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in his previous five starts.