CINCINNATI (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their 14th consecutive playoff berth with a 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night behind Tarik Skubal's seven shutout innings and home runs by Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández.
Los Angeles tied the record set by Atlanta from 1991 through 2005.
The two-time defending World Series champions cut their magic number to three for a fifth straight NL West ****** le and 13th in 14 seasons. The Dodgers became the third team ****** ured of a playoff spot after Milwaukee and Tampa Bay.
Skubal (10-7) allowed three hits, struck out nine and walked one as he gained his second win against Cincinnati in seven days. Skubal allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings in a 3-2 victory on Sept. 8.
He is 3-2 with a 2.52 ERA in eight starts since the Dodgers (91-59) acquired him from Detroit Tigers on Aug. 2.

#Dodgers #playoff #seven

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Quinn Mathews took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and Alec Burleson had an RBI single to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Monday night.
Rookie catcher Leo Bernal also singled home a run for the Cardinals. Mathews (2-3) retired his first 10 batters before walking Bryce Eldridge in the fourth and didn't give up a hit until Grant McCray doubled leading off the sixth.
The 25-year-old rookie left-hander struck out eight and allowed a run on four hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings — the longest of his seven major league starts.
Ryne Stanek stranded two in a scoreless eighth and Riley O'Brien retired Christian Koss on a groundout with runners at second and third for his 37th save in 45 opportunities.
Thomas Saggese singled with one out in the fifth off Giants starter Landen Roupp (9-14) and stole second. Iván Herrera walked to chase Roupp, and Burleson singled on the first pitch from Reiver Sanmartin for his 110th RBI and 61st hit with runners in scoring position — both totals top the majors.

#singled #louis #Giants #sixth

Coming into Monday night, the Yankees were one win away from officially clinching a playoff berth. While that's obviously not the end goal of their season, getting into the postseason is the first step. They're now there.
Officially, the clinching came prior to the Yankees' game ending, as the Blue Jays losing to the Tigers was also enough to get the job done. However on the field, the Yankees got the job done too, eventually.
On the mound, Will Warren was pretty good but deserved better. He ended up going 5.2 innings, allowing two runs — both of which ended up unearned — on five hits and two walks. Thanks to some iffy defense and the offense struggling, he left the game in line for the loss, before the offense responded just in time. Thanks to a six-run eighth inning that included Aaron Judge's first home run since returning from the injured list, the Yankees flipped the game back in their favor. They didn't need the win to pop the champagne, but it still feels better to get in with it, as they downed the Twins 8-3.
After both teams failed to capitalize on some early runners, the Yankees broke the deadlock in the third. With two outs, José Caballero just cleared the left wall at Target Field for a solo home run, putting the Yankees up early.
On the mound, Warren was mostly very solid. He ended up giving up the lead in the sixth, albeit with some defensive miscues that weren't entirely on him. After Warren got the first out of the inning, Ryan McMahon let a Kody Clemens grounder through his legs for an error. Warren then got the second out, brining Josh Bell to the plate. Bell hit a liner to a leaping George Lombard Jr., who got a glove on the ball, but couldn't complete the catch. The ball got past him into center field, moving Clemens to third. That one was ruled a single as opposed to an error, as it would've been a very nice play had Lombard completed it.

#field #first #game

As you may have heard, Pete Alonso returned with his new team to Citi Field tonight, and the Mets lost to the Orioles 2-1. Although Jonah Tong pitched admirably, the Mets could not capitalize on their six hits and left nine runners on base.
After Jonah Tong struck out Dylan Beavers to lead off the first inning, Alonso stepped up to thunderous applause, cheers, and chants of his name. He flied out to Carson Benge in right field, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd. Tong then retired Gunnar Henderson as well for a 1-2-3 start to his day. In the bottom of the inning, Francisco Lindor walked to lead off, but Juan Soto popped out, and Bo Bichette grounded into a double play for the second and third outs to end the inning.
At the top of the second inning, Jackson Holliday looped a one-out single into right field. He reached second on a passed ball by Francisco Alvarez, which had popped out of Alvarez's glove. It proved costly when Heston Kjerstad drilled a double into right field past Brett Baty. The ball made a weird hop past Baty, and Holliday scored the first run of the game. When the Mets came to bat in the second, they loaded the bases with two outs. Marcus Semien drilled a single down the left-field line, and then A.J. Ewing and Baty walked. Unfortunately, they were all stranded when Alvarez struck out on a foul tip for the third out, and the second inning ended with the score Orioles 1, Mets 0.
Alonso drew a two-out walk in the third inning, but was stranded there when Tong struck out Henderson. At the bottom of the third, Juan Soto smacked a one-out single into right field. Benge sneaked a single past third base, but both runners were again stranded when Jared Young grounded out for the third out. At the top of the fourth inning, Holliday hit a ground ball straight to Semien, but Semien could not get it out of his glove in a timely manner, and Holliday made it to first base safely. He was stranded as well, though. At the bottom of the inning, Ewing drilled a home run into right field. Alvarez smacked a ground ball to third base that Coby Mayo initially fielded but bobbled, allowing Alvarez to reach base safely on an infield hit. However, he was also stranded when Lindor struck out, leaving the score Mets 1, Orioles 1, at the end of the fourth inning.
To lead off the fifth inning, Colton Cowser hit a single that Semien knocked down but couldn't get to first base in time. The next three batters went down in order. Soto walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth and, with two outs, stole second base. Young also drew a walk, but Semien grounded out to end the rally attempt there. Tong came back out for the top of the sixth inning and only needed six pitches to retire the three batters he saw. Josh Walker replaced Brandon Young for the Orioles at the bottom of the sixth, and he also worked a 1-2-3 inning. The score remained 1-1.

#field

NEW YORK — This time, Gunnar Henderson came through in the clutch.
The Baltimore Orioles' star shortstop hasn't often been the source of big hits in key spots this season, a down year in several regards. Henderson, who still has yet to collect a walk-off hit in his career, entered Monday's game with a .674 OPS in close-and-late situations
That moment will have to wait, but Henderson enjoyed the next best thing Monday with a go-ahead home run in the eighth to help Baltimore beat the New York Mets, 2-1. With the score tied and the Orioles looking for a big hit all night, Henderson took right-hander Dedniel Núñez deep for his 23rd home run of the season and his first since Aug. 30.
Baltimore (73-78) won the series opener to give Pete Alonso a happy homecoming in his first game back at Citi Field since the Orioles signed him away from the Mets in free agency. The home team treated Alonso, who spent seven seasons in Queens, to a scoreboard tribute video and multiple standing ovations. Entering the game sitting on 299 career home runs, he went 0 for 3 with a walk.
With the win, the Orioles pulled back to within three games of the third American League wild-card spot. Their playoff odds have dwindled to the single digits, but Baltimore is not yet eliminated with 11 games left to go.

#baltimore #home #game #walk

Hits were at a premium with both sides combining for seven, and the Dodgers made the most of theirs, out-homering the Reds two-to-one and relying on Tarik Skubal's best performance as a Dodger to secure a 4-1 win. While Reds starter Nick Lodolo was responsible for all four runs in his seven innings, it doesn't necessarily reflect just how effectively he held down this potent Dodgers lineup for large periods of the game—especially dealing with such an ungrateful task.
It didn't take more than a couple of hitters to find out, or at least get a glimpse of the type of performance Skubal was about to bring to the mound. Facing Cincinnati's most dangerous hitter, Elly De La Cruz, Skubal was down 3-0 in the count following two bad misses, remembering that De La Cruz took him deep last week. The Dodgers' starter not only got back in the count and punched out De La Cruz, but almost as impressively, he did so in a manner of simply imposing his will that few starting pitchers can even hope to accomplish. Skubal threw three straight heaters, none of them particularly dotted, two up and one down, almost as if indicating that today he'd do as he pleased and the Reds were mere spectators to it.
That initial at-bat against De La Cruz was also indicative of the approach that Skubal would carry into this game. Whether due to a lack of feel for a particular off-speed pitch or, more likely, from an adjustment after seeing the Reds' swings against the four-seamer, Skubal went to that pitch far more often than he normally does—throwing it 44 percent of the time across seven scoreless innings, needing just 90 pitches to do so.
The first and only time the Reds managed to put multiple players on base against Skubal came in the fifth inning, when Juan Brito singled, and J.J. Bleday walked, later moving to second and third on a wild pitch. In a nine-pitch at-bat, Hector Rodríguez would go down on a four-seam fastball, this one up and well outside the zone. In fact, each of Skubal's first seven punchouts came on heaters.
Offensively, the Dodgers made the most of their rare hits count, securing just three in seven innings against a dialed-in Nick Lodolo. Unfortunately for the Reds starter, both of the hits he allowed were home runs, first a solo shot to Kyle Tucker in the second and, a couple of innings later, a two-run bomb to Teoscar Hernández.

#hits

The 2026 home campaign for the Salt Lake Bees (24-44/63-79) came to a close this week as they welcomed the Round Rock Express (Triple-A, Texas Rangers). Known as the "E-Train," the Lone Star side steamrolled their way to a dominant series victory, winning five of six. Outside of a 11-1 thrashing on Thursday, the Bees never held a lead in the other five contests. The Express (38-31/69-75) collected their first road series win in Salt Lake since 2021, when they swept the Bees in a six-game set.
Despite a quality start from Bees starter Ryan Costeiu, Round Rock earned a 5-1 series opening victory on Tuesday. The visitors scored in four different frames, while Niko Kavadas helped Salt Lake avoid a shutout with a fifth-inning solo blast. Wednesday was more of the same, as the Express tallied a 6-1 victory. MLB rehabber Josh Jung punctuated the win with a solo blast in the eighth, as the Bees were held to just a trio of hits for the second straight game.
As mentioned above, the Salt Lake bats came alive on Thursday with an 11-1 rout. The team tied their season-high with four homers, spotlighted by Kavadas' second multi-homer night of the campaign. The infielder's surge was part of a four-hit night, his first at any level since 2022. On the mound, Joel Hurtado turned in 6.2 innings of one-run ball, finally collecting his first Triple-A win in his eighth try. After falling behind 5-0 on Friday, the Bees nearly completed a comeback, coming up just short in a 5-4 defeat. Salt Lake got the winning run on base in the ninth, but ultimately fell short.
The final Saturday and Sunday at home in 2026 were near carbon copies of each other. Big first innings for Round Rock put them in the driver's seat, leading 6-0 and 4-0, respectively. Saturday's output was more than enough for the visitors as they added seven more runs over the course of the game to shutout the Bees 13-0. On Sunday's home finale, Salt Lake battled and answered every time the Express scored. They closed the gap to 6-4 before Round Rock gained some length with Aaron Zavala's two-run blast in the sixth, the only longball of the evening. The Bees did not go down without a fight, bringing the tying run to the plate in the ninth. A flyball was tracked down for the 27th and final out of the finale, completing the Express' 9-6 victory.
The 74th and final home game saw 7,853 fans come through the turnstiles of The Ballpark at America First Square — the largest crowd in ballpark history. Salt Lake finished 35-39 at home this season, winning or splitting nine of their 13 total home series. The Bees were victorious in at least one game against every opponent who came to South Jordan, avoiding a sweep for the second straight season as the hosts.

#lake #express

There is only one way to describe Greg Rousseau's effort for the Buffalo Bills against the Houston Texans in Week 1: Game changer.
The Bills (1-0) took a 36-31 win on the road in their season opener in Houston.
The Texans' offense soon won't forget Rousseau any time soon.
Rousseau dominated the game. Despite Buffalo's shortcoming on defense by allowing 31 points, Rousseau consistently stood out.
Rousseau had four tackles, including two for loss, five quarterback hits, with two strip sacks including the game-winning takedown of Texans quarterback CJ Stroud. Rousseau knocked the ball out of Stroud's hand and it was scooped up by linebacker Terrel Bernard with only seconds left on the clock.

#bills #soon #including

I've used the word "penultimate" seemingly endless times in the last month or so, so here's one more. The WooSox capped off their finale in Lehigh Valley (Phillies AAA), finishing the PENULTIMATE series of 2026 in dramatic fashion despite outplaying the IronPigs for most of the game. Gage Ziehl had a gritty if not spectacular performance, pitching into the sixth and coming back from being taken yard in the fourth without his confidence shaken. All told, the 23-year-old righty struck out eight to bring his total to 126 in 116 innings pitched (96/85, respectively, of those being in Portland) and is really shaping up into someone to watch in 2027. The pitching staff as a whole issued zero walks despite being taken for nine hits, but the game never looked out of control save for when Noah Song came in to let two runs up in the sixth.
Luckily, though, the WooSox offense had a home run derby, sending five over the fence, including two from Allan Castro. That second one hoisted the WooSox from a deficit to a lead that Sam McWilliams wouldn't give up. Arias also hit his 24th home run of the season (and his 5th in Triple-A.)
Rain cancelled the last game of the season against Binghamton (Mets AA) in an anticlimactic fashion. But what a season it was for the Sea Dogs.
The season began with interested eyes watching Franklin Arias become an absolute hitting machine in the spring, along with Anthony Eyannson dealing, only for the former to be promoted to Triple-A and the latter dealt to Baltimore (or rather, Chesapeake) in the Adley Rutschman deal. Still, Brooks Brannon raked, the team had 8 walk-off wins and generally found ways to come up on top. The pitching staff headed by Hayden Mullins, in his own right a guy to watch, pitched a combined no hitter in April (but not a shutout). And Justin Gonzales looks formidable as an everyday outfielder a few years in the future. Overall, the cupboard is not as fully stocked as some teams, but there's some players to feel good about starting to make their mark in the mid-levels of the farm.

#pitching

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A second straight game without Yordan Alvarez reinforced a reality. The Houston Astros need more consistent sources of offense, with time running short for them to emerge.
A lineup missing its leading threat mustered five hits in a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, undermining a determined start by right-hander Peter Lambert and ensuring a series loss to the American League's first playoff entrant at Tropicana Field.
The Astros, who entered with the fifth-fewest runs in the majors since the Aug. 3 trade deadline, scored three or fewer for the 21st time in 35 games in that stretch. The offensive downturn might be presenting a direr threat to their playoff hopes if not for an inept division. The loss left Houston with a 2 ½-game AL West lead over the Rangers, who entered the day four games under .500, pending Texas' result.
The Astros are 75-74 with 13 games remaining on their schedule. Yainer Diaz had three of their five hits Saturday, including a run-scoring single in the sixth inning. Isaac Paredes' solo home run in the first against Rays starter Ian Seymour, who worked six strong frames, provided their only other run. Houston hitters were 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded six men on base.
The first was Seymour's rockiest inning, as three straight batters reached. Daulton Varsho and Christian Walker struck out to defuse the threat. Richie Palacios' two-run single wrought the first blemish against Lambert in his six-plus innings. Nick Madrigal broke a 2-2 tie for the Rays with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh.

#houston #astros #rays #lambert

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost 4-3 to the Miami Marlins as their offense returned to its previous lows.
Both of the Dodgers' runs came in the first inning from two different homers by Mookie Betts and Max Muncy.
They were back-to-back long **** that looked to start the game off with a bang, but after that, the Dodgers struggled to get consistent contact and hits.
Sep 11, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Josue De Paula (95) runs toward second base during a steal attempt in the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The Dodgers got only three hits and five walks, and without the home runs, it was just two hits.

#Dodgers #Miami #mookie

Michigan improved to 2-0 on Saturday afternoon, beating Oklahoma 17-10.
Here are key takeaways from Michigan's win.
Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood was just 9-of-17 passing for 111 yards and was marginally better throwing the ball than he was in Week 1. However, he did some great things on the ground, including a 38-yard rushing touchdown to put Michigan up 7-0. In all, Underwood had 87 yards on the ground and the score. Underwood will have to improve passing. While Michigan should continue to lean on what he does best (running), that approach is bound to be stopped on a given week; the defense will give up more than 10 points, and Underwood's arm will decide if Michigan loses. Today was a step in the right direction; he didn't throw an interception despite a couple near picks. Even so, Michigan has a lot of tough games coming up this season (Penn State, Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State) and improvement is necessary through the air.
Michigan had 11 penalties for 90 yards, and many of these extended drives for Oklahoma. Jyaire Hill had a late hit, Dom Nichols ripped John Mateer's helmet off, Shamari Earls had a facemask penalty. Eliminating penalties was a point of emphasis heading into this game, but the team failed to follow the message that head coach Kyle Whittingham had. Michigan's lucky that all the yellow flags didn't cost them the game — because they nearly did.
Michigan held Oklahoma to just 289 yards and 3-of-13 on third down. Defensive end John Henry Daley (eight tackles, one sack) was an absolute force and disrupted Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer's timing, as was defensive end Dom Nichols (0.5 sacks). Linebackers such as Troy Bowles (nine tackles) and Nathaniel Staehling (seven tackles) played well, and safety Chris Bracy (six tackles) delivered hard hits throughout the game. It was a cohesive effort (besides the penalties).

#michigan #oklahoma #game #state

Steelers news: AFC executive hits Joey Porter Jr. with humbling take amid contract dispute appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Ahead of Sunday's season opener against the Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. spoke to reporters about the status of his contract negotiations, hoping for an agreement to be reached before kickoff. He explicitly dismissed rumors suggesting he demanded to become the NFL's highest-paid cornerback while trying to manage outside expectations about his contract demands.
Despite Porter's efforts to temper expectations, personnel evaluators around the league are skeptical about his true market value. There is a high-stakes standoff in Pittsburgh, with front-office executives questioning whether the 26-year-old cornerback has earned the right to command top compensation alongside the league's elite defensive players.
An in-depth report from The New York Times included a sobering **** sment from a rival AFC executive on Porter's leverage and standing: "Is Joey Porter as good as maybe he values himself? I would **** ume he wants to be on par with Surtain/Horn, maybe even higher. But he isn't at that level as a player. Perhaps the Steelers are willing to accept a compensatory pick or a franchise tag instead of committing to what might be an overestimate."
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#steelers #contract

NEW YORK - Ben Rice's 3-for-4 night and key ABS challenge (reversing what would've been an inning-ending strikeout) set up Cody Bellinger's big three-run homer Friday.
But there was a lot more going on with Yankees' offense in that 6-4 win against the Mets.
With a deeper lineup since Aaron Judge's return, "it feels like there's a lot of places we can hurt you,'' said manager Aaron Boone, after a 13-hit attack that included another big night for Luis Garcia Jr.
Seamlessly fitting in to his new environment since last month's trade from Washington, Garcia's three hits raised his Yankee batting average to .314, with an .866 OPS in 33 games.
Naturally, there are some alterations to Saturday's Yankees lineup, against a lefty in Zac Thornton (3-5, 3.53), on a day game after a night game.

#since #york #cody

When the Miami Dolphins take the field on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, a trio of first-year players have the potential to collectively make NFL history. Three of Miami's 13 selections from the 2026 NFL Draft were wide receivers Caleb Douglas, Chris Bell and Kevin Coleman Jr.
Douglas was Miami's first receiver taken during this past April's draft when the Dolphins used pick No. 75 on the Texas Tech product. Bell from Louisville was selected with pick No. 94, and Coleman Jr. with pick No. 177 out of Missouri.
While a rare occurrence in any team class, there have been several instances where three receivers were selected by one team in a single draft. In fact, the Dolphins last tripled up at the position in 1975 with Freddie Solomon, Morris Owens and Leonard Isabell.
What has never happened before in league history is three drafted receivers each recording a reception during Week 1 of their rookie season. Douglas, Bell and Coleman could be that lone trio come Sunday. There have been a few close hits, but in the dozen or so cases, Miami's young trio could break the ice.
For Miami in 1975, none of these three recorded a catch back in Week 1 when they lost to the Oakland Raiders. Back in 2014, the Jacksonville Jaguars had three wideouts haul in a catch during Week 1 as rookies, but only two were actual draft selections.

#week #trio #receivers

By the end of the third inning, Friday's game against the Padres didn't seem to promise much of a contest. The tally: 7-1 in favor of the visiting San Diegans after a barrage of extra basehits and two-out knocks. A
nthony Molina, who looked somewhat sharp in the 1st with two strikeouts with his four-seam, ran out of ideas in the 2nd and 3rd. He pressed hard on that fastball and the Padres bats welcomed it. Jackson Merrill bounced an outside fastball over the wall for a ground-rule double to start the 2nd. Molina retired the next two hitters he faced but couldn't find a way out of the frame cleanly. Dustin Harris deflected another elevated fastball to score Merrill. Freddy Fermin punched another 340 feet, easily scoring Harris from first.
Molina tried to adapt, shifting off his primary weapon his second time through the San Diego order, but nothing worked. Jake Cronenworth set the tone in the 3rd with a feisty 8-pitch scuffle that ended with a 107 MPH single off a change-up. Luis Campusano plated him by punishing a hanging slider. That double would be the first of four RBI extra base knocks in the inning. Seven Padres reached, five scored in all. Molina became less as a road-block and more as a facilitator, the operator of a fast food drive-thru, the In-N-Out at Tejon Ranch, taking each hitter's order, efficiently moving the high-volume of customers from window to window before sending them on their way with exactly what they asked for.
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As Molina's fortunes plummeted, San Diego starter, Robbie Ray, making his first start against the Giants since his trade, steadied himself after a prolonged 1st inning.

#molina #fastball #merrill #knocks

NEW YORK (AP) — Cody Bellinger hit a three-run homer in the second inning off rookie Nolan McLean, and the New York Yankees beat the New York Mets 6-4 on Friday night.
Ben Rice also homered as the Yankees won for the 17th time in 24 games and moved a season-high 23 games over .500 on a night the team remembered the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Rookie Spencer Jones added an RBI single in the first inning and Ryan McMahon hit an RBI single in the eighth as the Yankees remained three games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East and moved 5 1/2 ahead of Boston for the first American League wild card.
Carlos Rodón (6-3) allowed two runs and three hits in a season-high 6 1/3 innings. The left-hander notched two of his eight strikeouts on slugger Juan Soto, who heard boos from Yankee fans before each at-bat.
Bellinger homered after catching the ceremonial first pitch from Brielle Saracini, whose father Victor Saracini was the pilot on United Airlines Flight 175, which was flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

#yankees

We said the Royals were pesky. They came in and proved it in Game 1.
Kansas City beat the Red Sox 3-2 at Fenway Park on Friday night. Not a great start to a series that matters. The Royals had no business being three up through three innings in this ballpark against this team—and yet there they were.
Sonny Gray was the story, and not the good kind. Kansas City touched him for 10 hits across six innings and scored all three of their runs before the third inning was over. Sal Perez's two-out single in the first got past a diving Caleb Durbin down the left field line. Then Carter Jensen's double in the third went high off the Monster, and Vinnie Pasquantino followed by finding the hole right past a shifted-up Nick Sogard to make it 3-0. Three runs. None of them were bloops—decent contact, all of it—just well-placed at the worst possible time.
Gray settled in after the third—and yes, technically this was a quality start, six innings and three earned, which is almost funnier than getting shelled would have been—and the bullpen held Kansas City scoreless in the eighth and ninth, including stranding a runner at third with one out in the top of the ninth. But the damage was already done.
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#kansas #Third #past

ATLANTA (AP) — Drake Baldwin doubled to center field in the 11th inning to score Ha-Seong Kim from first base and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 on Friday night in the opening game of a key NL East series.
The first-place Braves extended their lead over the Phillies to five games. The teams split a four-game series in Philadelphia that began last Friday.
Luis Arraez's single to left field off Didier Fuentes (7-2) in the 11th drove in designated runner Garrett Stubbs to give Philadelphia a 5-4 lead. Kim's single off Brooks Raley (5-6) in the bottom of the inning drove in Ozzie Albies to tie it. Baldwin followed with the winning double.
Phillies right-hander Jonathan Bowlan blew a 3-2 lead in the ninth. Bowlan gave up a one-out single to Mike Yastrzemski. Pinch-runner DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who was recalled before the game, scored from first on Sean Murphy's single up the middle and center fielder Derek Hill's fielding error.
Aaron Nola gave up homers to Matt Olson in the first and Austin Riley in the seventh. Braves left-hander Chris Sale allowed three runs on only three hits in seven innings but struggled with two outs in the second. Edmundo Sosa singled before Sale walked Bryan De La Cruz and hit J.T. Realmuto with a pitch to load the bases. Derek Hill doubled off the center-field wall to drive in three runs.

#lead

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Garrett Mitchell hit the Brewers' first grand slam of the season, one of four homers for Milwaukee in a 20-0 rout of the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night that clinched a playoff spot for the majors' best team.
William Contreras, Bryce Turang and Jake Bauers also went deep for the Brewers (92-56), who have a commanding lead in the NL Central but for now are **** ured of at least a wild-card spot. They lead second-place Chicago by 10 games in the division, and their magic number to clinch that **** le is four.
Dustin May (7-9) and Garrett Stallings combined on a two-hitter while Milwaukee pounded out a season-high 23 hits. May worked six innings, giving up two singles to standout Reds rookie Sal Stewart in his seventh start for the Brewers. He was acquired from St. Louis at the trade deadline.
Stallings got the last nine outs for his first save.
Andrew Abbott (6-11) allowed eight runs on nine hits in two innings, his shortest start of the season.

#season #first #spot

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - An unorthodox pitching plan worked about as well as the Houston Astros could have hoped Friday. Their offense could not capitalize against another American League contender.
Junior Caminero cranked a walk-off, two-run home run against Bryan Abreu to send the Astros to a 3-1 loss in the opener of a series against the Tampa Bay Rays, who became the first American League team to clinch a spot in this year's playoff field. Houston, which entered the day with a three-game lead in the AL West, ended it with a 75-73 record.
Using an opener, three Astros pitchers combined to hold the Rays to two hits before the ninth inning. Jonathan Aranda hit a one-out double against Abreu. With first base open, the Astros opted to face Caminero, the AL home run leader, who crushed a first-pitch fastball 417 feet to ignite a celebration at Tropicana Field.
The Astros totaled nine hits. But they were 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position, with neither of the hits scoring a run, and stranded six men on base.
A 1-1 tie reached the ninth inning. The teams took different routes there. Rays starter Drew Rasmussen worked seven innings, navigating eight hits. One run against him scored on a fielder's choice. He threw 92 pitches before Tampa Bay turned to its bullpen.

#astros #houston #abreu #tampa

Kyle Tucker hit a crucial seventh-inning grand slam to power the Dodgers (90-57) to a 6-2 win over the Marlins (72-76) Friday night in Miami.
It was an exciting night in Miami with pregame buzz surrounding the MLB debut of Dodgers top prospect Josue De Paula. De Paula went 0-for-3 on the night. He flied out to right fielder Esteury Ruiz in his first major-league at-bat. In his second at-bat, with one out in the fourth, the 21-year old drew a walk. In his third at-bat, De Paula grounded out to first baseman Kyle Stowers.
Blake Snell put together another solid night on the mound, only allowing 1 run on 4 hits to the Fish. Otto Lopez singled against Snell in the first, but Smith gunned down Lopez at second on a steal attempt to end the inning. The Marlins got more base runners on in the second against Snell, but he was once again able to pitch around the traffic to get out of the inning unscathed.
Tucker has been getting hot at just the right time for the Dodgers after an abysmal year at the plate.
The Dodgers manufactured a run in the top of the third. Tommy Edman drew the leadoff walk, and Max Muncy singled. Kyle Tucker's sac fly gave Snell a 1-0 lead.

#Dodgers #paula #tucker

For the eighth time in nine seasons, the Milwaukee Brewers are going to the playoffs.
One of the game's most consistent powers ***** ured its spot in the postseason by flattening the Cincinnati Reds 20-0 Friday, Sept. 11 at Milwaukee's American Family Field. It's highly likely this won't be the final celebration before the Brewers finish the regular season: They hold a 10-game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central, with a magic number of three to clinch the division.
Milwaukee blitzed Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott for nine hits and eight runs in the first two innings Friday, scoring six times in the bottom of the second to build an 8-0 lead. Brice Turang hit a three-run homer and Jake Bauers a two-run shot, providing more than enough support for starting pitcher Dustin May.
Then, it got absurd. The Brewers rocked reliever Luis Mey for eight runs in the bottom of the fifth, extending the lead to 17-0. Milwaukee registered eight hits in the fifth, two by Garrett Mitchell, including a grand slam.
Per usual, Milwaukee's proven greater than the sum of its parts. The club has a bona fide ace and budding superstar in right-hander Jacob Misiorowski, what with his 104-mph fastball and major league-leading 236 strikeouts. The club has a reliable No. 2 starter in fellow second-year man Logan Henderson, but its rotation faces question marks after that.

#Friday #league #three

It was a day of remembrance, but a night Nolan McLean might want to forget.
McLean's curveball spins at a higher rate than any other in baseball, but Friday night at Yankee Stadium, Cody Bellinger spun one over the short porch in right field into the stands. The three-run homer sank the Mets in a 6-4 loss to the Yankees.
It was the first time in more than a month McLean failed to go more than five innings, and only the second time in his last 14 outings. McLean was charged with five earned runs on a career-worst 10 hits over five innings in his ninth loss of the season (11-9). An NL Rookie of the Year candidate, McLean has looked like a seasoned veteran at times this season. But even the most dominant rookie starting pitchers have outings like the one McLean had against the Yankees.
Rookies slump, sputter and get knocked down, then figure out how to get up again.
No one knows this better than Bellinger, the 2017 NL Rookie of the Year. While his hitless stretches were few and far between with the Dodgers in 2017, there were bad strikeouts and bad games. Individually, they did little to put a dent in his candidacy. The overall body of work was too impressive. The same goes for McLean, who has carried a sub-3.00 ERA for most of the season and has quietly put up some of the best starting pitching numbers in the National League since June.

#five

NEW YORK (AP) — Cody Bellinger hit a three-run homer in the second inning off rookie Nolan McLean, and the New York Yankees beat the New York Mets 6-4 on Friday night.
Ben Rice also homered as the Yankees (85-62) won for the 17th time in 24 games and moved a season-high 23 games over .500 on a night the team remembered the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Rookie Spencer Jones added an RBI single in the first inning and Ryan McMahon hit an RBI single in the eighth as the Yankees remained three games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East and moved 5 1/2 ahead of Boston for the first American League wild card.
Carlos Rodón (6-3) allowed two runs and three hits in a season-high 6 1/3 innings. The left-hander notched two of his eight strikeouts on slugger Juan Soto, who heard boos from Yankee fans before each at-bat.
Bellinger homered after catching the ceremonial first pitch from Brielle Saracini, whose father Victor Saracini was the pilot on United Airlines Flight 175, which was flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

#first #saracini

Carter Jensen hit a pair of doubles, drove in a run, and scored a pair to lead the Royals to their second straight victory and first win against Boston since August 6 of last year. The final score was 3-2 in favor of Kansas City.
It was kind of a weird start for Seth Lugo. I attempted to do a reverse jinx on him with the game preview, and he ultimately allowed only two runs in five innings. That's good enough for now. However, looking toward the future, allowing 7 hits and 2 walks, even while striking out 7, in 5 innings is not a recipe for sustained success.
He only threw seven of his pitches tonight and, perhaps most notably, eschewed the slow curve entirely. The curveball and four-seamer were both much more effective than they have been of late. Perhaps this is a sign he's on the rebound.
For a while it seemed like the jinx on Sonny Gray might work, too. Gray came into the game with a 1.74 ERA against the Royals, the best among any pitchers with at least 10 starts against the team. Jensen's first double led off the game. He advanced to third on a groundout from Bobby Witt Jr. and scored on a Salvador Perez single when Gray inexplicably threw Salvy a sinker in instead of the usual breaking stuff away.
In the third inning, it seemed like the Royals might just go ahead and knock out Gray then and there. Isaac Collins led off with an automatic double at 103.2 MPH down the right field line that hopped over the short fence near the pole. Carter followed up by smashing one at 102.6 off the monster in left to trade places with Collins. Bobby flew out to center at 103.3 to advance Carter to third and Vinnie Pasquantino hit one at 102.4 to give the Royals their final run. Sadly, Salvy grounded into a double play to end the inning and that was the last time KC would score.

#game #collins

A fresh start, perhaps?
Lineups:
Kirby takes the mound tonight, hoping to be steadier than the uneven Jeffrey Springs. JP is back to leading off, and Birthday Boy Weston Wilson hits ninth. Taylor Ward is the DH tonight against the lefty Springs, and not to complain, but Arroyo would have been more fun.
Back in West Sacramento for three against the A’s. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/FcBpryS2RQ
your friday night plans ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/edUqfja3yE

#kirby

What is expected to be a strong Kernersville Middle School baseball team opened its season Tuesday afternoon with a 20-1 rout of Northwest Middle School at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex. The game was called on the 10-run rule after three innings.
At the plate, Colton McClendon led the team with four runs on two hits. He drove in the first two runs with a homer to left field in the first inning.
Carter Martin hit a two-run single, and Austin Newcomb followed with an RBI single. Cooper Forsyth and Aaron Thompson both hit RBI singles in the inning.
Colton was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in a run. A walk to Max Garber with the bases loaded brought in another run, and a single by Kamden Rice drove in another run.
KMS added 10 runs on five hits in the bottom of the second inning. An error scored two runs, Colton singled to drove in a run. Kamden doubled, driving in scoring three runs. Jacob King followed with a two-run double. A double by Jayden Rangel scored two runs and Brantley Lawson was struck by a pitch with the bases loaded to drove in the last run of the inning.

#drove #single #kamden

Legal representatives from Samsung are seeking the dismissal of Dua Lipa's $15 million lawsuit over the unauthorized use of her image on a product box. In a new Thursday filing obtained by Rolling Stone, the company argues that the singer does not have grounds to sue because there's "nothing suggesting plaintiff endorses the televisions."
"The images merely depict the televisions' on-screen interface, illustrating the applications and … an example of content available on the TV," lawyers for Samsung said. The relevant products contain a photo of Lipa on boxes for televisions featuring Samsung TV Plus, where the singer is used to promote the Xite Hits channel. Other logos that appear on the product include MLB, Fox Sports, and the crime series The First 48.
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#televisions #thursday

Bebe Rexha sent Drake a shot. And he didn't respond.
Grammy-nominated singer revealed in a new episode of Angie Martinez's IRL podcast how she tried to hook up with the rapper in the wake of his popular 20v1 speed-dating live stream last month, but remained unanswered.
"I'm your dream girl, I'm Albanian, I got a fat a**, I got my own thing going on, and I don't even think he saw it or he saw it and just ignored it," Rexha said.
In this episode, released on September 10th, she shared details of her path from NYC songwriter to recording artist in Los Angeles, and her collaboration with country icon Dolly Parton on their duet "Seasons."
The singer thinks Drake might have been spoiled too much by his ex-girlfriends to be interested in someone else. As is known, the rapper had a romance with Rihanna, whose famous hits included such duets with Drake as "What's My Name?" and "Work."

#rexha #singer #bebe