CHICAGO (AP) — Seiya Suzuki hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 on Saturday for their sixth straight win.
Suzuki's two-out drive to left-center against Derek Law (2-3) was Chicago's first hit since the fourth and the last of three on the day.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The bid by interim manager Rob Thomson and the Philadelphia Phillies to end the club’s 11-year playoff drought was hurt by a 13-4 loss to the lowly Washington Nationals in the opener of a day-night doubleheader Saturday as starter Kyle Gibson was tagged once again.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani has agreed to a $30 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels for the 2023 season in the two-way superstar's final year of arbitration eligibility before free agency.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge went 0 for 2 with two walks and was hit by a pitch, remaining at 61 homers on the 61st anniversary of Roger Maris setting the American League record, and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-0 Saturday.
ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, already the longest-living U.S. president in history, turned 98 on Saturday, the latest milestone he shared with family and friends in Plains, the tiny Georgia town where he and his wife, 95-year-old Rosalynn, were born in the years between World War I and the Great Depression.
SEATTLE (AP) — Because of one stat, pitcher Matthew Boyd has become the go-to player to ask about the Seattle Mariners' situation.
Not the stats on the back of his baseball card, mind you. It's the fact Boyd was born in Bellevue, Washington, on Feb.
NEW YORK (AP) — Zack Britton's season is over, his comeback from Tommy John surgery cut short after just three relief appearances for the New York Yankees.
New York put the 34-year-old left-hander on the 60-day injured list Saturday and selected the contract of right-hander Jacob Barnes from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Evan Longoria homered twice and drove in five runs as the San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-4 Friday night for their 10th win in 11 games.
Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Wynns also went deep as San Francisco (79-78) moved above .500 for the first time since Aug.
A look at Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees as he approaches major home run milestones:
Season HR Total: 61
Friday’s Game: Went 1 for 2 with two walks in a 2-1 loss to Baltimore. Judge also is bidding for the first Triple Crown since Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera in 2012.
SEATTLE (AP) — More than an hour after Cal Raleigh ended the longest playoff drought in baseball, he was back on the field with his teammates, circling the perimeter of the field to acknowledge the tens of thousands of fans who still stuck around.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw went six scoreless innings in his next-to-last start before the playoffs and the Los Angeles Dodgers had an eight-run fourth inning in a 10-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Eloy Jiménez homered and the Chicago White Sox jumped on San Diego ace Yu Darvish in a 3-1 win Friday night that slowed the Padres' march toward a playoff spot.
Darvish was pushed back a day to give him extra rest with an eye toward pitching in the NL wild-card round, but the Padres lost their third straight game.
ATLANTA (AP) — Cal Raleigh homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Seattle Mariners ended the longest playoff drought in baseball with a 2-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Reid Detmers pitched six innings of four-hit ball in the final start of his eventful rookie season, and Jo Adell and Luis Rengifo hit early solo homers in the Los Angeles Angels' fifth consecutive victory, 4-1 over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles knew the end was coming and had left the ballpark by the time they were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention when Cal Raleigh's ninth-inning homer gave Seattle a 2-1 win over Oakland and the American League's final wild-card spot.
NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees All-Star closer Clay Holmes received a cortisone injection for inflammation in his right rotator cuff and likely won't pitch again until the Division Series starts on Oct. 11.
NEW YORK (AP) — Back in the Bronx, Aaron Judge had another sellout crowd fill Yankee Stadium hoping to see No. 62. The wait will extend into a rain-threatened weekend.
Judge went 1 for 2 with a pair of walks as the Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 2-1 on Friday night.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit his 701st home run, connecting Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pujols launched a slider from former teammate Johan Oviedo over the Big Mac Land sign in left field at Busch Stadium.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Corbin Burnes outpitched Sandy Alcantara, striking out seven in eight innings to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 1-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Friday night.
Milwaukee (84-73) remained a half-game back of the Phillies for the third NL wild-card spot.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Albert Pujols hit his 701st home run, Jack Flaherty allowed one run in six innings and the NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 on Friday night.
Pujols mashed a slider from Johan Oveido 398 feet to left field in the fourth inning, his 22nd homer of the season.
TORONTO (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer homered, Alek Manoah pitched six innings and the playoff-bound Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 9-0 on Friday night.
Raimel Tapia also connected for the Blue Jays, who clinched an AL wild-card berth Thursday when the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles.
HOUSTON (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros both had reasons to like how things turned out Friday night.
Drew Rasmussen and the Rays were the only ones celebrating, however.
Rasmussen pitched seven effective innings and the Rays clinched a playoff spot for the fourth straight season, posing on the field for a team picture after beating Houston 7-3.
DETROIT (AP) — Jake Ryan allowed five hits in six innings and the Minnesota Twins blanked Detroit 7-0 on Friday night, the Tigers' 22nd shutout loss of the season.
Detroit had its six-game winning streak snapped and surpassed the 1973 New York Yankees and 1976 Chicago White Sox, whose 21 times shut out were the most in the American League in the DH era.
ATLANTA (AP) — Austin Riley doesn't want to put too much emphasis on winning the first game of a crucial three-game series with the New York Mets.
That being said, he sure is glad the Atlanta Braves took the opener.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rhys Hoskins hit his 30th home run, Bailey Falter pitched six scoreless innings and the Philadelphia Phillies stayed in position for a National League wild-card spot with a 5-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday in the opener of a planned day-night doubleheader.
CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez hit a three-run homer and Emmanuel Clase worked a perfect ninth inning for his major league-leading 40th save in the Cleveland Guardians’ 6-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.
ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves have reached a deal with starting pitcher Charlie Morton on a $20 million, one-year contract for 2023 with a $20 million club option for 2024 that does not include a buyout.
TORONTO (AP) — The Boston Red Sox put right-handed pitcher Kaleb Ort on the restricted list Friday and recalled outfielder Jarren Duran from Triple-A Worcester.
A Canadian requirement that prevents foreign nationals who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 from entering the country expires Saturday, the first day of October.
TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays punched their postseason ticket without taking the field, so the celebration will wait until Friday night.
The Blue Jays locked up an AL wild-card spot a night earlier when Baltimore lost 5-3 at Boston.
CHICAGO (AP) — Adrian Sampson threw seven efficient innings, Nico Hoerner drove in three runs and the Chicago Cubs won their fifth straight, 6-1 over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday.
Sampson (4-5) gave up one run on three hits, struck out six and walked two in his 97-pitch outing.
Dolores Mejia thought the Chicago Bears could use a Hail Mary.
In fact, she said the prayer several times as she watched the 1986 Super Bowl, pairing the intercession to the Holy Mother with two other rosary staples — the Our Father and the Glory Be — before her team defeated the New England Patriots 46-10 and took home their first and only Vince Lombardi Trophy.
NEW YORK (AP) — The first-place New York Mets are calling up top prospect Francisco Álvarez for their pivotal weekend series against the Atlanta Braves, according to a person familiar with the decision.