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• New York Mets fire manager Showalter

  Buck Showalter will not return as the New York Mets' manager in 2024, an expected outcome after the team that began this season with the highest payroll in Major League Baseball history failed to reach the playoffs.

  Showalter told reporters of the team's decision prior to Sunday's season finale, a 9-1 home loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets released a statement following Showalter's announcement confirming their plans.

  “We are heading in a new direction, with a new President of Baseball Operations and we let Buck know we’ll be parting ways. We will begin the search for a new manager immediately,” Mets owner Steve Cohen said in the statement. 

  The move was widely expected after the Mets fell out of playoff contention before the All-Star break and finished with a 74-87 record, a steep decline from the 101 wins the team achieved in Showalter's first season in 2022.

  New York entered this season among the National League favourites after Cohen increased the payroll to a record $355 million as the Mets brought in three-time American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander and star Japanese picher Kodai Senga, as well as re-signing center fielder Brandon Nimmo and closer Edwin Diaz to big contracts.

  The Mets hovered around .500 for the first two months, however, before losing 19 of 26 games in June to drop further in the standings. That led to management's decision to become sellers at the Aug. 1 trade deadline and jettison off several prominent players, most notably Verlander and fellow ace Max Scherzer.

  Showalter's fate was further sealed when the Mets hired former Milwaukee Brewers general manager David Stearns as vice president of baseball operations in September.

  “I was honored to get a chance to manage a second New York team," said Showalter, whose 22-year tenure as a major league manager began with the crosstown rival Yankees in 1992. "I’m proud of what the Mets did. We won close to 180 games in two years. Especially last year, as much fun as I’ve ever had in the game. It reminded me why I’ve always loved this kind of work."

  Cohen also praised Showalter's work in the statement announcing the change.

  “Buck is a generational manager, and we value what he has done for our team, including leading us to a 101 win season and postseason berth last year." he said.  "The commitment and heart that Buck brings to the game will be felt by our organization for years to come. We wish Buck all the best in the next chapter of his career.”

  The Mets were the fifth team the 67-year-old Showalter managed during his lengthy career, which also included stops with the Yankees (1992-95), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2000), Texas Rangers (2003-06) and Baltimore Orioles (2010-18).

  Four of those teams reached the playoffs, though Showalter never guided one to a World Series despite making six total trips to the postseason and winning four Manager of the Year awards. 

  Showalter's overall managerial record stands at 1,726-1,665, ranking him 19th in MLB history in wins. 

• Marlins beat Pirates to clinch wild-card berth as final five playoff spots all claimed

  For just the fourth time in franchise history the Miami Marlins will play in the postseason.

  The Marlins punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

  Jazz Chisholm hit his 19th homer and Josh Bell drove in three runs as the Marlins secured their first trip to the playoffs since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

  It's the club's first time making the playoffs after a full season since the 2003 team won the franchise's second World Series. The postseason berth completes an improbable turnaround after Miami went 69-93 last season.

  The Marlins have won 18 of their last 27 games to vault past the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants and into the playoffs. They have also taken a half-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National League's second wild card. 

  In their postseason clinching-win, Chisholm, Jorge Soler and Jon Berti each scored twice, while Tanner Scott struck out the side in the ninth to notch his 12th save as the final of eight pitchers used by Miami.

   

   

  Rangers beat Mariners to return to playoffs for first time since 2016

  The Texas Rangers are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 with a 6-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.

  The Rangers plated four runs in the third inning en route to their 90th victory of the season - a 22-win improvement from 2022.

  One more win over the Mariners in Sunday's regular-season finale and Texas will claim the AL West title and the No. 2 seed in the AL playoffs. The Rangers, who are scheduled to start 12-game winner Dane Dunning in the finale, can also wrap up the division should the Houston Astros lose to the Diamondbacks.

  Jonah Heim had a two-run single and finished with three RBIs to lead the Texas offence, while Andrew Heaney threw 4 1/3 shutout innings in a spot start.

  The Mariners were eliminated from the postseason with the wins by the Rangers and Astros. Their loss also allowed the Toronto Blue Jays to secure a wild-card berth

  Luis Castillo struggled mightily, yielding four runs and throwing 86 pitches before being pulled after just 2 2/3 innings - tied for the second-shortest start of his career.

   

   

  Verlander helps Astros beat Diamondbacks, yet both teams clinch postseason spots

  The Houston Astros defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0, but both teams got the desired result.

  The Astros clinched a playoff berth with the victory and the Diamondbacks secured a wild-card spot with the Cincinnati Reds' 15-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

  While Arizona is battling with Miami for the NL's second wild card, Houston can win the AL West with a victory over the Diamondbacks in Sunday's finale, coupled with a Rangers loss to the Mariners.

  Justin Verlander struck out five and allowed two hits over five innings and Jose Abreu put the Astros ahead with a run-scoring double in the fourth inning.

  Merrill Kelly threw seven innings of one-run ball for Arizona, which is just two years removed from a 110-loss season and is in the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

   

• Manchester rivals suffer three o'clock woe

  Manchester City and Manchester United both lost on Saturday, breaking a decade-old wait for the two rivals to fall to a defeat in a 3pm kick-off.

  It is rare for both United and City to play in the traditional Saturday slot, but that was the case as Erik ten Hag's side hosted Crystal Palace and Pep Guardiola's Premier League champions headed to Wolves.

  Yet neither team will be in a rush to remember this particular afternoon in a hurry, as they both lost in a 3pm Saturday kick-off for the first time since September 28, 2013. 

  United lost 1-0, with Joachim Andersen's goal making Roy Hodgson the first manager to go unbeaten in five successive Premier League trips to Old Trafford. City, meanwhile, went down 2-1 at Molineux, with Hwang Hee-chan getting the winner for Wolves.

  No Rodri, big problems

  City lost to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup on Wednesday and, without star midfielder Rodri – who was serving the second of a three-match suspension for the red card he received against Nottingham Forest – they found themselves on the end of a defeat again at Wolves.

  Since Rodri made his Premier League debut in August 2019, City have lost five of 15 matches without the Spaniard in the competition (W9 D1); by contrast, they have lost just five of their last 67 league games when Rodri has featured (W53 D9).