MLB roundup: Astros blank A’s, capture AL West title

By Field Level Media

Sep 28 (Field Level Media) – Rookie Lucas Spence ripped a two-run triple to highlight a four-run third inning, helping the Houston Astros celebrate the American League West title with a 9-0 victory over the Athletics on Sunday in West Sacramento, Calif.

Christian Walker homered to lead off the sixth inning and joined Yainer Diaz, Cam Smith and Jeremy Pena in collecting two hits and an RBI for the Astros (81-81), who won the division for the eighth time in the last 10 seasons.

Third-seeded Houston will host the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday in Game 1 of the best-of-three wild-card series. The Astros went 5-2 against the White Sox this season.

Houston actually captured the AL West title prior to the conclusion of its victory, as the Texas Rangers dropped a 6-4 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Yordan Alvarez went 1-for-4 with an RBI single to boost his batting average to .316, giving him his first batting title.

Lawrence Butler had two of the five hits for the Athletics (64-98), who lost for the ninth time in 12 games.

Phillies 7, Tampa Bay 3

Zack Wheeler pitched six strong innings and Kyle Schwarber drove in two runs as the Phillies clinched their fifth straight postseason berth by beating the Rays.

Bryce Harper and Edmundo Sosa homered for Philadelphia, which had lost its previous four games by the combined score of 23-3. The Phillies finally showed signs of life in Game 162, and now they’ll head to Atlanta to face the Braves in the National League wild-card round that begins on Tuesday,

Johnny DeLuca homered twice for Tampa Bay. The Rays earned a bye into the American League Division Series and face the winner of the wild-card series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

Cubs 6, Red Sox 2

Alex Bregman went 4-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs against his former team to help Chicago wrap up the regular season by defeating Boston in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The game was scheduled to be played in Boston, but was moved to Tropicana Field because of the nor’easter that hit much of New England throughout the weekend.

Both of Bregman’s home runs came against Boston starter Tanner Houck, who made his first appearance on the mound since May 2025. Houck (0-1), who had Tommy John surgery last year, allowed three runs on four hits in three innings. The Red Sox were held to five hits and were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Twins 6, Rangers 4

Josh Bell hit a two-run home run and drove in three to lead host Minnesota to a season-ending win over Texas.

The loss eliminated the Rangers from the American League West title race and the playoffs. Rangers starter Mackenzie Gore allowed one hit and one run in 2 1/3 innings.

Twins starter Dean Kremer (5-5) gave up three hits and one run in seven innings. Kremer yielded a home run to Danny Jansen, but did not allow another Texas runner past first base.

Dodgers 5, Giants 1 (10 innings)

Andy Pages capped a four-run 10th inning with a three-run home run, and visiting Los Angeles beat San Francisco to earn its 100th win of the season.

The Dodgers took the lead in the 10th when Alex Call’s two-out double off the left field fence drove in automatic runner Miguel Rojas. The Giants then elected to walk Max Muncy, before Pages foiled that strategy by driving a pitch by Duncan Davitt (0-1) into the left field bleachers for his 23rd home run of the season.

Alex Vesia (3-1), whose perfect ninth sent the game into the 10th, was credited with the win, which allows the Dodgers to take a three-game winning streak into their National League Division Series opener next Saturday against the winner of the wild-card series between the host Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.

Marlins 5, Braves 3

Heriberto Hernandez and Griffin Conine slugged solo home runs, giving host Miami a win over Atlanta to end its season on a high note.

Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara tossed a scoreless ninth inning for his third career save. It was a fitting end of the year for Alcantara, who threw both the first and last pitch of the season for Miami. sStarter Janson Junk left with a no-decision. He allowed three hits and one run in 4 2/3 innings. Michael Petersen (4-4) earned the win with 1 1/3 hitless innings of relief.

Braves starter JR Ritchie (1-5) took the loss. He allowed seven hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings. Mauricio Dubon hit his 12th homer to open the scoring and added an RBI single for Atlanta, which begins its home wild-card series against divisional rival Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Nationals 6, Mets 4

Andres Chaparro had three hits, including two solo home runs, and host Washington beat New York to end its season with a series win.

Will Dion (3-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory and Erik Tolman worked the ninth for his fifth save for Washington, which improved by 11 wins over 2025.

Francisco Lindor hit his 300th career homer and Ronny Mauricio smacked his third home run in two games for the Mets, who finished last in the National League East. Carson Benge ended his rookie season with three hits and an RBI.

Blue Jays 5, Reds 1

In potentially his final career start, Max Scherzer struck out seven over seven-plus innings and host Toronto topped Cincinnati.

The 42-year-old Scherzer (4-9) allowed one run and six hits to earn his 225th career win and boost his strikeout total to 3,557. The Blue Jays’ 37-year-old designated hitter George Springer, who might have also played his last game, like Scherzer received a standing ovation when he was replaced.

Brandon Valenzuela hit a two-run home run for Toronto and Charles McAdoo added a solo shot in the rubber match of the three-game series. Brandon Williamson (5-5) allowed four runs and four hits in three innings for the Reds.

White Sox 4, Rockies 2

Randal Grichuk and Brenton Doyle smacked two-run home runs and Anthony Kay pitched five strong innings to boost host Chicago past Colorado.

The White Sox are set to visit the American League West champion Houston Astros on Tuesday in the opener of an AL wild-card series. Chicago clinched its first playoff berth on Thursday since 2021 but was eliminated from contention for an AL Central title with Saturday’s loss to Colorado and a Cleveland victory at Kansas City.

Cole Carrigg homered for Colorado, which finished with more than 100 losses for the fourth successive season.

Royals 3, Guardians 2

Vinnie Pasquantino’s second solo homer of the day broke an eighth-inning tie and sent host Kansas City to a win over Cleveland.

Jac Caglianone and Kyle Isbel each had two hits for the Royals, who ended a disappointing 2026 campaign by avoiding a sweep and winning for just the seventh time in the final 25 games.

Daniel Schneemann and Jo Adell each homered and had two hits apiece for the Guardians, who rested key regulars Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez and Brayan Rocchio one day after securing their third consecutive American League Central title. Cleveland plays either the Chicago White Sox or Houston Astros in the American League Division Series.

Pirates 4, Tigers 2

Jared Jones pitched four innings of one-hit ball and Konnor Griffin led off the game with a solo home run and drove in two runs to lead Pittsburgh past host Detroit.

Griffin’s homer was the sixth of his rookie season and helped the Pirates secure their first winning record since 2018 and only their second since last making the postseason in 2015. Jones was not eligible for the win after exiting the game before the fifth. Jones finished 5-6 with a 3.72 ERA in 21 starts after returning from elbow surgery in late May.

Rookie River Ryan (0-1) made his second start for the Tigers and sixth of his career. The right-hander allowed two runs on three hits over 1 1/3 innings. Detroit finished with a losing record after advancing to the American League Division Series each of the past two seasons.

Padres 9, Diamondbacks 4

Gavin Sheets homered and Freddy Fermin knocked in three runs as host San Diego tuned up for their National League wild-card series by stopping visiting Arizona.

San Diego, which opens its best-of-three series Tuesday night against the visiting Chicago Cubs, snapped a 4-4 tie with three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Fermin capped it with a two-run single.

Michael Soroka pitched 4 2/3 innings for Arizona, which was eliminated from postseason contention when Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay around the same time San Diego’s Jake Cronenworth drew a bases-loaded walk to push home the go- ahead run in the seventh.

Brewers 6, Cardinals 4

Jacob Misiorowski strengthened his case for the National League Cy Young Award, allowing just two hits over five-plus scoreless innings, as host Milwaukee beat St. Louis to close with five consecutive wins and its franchise record for victories in a season (103).

Misiorowski (16-5) allowed two singles in 5 1/3 innings and lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.80. The right-hander struck out five, giving him 252 strikeouts for the year.

Cardinals starter Andre Pallante (12-9) allowed six runs on 10 hits in five innings. He allowed six singles in the first inning for a 3-0 Brewers lead as well as Gary Sanchez’s home run in the third.

Mariners 7, Angels 4

Logan Gilbert pitched four-plus hitless innings and struck out eight as host Seattle dealt Los Angeles its 100th loss of the season. It was also the last game for Dan Wilson as the Mariners’ manager. The team announced after the game that Wilson will not return in that role in 2027 after a disappointing season and third-place finish in the American League West.

Jose Siri homered for the Angels, losers of 100 games for the first time. They had been the lone active MLB team to never suffer that many defeats.

Gilbert didn’t allow a baserunner until walking Moises Ballesteros leading off the fifth. He struck out the side in the first inning to reach 200 strikeouts for the season, becoming the fourth pitcher in franchise history to do so in multiple seasons.

(–Field Level Media)

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