Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves to advance in the Major League Baseball Playoffs on Wednesday as the Tampa Bay Rays ousted the New York Yankees. Andy Pages put prior post-season disappointments behind him to deliver a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning for the Dodgers, who beat the Braves 4-1 to complete a 3-1 victory over the Braves in their best-of-five National League division series.
The Rays edged the Yankees 4-3 in New York to complete a 3-0 sweep in their American League division series, fueled by a two-run home run from Victor Mesa Jr. and aided by a spectator interference call that denied the Yankees a two-run homer. A tight game in Atlanta had been knotted at 1-1 since the second inning when Pages came through in the seventh, stroking a fastball from Braves relief pitcher Robert Suarez up the middle for a bases-loaded single that scored two to put Los Angeles up 3-1.
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“It’s important,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Once you get to an elimination game…anything can happen. And to be able to win today, get back, reset, have a day off tomorrow, set the rotation, it’s huge.” The Dodgers will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League championship series for the second straight year. The Brewers beat the Padres 3-1 in San Diego to complete a 3-1 win in their division series and book a rematch with the Dodgers — who swept them in four games in the NLCS last year on the way to a second straight World Series title.
“We know that we’re a force to be reckoned with,” said Milwaukee’s Garrett Mitchell, who delivered a triple and a run-scoring single before robbing San Diego slugger Manny Machado of a potential game-tying homer in the eighth inning with a spectacular catch at the wall.
In New York, the Rays took advantage of their first opportunity to close out the Yankees, but not without drama. The Rays had a run-scoring single from Jonathan Aranda in the third inning and a solo home run from Ryan Vilade in the fourth. But the Yankees answered both runs, and it was tied at 2-2 with two outs in the sixth inning when Mesa lofted a 401-foot home run to right center field off Yankees starting pitcher Max Fried that also scored Junior Caminero. That proved the difference maker.
Anthony Volpe had appeared to pull New York level again with a sixth-inning shot to deep left field that was originally ruled a two-run homer. That call was overturned after a lengthy video review that found interference by a spectator who reached over the wall to grab the ball as Mesa attempted to catch it. “In my opinion, I feel that I could catch that ball, at least could have touched my glove,” Mesa said. A statement from the MLB replay center said that after viewing “all relevant angles,” the replay official “definitively determined” spectator interference but judged the ball would not have been caught. Volpe was credited with a run-scoring double that pulled New York within 4-3.
Irked fans responded by throwing some trash on the field, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone had no complaints about the call. “I thought they got it right,” Boone said. Tampa Bay will face either the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians in the American League championship series after the Guardians fended off elimination with a 9-3 triumph in Chicago.
Jose Ramirez and Jo Adell struck run-scoring triples to power the Guardians, who had dropped the first two games at home. Ramirez went two-for-four at the plate with a double, a triple, two runs-batted-in, two runs scored, and a stolen base. Chicago, leading the series 2-1, hosts game four on Thursday aiming to extend a fairytale year that has seen them bounce back from three straight 100-loss seasons to improbably reach the playoffs.
© 2024 AFP
