Rizzo drives in 2 runs as Yankees earn playoff berth with 2-1 win over Mariners in 10 innings

Anthony Rizzo hit a tiebreaking double in the 10th inning and drove in both runs for New York as the Yankees clinched a playoff spot with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. Rizzo lined the first pitch of the inning from reliever Collin Snider down the right-field line to score automatic runner Jasson Domínguez from second base. The postseason berth is the 59th in franchise history, and the team's 25th playoff trip in 30 years. Assured at least an AL wild card, the Yankees have made the playoffs six times in Aaron Boone's seven seasons as manager. New York moved five games ahead of second-place Baltimore in the AL East with 10 to play and became the first American League team to wrap up a playoff spot.

Yankees clinch playoff berth by beating Mariners 2-1 in 10 innings

Following a one-year absence, the New York Yankees are back in the playoffs. After spending last year sitting at home when the postseason arrived, the Yankees wrapped up their place in the 2024 playoffs with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners in 10 innings Wednesday night. New York has the best record in the American League at 89-63 and leads second-place Baltimore by five games in the AL East with 10 to play. The latest victory ensured the Yankees at least a wild card. It's the 59th postseason appearance in franchise history, but the Yankees are still trying to end a World Series drought that dates to 2009, when New York celebrated its 27th title.

Walker's 3-run double, homers from Winn and Donovan lead Cardinals to 10-5 win over Pirates

Jordan Walker hit a bases-loaded double to highlight a six-run seventh inning, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 10-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday in the third game of a four-game series. Brendan Donovan hit a two-run homer and Masyn Winn added a solo homer. Billy Cook, who was called up Sept. 8, hit his first big league homer, a three-run blast, for the Pirates. Rookie Michael McGreevy pitched three innings to pick up the win. David Bednar took the loss, giving up three runs in 1/3 inning in relief.

Jake Bauers hits game-ending single to lift NL Central-clinching Brewers to 2-1 win over Phillies

Jake Bauers hit an RBI single in the ninth inning and the Milwaukee Brewers, who had clinched the NL Central earlier in the day, beat Philadelphia 2-1 to prevent the Phillies from securing a playoff berth. Bauers' single off Phillies closer Carlos Estévez (4-5) scored Jackson Chourio, who had tripled. Milwaukee closer Devin Williams (1-0) struck out Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh in order in the ninth. Bohm gave Philadelphia a 1-0 lead in the second inning with his first home run since Aug. 15. Milwaukee clinched its second straight division title a by virtue of the Chicago Cubs' 5-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics.

Adolis García's home run backs Cody Bradford as Rangers beat Blue Jays 2-0

Adolis García hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, Cody Bradford pitched seven strong innings after the worst start of his career, and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0. The win kept the defending World Series-champion Rangers alive in the AL West race, trailing first-place Houston by nine games with 10 to play. García launched a first-pitch sinker over the left-field wall off Toronto starter Bowden Francis (8-5) after Wyatt Langford singled. Bradford (6-3) allowed five hits and no walks while striking out six. Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 31st save in 32 opportunities.

Skubal strengthens case for AL Cy Young as playoff-chasing Tigers sweep Royals

Tarik Skubal allowed three hits over five innings for his 17th win and the streaking Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Wednesday night to move within a half game of a playoff spot. Riley Greene hit a go-ahead home run as the Tigers won their fourth straight and ninth in the last 11 games. Skubal, who has won his last five decisions, made his case for the AL Cy Young Award stronger by matching Atlanta's Chris Sale for the major league lead in wins and lowered his AL-leading earned run average to 2.48. He walked one and struck out seven. Will Vest got the final two for his second save.

Quintana and Nimmo lead surging Mets to 10-0 win for 2nd straight blowout of Nationals

two games ahead of Atlanta for the league's last playoff spot. Acuña, Mark Vientos and Starling Marte each drove in two runs as the Mets followed a 10-1 victory Tuesday night with another blowout of Washington. Quintana allowed two hits in seven innings. He held Washington without a run in three starts covering 21 innings this season.

Brayan Rocchio's game-winning single in 10th gives AL Central-leading Guardians a 5-4 win over Twins

Brayan Rocchio singled in Andrés Giménez with the winning run as the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians scored three times in the 10th inning to beat the Minnesota Twins 5-4. The Guardians reduced their magic number for clinching a playoff berth to one. Kyle Manzardo and Will Brennan both had RBI singles off Ronny Henriquez before Michael Tonkin entered and gave up Rocchio's second career walk-off hit, a chopper to right through a drawn-in infield. Carlos Correa had a two-run single off Hunter Gaddis that gave the Twins a 4-2 advantage in the top of the 10th.

Ohtani steals 49th base in Dodgers' 8-4 win over Marlins

Shohei Ohtani stole his 49th base and moved closer to becoming the first player in major league history with 50 homers and 50 steals in a season as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins 8-4. Ohtani, who began the day two shy of each mark, singled to lead off the game then swiped second. He flew out to left, struck out, lined out to right and struck out in his next four plate appearances. Tommy Edman hit his sixth homer in the last eight games for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who remained 3 1/2 games ahead of second-place San Diego. Enrique Hernández and Will Smith also went deep and Freddie Freeman had three hits for the Dodgers.

Story homers and scores winning run as Red Sox beat Rays 2-1

Trevor Story homered in the sixth inning then scored the winning run on Jarren Duran's single in the eighth as the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1. Story opened the eighth with a comebacker single off Drew Rasmussen (0-2). After stealing second and third, he scored when Duran grounded his hit to right past a drawn-in infield. Justin Slaten (6-2) worked out off a first-and-third, no-out jam in the seventh for the win and Kenley Jansen worked the ninth for his 27th save in 31 chances. Ryan Pepiot struck out a career-high 12 in six innings for the Rays and Taylor Walls had an RBI single.

Ozuna homers, Urshela drives in 3 as Braves beat Reds 7-1

Marcell Ozuna homered, Gio Urshela drove in three runs and Spencer Schwellenbach pitched six innings of one-run ball as the Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 on Wednesday night. The win allowed the Braves to stay within two games of the Mets for the final National League wild card spot. Ozuna greeted Tony Santillan with his 38th home run of the season in the seventh, a solo shot that broke a 1-1 tie. The blast ended Ozuna's home run drought at 26 games and his RBI drought at 19 games.

Yastrzemski and Conforto homer to help Giants beat sinking Orioles 5-3

Mike Yastrzemski homered on the game's first pitch, Michael Conforto also hit a solo shot and the San Francisco Giants beat the sinking Baltimore Orioles 5-3. The Orioles have lost eight of 10 to fall five games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East with 10 to play. Before its current skid, Baltimore held a half-game lead. For the second time in two nights, Yastrzemski put the Orioles in an immediate hole with a leadoff homer. On Tuesday, he did it on the second pitch. In this one, he hit Dean Kremer's initial offering into the right-field seats.

Cease pitches into the 9th and Machado hits 2 of Padres' 4 homers in a 4-0 win vs Astros

Dylan Cease pitched brilliantly into the ninth inning and Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Donovan Solano hit consecutive homers in the eighth for the San Diego Padres, who beat the AL West-leading Houston Astros 4-0. Machado homered twice for the Padres, who won two of three against the Astros and stayed 2 1/2 games ahead of the Diamondbacks and Mets for the first NL wild card.

White Sox dealt 117th loss as Adams' infield single in the 13th inning lifts Angels to 4-3 victory

Eric Wagaman scored with one out in the 13th inning when Jordyn Adams' grounder deflected off the glove of third baseman Miguel Vargas, and the Los Angeles Angels dealt the Chicago White Sox their 117th loss, rallying for a 4-3 victory on Wednesday. Instead of winning consecutive series for the first time in four months, the White Sox tied the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics for the third most losses since 1900. Chicago needs to go 7-2 in its final nine games to avoid the post-1900 record of 120 losses by the 1962 expansion New York Mets.

Mets rookie Christian Scott to undergo Tommy John surgery, out until 2026

New York Mets rookie right-hander Christian Scott is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery next week and is expected to miss the entire 2025 season. Scott hasn't pitched since July 21 due to a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow but hoped to return this month to the Mets, who entered Wednesday night two games ahead of Atlanta for the last National League playoff spot. The 25-year-old Scott began throwing off a mound late last month but said Wednesday he had a difficult time ramping up his off-speed pitches.

Carroll homers twice and Rodriguez strikes out 11 in Diamondbacks' 9-4 victory over the Rockies

Corbin Carroll hit two home runs for his third multi-homer game of the year, Eduardo Rodriguez struck out a season-high 11 and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 9-4 to avert a series sweep. Randal Grichuk also homered and doubled, Christian Walker drove in two runs with a single and a sacrifice fly, and Pavin Smith had an RBI double in the Diamondbacks' three-run ninth inning. Arizona remained tied with the New York Mets for the second of three NL wild cards, two games ahead of Atlanta. The Rockies got two-run singles from Ezequiel Tovar and Sam Hilliard.

Soderstrom and Gelof lead A's past Cubs 5-3, clinching NL Central crown for Brewers

Tyler Soderstrom homered and Zack Gelof hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning as the Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3, putting the Milwaukee Brewers in the playoffs. Chicago's loss clinched the NL Central title for the Brewers, their third in four years. Milwaukee became the first major league team to reach the 2024 postseason. The 22-year-old Soderstrom drove in two runs and scored two more to help Oakland to its first series victory over the Cubs since 2013. Brent Rooker was 2 for 3 with an RBI and two walks. Tyler Ferguson threw a hitless seventh for the win, and Michel Otañez struck out two in the eighth. Mason Miller earned his 27th save, setting a franchise rookie record.

Brewers outperform preseason expectations again to win 3rd NL Central title in 4 years

The Milwaukee Brewers became the first major league team to clinch a playoff spot when they sealed their third NL Central title in the last four years. The Chicago Cubs' 5-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics enabled the Brewers to wrap up the division crown. This marks the Brewers' seventh postseason berth in the last eight years, the franchise's longest run of sustained success. But this run to the playoffs has been a little different. Manager Craig Counsell left for the rival Cubs last offseason. Corbin Burnes, the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner, was traded. All-Star outfielder Christian Yelich and pitchers Wade Miley and Robert Gasser went down with season-ending injuries. Yet the Brewers took over first place for good at the end of April and never looked back.

Reds pitcher Brandon Williamson to have Tommy John surgery

Reds starting pitcher Brandon Williamson says he has a full UCL tear that will require Tommy John surgery. The left-hander exited Tuesday night's game against Atlanta in the second inning with a strained elbow. He doubled over for a brief moment near the mound before being replaced. Williamson said Wednesday he had two MRIs to diagnose the tear. Williamson, a second-round pick in the 2019 amateur draft, hurt his shoulder in spring training. The 26-year-old made his first major league start of the season Sept. 1. It was the first of four starts this year.

Orioles designate reliever Craig Kimbrel for assignment

Craig Kimbrel's time with the Baltimore Orioles is over. The Orioles designated their former closer for assignment Wednesday following the latest in a series of poor outings. Kimbrel gave up six runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning of relief in Baltimore's 10-0 home loss to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. Kimbrel has a 13.94 ERA in his last 11 appearances over the past month. The nine-time All-Star has amassed a whopping 440 saves and pitched in 837 games. But this season, his first with Baltimore, the right-hander has a 5.33 ERA with six blown saves.

Rogers Communications buys out Bell stake in Maple Leafs Sports for $3.5 billion

Rogers Communications Inc. is buying out Bell's 37.5% share of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for $3.5 billion. The sale announced Wednesday would give Rogers 75% ownership of the sports conglomerate, whose holdings include the NHL's Maple Leafs, the NBA's Raptors, the CFL's Argonauts, the MLS Toronto soccer team and an AHL minor-league hockey team. Rogers also owns Sportsnet and Major League Baseball's Blue Jays. The sale is expected to close next year.

Sports on TV for Thursday, Sept. 19

(All times Eastern)

Sports on TV for Sept. 23 - 29

Adv21

Luisangel Acuña's huge game for the Mets hurts older brother's team, the Braves, in NL playoff race

Luisangel Acuña has subbed so nicely for the New York Mets already that his brother's team is in growing danger of missing the postseason. Replacing an ailing Francisco Lindor at shortstop, Acuña capped a huge night at the plate with his first career home run to help the Mets beat the Washington Nationals 10-1 on Tuesday. The 22-year-old Acuña, a younger sibling of Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr., finished a triple short of the cycle and scored three times in his fourth major league game. New York's victory coupled with Atlanta's 6-5 loss in Cincinnati left the Braves two games out of a playoff spot with 11 to play. The Mets and Diamondbacks are tied for the second of three National League wild cards at 83-68.