MLB roundup: Dodgers tackle M's, lock down NL West

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Sep 16, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate after winning the National League West division after the game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
Sep 16, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate after winning the National League West division after the game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
Image: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Max Muncy sparked a five-run rally in the top of the 11th inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their 10th National League West title in the past 11 seasons, defeating the host Seattle Mariners 6-2 on Saturday night.

With Mookie Betts at second to start the 11th, Mariners reliever Gabe Speier (2-2) struck out Freddie Freeman before intentionally walking Will Smith to set up a potential double play. Muncy spoiled that plan by lining a single to center to score Betts with the go-ahead run.

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Isaiah Campbell replaced Speier and walked Amed Rosario to load the bases. Chris Taylor then dropped a two-run single into left center to make it 4-1. A Jason Heyward single reloaded the bases before Enrique Hernandez dumped a two-out single into shallow right field to score the final two runs.

Heyward went 4-for-5 with three doubles for the Dodgers.

Ty France had two hits and Mike Ford drove in a run for the Mariners, who failed to make up ground on Houston and Texas in the American League West and dropped a half-game behind Toronto in the race for the American League's third and final wild-card berth.

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Diamondbacks 7, Cubs 6 (13 innings)

Arizona rallied for two runs in the 13th inning thanks to consecutive run-scoring singles by Emmanuel Rivera and Gabriel Moreno to beat Chicago in Phoenix.

Rivera and Moreno hit their singles with two outs off Hayden Wesneski (2-5). After Patrick Wisdom hit a single to move automatic runner Yan Gomes to third, Gomes ran home when Ian Happ hit into a double play against Joe Mantiply (2-2) in the top of the 13th.

Nico Hoerner produced an RBI single in the 11th inning and also generated a run in the 10th for Chicago. Arizona tied things at 5-5 with one out in the 11th on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s RBI single.

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Orioles 8, Rays 0

Grayson Rodriguez pitched eight shutout innings, Gunnar Henderson homered and drove in three runs and Baltimore defeated visiting Tampa Bay to regain sole possession of first place in the American League East.

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Henderson had three of Baltimore's 11 hits and Aaron Hicks and Ramon Urias had two each. In the longest outing of his brief career, Rodriguez (6-4) allowed five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out seven.

Rays starter Tyler Glasnow (9-6) allowed six runs on eight hits in four innings, his shortest start of the season for the Rays, who had won nine of 11 games to surge into a first-place tie with the Orioles.

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Rockies 9, Giants 5 (Game 1)

Ezequiel Tovar had three hits and tied a career high with four RBIs, Brenton Doyle had two hits and Colorado beat San Francisco in Denver.

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Nolan Jones scored three runs, Karl Kauffmann (2-4) tossed four innings of relief and Gavin Hollowell earned his first save for Colorado, which took the first game of a split doubleheader.

LaMonte Wade Jr. homered and Thairo Estrada had four hits for San Francisco, which has dropped two straight games to the Rockies after winning 16 of 17 against them dating back to August 2022.

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Blue Jays 4, Red Sox 3 (13 innings)

Whit Merrifield hit a walk-off infield single with two outs in the 13th to lift host Toronto past Boston for the second straight day.

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Merrifield's chopper to third baseman Rafael Devers against Mauricio Llovera (1-3) scored automatic runner Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from third base. Toronto's Chad Green (3-0) earned the win, only issuing an intentional walk in the top half of the 13th in his lone inning of work.

The Blue Jays tied the game with two outs in the ninth thanks to Daulton Varsho's two-out RBI triple. Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela initially came in on the ball, and it ended up going over his head.

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Padres 5, Athletics 2

Rookie Matt Waldron earned his first major league win, Juan Soto drove in two runs and San Diego made it two wins in a row over host Oakland.

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Making his fourth big-league start, Waldron (1-3) benefitted from pitching with a lead for his entire 5 1/3 innings, during which he allowed two runs and seven hits. He walked one and struck out five.

Ryan Noda delivered Oakland's first run in the third with a sacrifice fly. Zack Gelof's 12th home run of the season, a solo shot, wrapped up the day's scoring in the sixth.

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Marlins 11, Braves 5

Jake Burger slugged a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth, leading host Miami to a big inning and a win over Atlanta.

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Burger, who went 3-for-4, hit his homer off reliever Kirby Yates (7-2). Miami's Jazz Chisholm Jr., who had three steals, belted a grand slam later in the eighth. He is approaching a potential 20-20 season, with 17 homers and 22 steals.

Matt Olson hit his 52nd homer of the season for the Braves, who have dropped back-to-back games to Miami. Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Michael Harris II also went deep for Atlanta.

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Guardians 2, Rangers 1

Tyler Freeman and Steven Kwan had back-to-back two-out RBI singles in the eighth and Cleveland held on against visiting Texas in the second game of a three-game series.

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Kwan, Josh Naylor and Jose Ramirez each had two hits for Cleveland, which has won the first two games of the series and three of four overall. Guardians starter Tanner Bibee departed with one out in the sixth with hip tightness. He allowed one run and five hits.

Rangers starter Dane Dunning scattered six hits over five shutout innings.

Yankees 6, Pirates 3

Giancarlo Stanton and Oswaldo Cabrera homered to help visiting New York down Pittsburgh.

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Estevan Florial added a two-run single and Austin Wells had an RBI double for the Yankees, who have won the first two games of the three-game set. New York has also won six of its last seven games overall.

Bryan Reynolds homered and Endy Rodriguez had a sacrifice fly for the Pirates, who are 3-3 in their past six games. Pittsburgh starter Luis L. Ortiz (4-5) gave up four runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings.

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Royals 10, Astros 8

Salvador Perez and Nelson Velazquez each drove in two runs and host Kansas City tripped up Houston.

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Logan Porter belted his first big-league home run, and the Royals extended their winning streak to four games. James McArthur (1-0) got the win, and Hector Neris (6-3) was tagged with the loss.

The Royals snapped a 6-6 tie with three runs in the seventh inning. The Astros closed the gap in the ninth inning on Yordan Alvarez's RBI double and Jose Abreu's run-scoring groundout off Carlos Hernandez. Taylor Clarke came in to record the final out for his second save of the season.

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Brewers 9, Nationals 5

Mark Canha hit a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift host Milwaukee over Washington.

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Canha went 3-for-5 with five RBIs as the Brewers won for the fifth time in their last six games despite squandering a four-run lead. Canha's 11th homer of the season came off Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan (7-5).

Joey Meneses went 3-for-4 and Luis Garcia homered for the Nationals, who have lost five games in a row.

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White Sox 7, Twins 6

Eloy Jimenez and Gavin Sheets each hit a home run, and Chicago held on for a win over visiting Minnesota.

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Tim Anderson and Andrew Benintendi added one RBI apiece for Chicago, which snapped a four-game losing streak. White Sox right-hander Touki Toussaint (4-7) limited the Twins to one run on three hits in five innings. Tanner Banks escaped the ninth to earn his first career save.

Royce Lewis went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run to lead Minnesota. Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez (10-8) gave up five runs on eight hits in five innings.

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Reds 3, Mets 2

Christian Encarnacion-Strand had two hits, including a two-run homer, as visiting Cincinnati maintained its grip on the third and final National League wild-card spot with a win over New York.

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TJ Friedl had two hits and scored a run for the Reds, who have won the first two games of the three-game series and five of their last six overall. Daniel Duarte (3-0), the second of five Cincinnati pitchers, tossed 1 1/3 hitless innings to get the win.

Ronny Mauricio had two hits, including an RBI single, for the Mets, who fell to 7-7 this month. Francisco Alvarez had two hits, including a run-scoring double.

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Phillies 6, Cardinals 1

Kyle Schwarber hit a three-run homer to power visiting Philadelphia past St. Louis.

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Alec Bohm, Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas drove in the other runs for the Phillies, who earned their second straight victory over the Cardinals. Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (3-6) held the Cardinals to one run on four hits and four walks in six innings.

Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (7-12) allowed five runs on eight hits in six innings. St. Louis drew eight walks in the game but left 13 runners on base.

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Rockies 5, Giants 2 (Game 2)

Ezequiel Tovar, Kris Bryant, Brendan Rodgers and Charlie Blackmon each had two hits, and Colorado beat San Francisco to sweep a doubleheader in Denver.

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Victor Vodnik (1-0) pitched two-plus innings and Tyler Kinley earned his fourth save for Colorado, which earned its first series win from a National League West opponent this season. The Rockies earned their fifth straight victory.

Wilmer Flores and Patrick Bailey had two hits for San Francisco, which trails Cincinnati and Arizona by 2 1/2 games for the final NL wild card.

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Tigers 5, Angels 4 (10 innings)

Miguel Cabrera drove in two runs — including the go-ahead run with a 10th-inning single — Zack Short blasted a three-run homer and Detroit defeated Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.

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Cabrera knocked in automatic runner Kerry Carpenter against Jose Soriano (1-3) after Detroit squandered a three-run lead in the ninth inning. Detroit's Sawyer Gipson-Long struck out 11 in his second major league start.

Nolan Schanuel hit his first career homer for the Angels, who have lost four straight games. Jared Walsh supplied a two-run homer.

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—Field Level Media