Miguel Vargas had two hits and two RBIs, Kyle Teel homered and David Sandlin delivered six strong innings as the visiting Chicago White Sox routed the Kansas City Royals 9-1 on Thursday to clinch an American League playoff berth.
Chicago is back in the postseason for the first time since 2021 after enduring three straight 100-loss seasons.
Fueled by an early barrage against Royals right-hander Randy Dobnak, the White Sox remained a game behind the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians. Chicago holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Cleveland. Whichever one of those two teams fails to win the division will wind up as the third AL wild-card team.
Sandlin (3-2) yielded one run and five hits. Dobnak (3-5) allowed six runs (four earned) and six hits in 1 1/3 innings.
Guardians 1, Red Sox 0
Angel Martinez’s second-inning home run was all visiting Cleveland needed for a win over Boston to clinch its third consecutive playoff berth.
Joey Cantillo (11-9) dominated for five shutout innings as the Guardians’ bulk reliever, yielding one hit. Hunter Gaddis, Erik Sabrowski and Cade Smith allowed a combined one hit over the final three innings to help Cleveland win its seventh game in the last eight.
The playoff-bound Red Sox fell for the fourth time in five games despite getting five innings of one-run ball from Ranger Suarez (8-5).
Cubs 2, Marlins 1
Nico Hoerner ripped a go-ahead RBI single in the sixth and Matthew Boyd tossed seven strong innings, helping host Chicago clinch a playoff berth with a victory over Miami.
Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong walked to lead off the first inning and promptly stole second base to become the seventh player in major league history to record at least 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in a single season.
Seiya Suzuki belted a solo homer in the fifth inning to highlight his two-hit performance for the Cubs, who salvaged the finale of their three-game series with Miami. Chicago sits in the second NL wild-card spot, one game behind San Diego.
Padres 4, Dodgers 2
Dustin Harris drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning as visiting San Diego beat Los Angeles to clinch a playoff spot for a franchise-record third consecutive season.
Yuki Matsui (4-1) earned the win with a scoreless inning, and Mason Miller gave up a run with two outs in the ninth before securing his 38th save. Ethan Salas and Fernando Tatis Jr. each had two hits and an RBI for the Padres.
Tyler Glasnow (5-2) fanned a season-high 11 but allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings for the Dodgers, who secured a first-round playoff bye thanks to the Atlanta Braves’ loss on Thursday. Shohei Ohtani went 2-for-5 with an RBI double.
Brewers 5, Phillies 1
Jake Bauers’ RBI single in the eighth inning plated the go-ahead run for Milwaukee, which reached the 100-win mark for the first time in franchise history with a win at Philadelphia. When the Dodgers fell to the Padres later, the Brewers clinched the top record in the major leagues.
Bauers, who went 2-for-5, singled up the middle, allowing Jackson Chourio to score from second, giving the Brewers (100-59) a 2-1 lead and starting a three-run frame.
Philadelphia remains in an NL wild-card spot, but the Phillies could not drop their magic number to clinch from two. Phillies starter Andrew Painter threw six innings of one-run ball, fanning eight. Bryce Harper went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Diamondbacks 12, Rockies 8
Gabriel Moreno and Nolan Arenado homered in a six-run first inning and surging Arizona beat Colorado in Denver to continue its drive for a wild-card berth.
James McCann also went deep for Arizona, which moved within two games of Philadelphia for the third and final NL playoff berth. Arizona finishes the regular season in San Diego while the Phillies host Tampa Bay this weekend.
Cole Carrigg homered among his four hits, Kyle Karros and Zac Veen also went deep and had two hits for Colorado, which finished with 17 hits.
Rangers 3, Mets 1
Kumar Rocker pitched five solid innings for Texas, which salvaged the finale of a three-game series against New York in Arlington, Texas.
Josh Jung (3-for-3) hit a two-run homer in the first and Corey Seager went deep in the sixth for the Rangers, who remain tied with Houston for first place in the American League West. Rocker (6-11) allowed one run on three hits. Jordan Montgomery recorded his first save of the season.
Mets starter Zac Thornton (5-6) yielded two runs on four hits over five innings. Brett Baty extended his on-base streak to 17 games.
Astros 7, Athletics 5
Rookie Lucas Spence hit his first three career homers and drove in five runs as Houston smacked five homers while defeating the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif.
Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker added solo blasts for the Astros who remained tied for first in the AL West with the Rangers. Houston holds the tiebreaker, having gone 9-4 vs. Texas this year.
Houston reliever Miguel Ullola (2-0) fired three scoreless innings and Brayan Abreu worked 1 1/3 shutout innings for his ninth save. Zack Gelof hit two homers and Jeff McNeil drilled a three-run shot for the Athletics, who lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Yankees 6, Rays 4
Rookie George Lombard Jr. hit a tiebreaking two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning as New York overcame a four-run deficit and earned a victory over visiting Tampa Bay.
New York ace Cam Schlittler allowed two runs (one earned) in three innings in a playoff tuneup, ending the season with a 1.95 ERA. Bradley Hanner (1-0) threw two scoreless innings for his first career victory.
Junior Caminero had a pair of RBI singles for the Rays. Ian Seymour allowed one hit in five scoreless innings. Steven Matz (5-6) served up Lombard’s decisive homer.
Pirates 2, Cardinals 1
Spencer Horwitz’s sacrifice fly in the eighth drove in the go-ahead run, and Paul Skenes concluded his season with a quality start as Pittsburgh wrapped up its home schedule with a victory over St. Louis.
Skenes tossed 6 1/3 innings, struck out eight, walked two and allowed one run on three hits. His final pitch completed a strikeout of Leo Bernal, giving him 200-plus for the second straight season. Luke Weaver (4-1) escaped an inherited eighth-inning jam before Mason Montgomery recorded his 17th save.
Alec Burleson homered for the Cardinals. St. Louis (77-82) is guaranteed to finish with back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1994-95.
Reds 7, Braves 6
A two-run homer by Hector Rodriguez, one of three long balls by Cincinnati, helped the visiting Reds beat Atlanta in the rubber game of a three-game series.
Rodriguez clubbed a 423-foot homer to right field against AJ Smith-Shawver (0-3) in the sixth inning to give the Reds the lead for good. Elly De La Cruz added his 30th homer and Carlos Jorge hit his first career homer. Cincinnati reliever Connor Phillips (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Atlanta right-hander Tyler Mahle threw five innings and gave up five runs on six hits in his worst outing since being acquired from San Francisco at the trade deadline.
Angels 6, Mariners 4
Christian Moore doubled, singled and drove in three runs as Los Angeles won at Seattle.
Josh Lowe also had a single and a double and scored three times for the Angels. Los Angeles starter Grayson Rodriguez (5-8) gave up four runs on five hits over five innings. Ryan Watson pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
Julio Rodriguez homered for the Mariners, whose postseason hopes were dashed when the Rangers defeated the Mets earlier in the day. Bryan Woo (12-10) allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
