The New York Yankees came through in the ninth inning to win a hard-fought pitching duel 3-2 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Yankees pitcher Jordan Montgomery was strong through five innings, conceding two runs from six hits and no walks, striking out five. For the Blue Jays, Ross Stripling gave up two runs from five hits and no walks in four innings.
It was a scoreless first three frames, before the Yankees finally found the breakthrough when Gleyber Torres stepped up to the plate with Josh Donaldson on first base and two outs, sending a blast over the right-field wall to make it 2-0.
The lead was short-lived, as George Springer led off the bottom of the fourth with a base hit, before coming home with Bo Bichette's double to left-field. Bichette was then brought home by Matt Chapman's two-out base hit, tying the game at 2-2.
It would be another four scoreless innings as both bullpens, particularly the Blue Jays', were lights out, not allowing the Yankees another baserunner until the ninth inning.
Giancarlo Stanton led off the last frame with a single to center-field, before he was withdrawn from the game, replaced by speedy pinch-runner Tim Locastro in a game-winning decision.
Locastro instantly stole second base, breaking up what would have been a double-play when the next batter up grounded out, and made his way into scoring position in the process.
Aaron Hicks' strikeout brought Torres back to the plate with two outs, and he delivered once again, sending a base hit to right-field to bring Locastro to home plate for a 3-2 lead.
Yankees closer Chad Green closed the door in style, striking out two of the three batters he faced to collect the save.
Angels batters issued Cease and desist
Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease pitched a gem in his side's 3-0 shutout win against the Los Angeles Angels.
Cease got through seven complete innings in 93 pitches, striking out 11 while conceding just one hit and no walks.
He did not have to wait long for run-support either, as the White Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning after A.J. Pollock and Jake Burger drove in one each.
Pitchers put on a show in St Louis
Kansas City Royals starter Zach Greinke only allowed three hits, no walks and one run in his six innings, but was still credited with the loss as his side went down 1-0 against the St Louis Cardinals.
Steven Matz was even better for the Cardinals, pitching six scoreless frames, conceding four hits and no walks.
Paul Goldschmidt put the Cardinals ahead with a solo home run in the opening inning, for the first and last run of the night.
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.
Giants fire manager Kapler after missing playoffs again
The San Francisco Giants have fired manager Gabe Kapler after missing the playoffs for the third time in his four-year tenure, the organisation announced Friday.
The move is a full reversal from the public vote of confidence given last month by chairman Greg Johnson and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, making Kapler appear to be a lock in the dugout in 2024.
At the time, the Giants were in position for a wild card spot in the NL playoffs but have since been eliminated from post-season consideration and are in danger of finishing below .500 unless they sweep their final series of the season.
Zaidi appeared on local radio station KNBR Thursday, and his comments signalled a change of heart.
“I just think we have to look at everything," Zaidi said during the interview. “There's a time and place for everything. One hundred sixty-two games is a grind. We want our players to be comfortable being able to wash off those tough losses.
“But when you’re in do-or-die games, like we were in Arizona, you want them to feel different. I think we’re really going to have to ask ourselves if we were prepared to sort of elevate our level of focus in play for those games that really matter down the stretch.”
Entering play Friday, the Giants have lost 10 of their last 13 games, including a pair against division rival and fellow wild-card hopeful Arizona on Sept. 19-20. The combined score of those games was 15-5.
The Giants are 29-40 since the All-Star break.
Kapler, 48, was 456-411 as manager in San Francisco and helped the team win a franchise-record 107 games in 2021. The Giants’ reward for a historic season was facing the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers in the Divisional round, and Kapler’s squad was eliminated in a Game 5 nail-biter.
“Gabe led our team through an unprecedented pandemic in 2020 and a franchise-record 107 wins and post-season berth in 2021,” Zaidi said in a statement Friday. “He has been dedicated and passionate in his efforts to improve the on-field performance of the San Francisco Giants and I have tremendous respect for him as a colleague and friend.”
Before arriving in San Francisco, Kapler managed the Philadelphia Phillies for two seasons with a 161-163 combined record and no play-off appearances.
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