Aaron Judge made American League (AL) history with his record-tying 61st home run of the season as the New York Yankees won 8-3 over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Judge's seventh-inning two-run blast moved him to 61 single-season homers, equaling Roger Maris' long-held AL and franchise record set in 1961.
The homer ended Judge's run of seven homerless games, along with 31 consecutive plate appearances without a blast.
Judge delivered the shot in his fourth plate appearance of the game, going over left-field deep in the seventh from Tim Mayza, batting leadoff as the designated hitter.
"When I hit it, I thought I got enough but it's been a couple of games since I did that," Judge said.
"So, you never really know if it was going to get out out or, so, I tried to sprint around the bases a little bit then once it got over the fence, just relief that now we're leading the game.
"Getting a chance to tie Roger Maris, you dream about that kind of stuff, it's unreal."
Judge's blast came with scores tied at 3-3, opening up a two-run lead for the AL East-winning Yankees.
Harrison Bader had a single later in the seventh, before driving in two at the top of the ninth, reaching on a fielder's choice.
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole allowed three hits and three hits in six-and-one-third innings, striking out four to match Ron Guidry's franchise single-season record of 248 from 1978.
Escobar stars in Mets' walk-off win
Eduardo Escobar hit five RBIs including the walk-off game-winner in the 10th inning as the New York Mets got past the Miami Marlins 5-4.
The victory was critical for the Mets, giving them a one-game lead ahead of the Atlanta Bin the National League East, moving their magic number to clinch the division to six.
Trailing 4-0 at the bottom of the seventh inning, Escobar cut the lead in half with a two-run blast, before delivering an eighth-inning two-run single.
Escobar produced the walk-off single in the 10th inning, punching one through the hole of the left-side of the infield to drive in Francisco Lindor from second base.
Braves lose ground after Nats upset
The Braves let slip a huge opportunity to keep the pressure on the Mets, slumping to a 3-2 walk-off loss to the lowly Washington Nationals.
C.J. Abrams chopped a career-first walk-off single to right-field to drive in Alex Call for the game-winning run in the 10th inning. It was Abrams' third hit of the game.
Matt Olson crushed his 30th homer of the season among his two hits, while Michael Harris II hauled in a brilliant leaping catch at the center-field wall before driving in the game-tying eighth inning run for Dansby Swanson.
The Braves and Mets are set to meet in a crucial three-game series starting on Friday in Atlanta, weather permitting.
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.
MLB: Urquidy pitches Astros to crucial 2-1 win over Diamondbacks
Jose Abreu hit a two-run double that was nearly a three-run homer and Jose Urquidy delivered as an emergency starter to lift the Houston Astros to a 2-1 win over Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday.
The game remained scoreless until the sixth when Alex Bregman hit a one-out infield single, and Kyle Tucker singled one out later.
Abreu drilled a pitch from Zac Gallen deep to center that was initially called a three-run home run before video replay showed the ball hitting the line on the wall, resulting in a 2-0 Houston lead.
The hero for the Astros turned out to be Urquidy, who was called on to start in place of scheduled starter J.P. France, scratched due to a family emergency.
Urquidy, who has been used out of the bullpen since his last start on Aug 23, limited Arizona to two hits over six innings with three walks and two strikeouts.
Phil Maton and Hector Neris each worked one scoreless inning and Ryan Pressly gave up Gabriel Moreno’s RBI double in the ninth before getting Jace Peterson on a game-ending groundout.
The Astros pulled within one game of AL West-leading Texas and remained one game ahead of Seattle in the race for the final wild card.
Arizona still holds the second NL wild card but had its lead over Miami cut to one-half game with Cincinnati and the Cubs both two games behind.
Gallen failed in a bid to become the majors’ second 18-game winner, allowing two runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Crawford hits slam as Mariners keep playoff hopes alive
J.P. Crawford hit a grand slam and Ty France and Josh Rojas also homered as the Seattle Mariners stayed in the thick of the playoff race with an 8-0 rout of the Texas Rangers.
Seattle has won three or four following a four-game skid to remain one game behind Houston in the race for the final AL wild card.
The Mariners are still alive in the AL West, sitting two games behind Texas and one behind Houston with two games remaining.
The Rangers remained a victory away or Astros loss away from securing a playoff berth. There also remains the possibility of a three-way tie for the division title.
Bryan Woo pitched out of trouble to keep Texas scoreless through 3 2/3 innings and five relievers finished up with the final four keeping the Rangers hitless.
Blue Jays on brink of playoff spot
Alejandro Kirk homered and drove in three runs and Bo Bichette had four hits as the Toronto Blue Jays moved a step closer to the postseason with an 11-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Brandon Belt and Matt Chapman also went deep for the Blue Jays, who maintained a one-game lead over Houston.
Toronto can clinch a wild card with a win or a loss by Seattle over the next two days.
The Blue Jays took control with three runs in the third – two scoring on Kirk’s single – and extended to a 6-1 lead with three more runs in the fourth.
Belt led off with a home run and Bichette and Cavan Biggio singled and scored when center fielder Manuel Margot let the ball roll under his glove all the way to the wall.
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