**Los Angeles (United States) (AFP)** – The Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday became the first American League team to reach this season’s Major League Baseball playoffs with an 8-5 victory over Kansas City. Coming off a woeful 74-88 campaign in 2024, the Blue Jays have the best record in the American League at 90-66 and are two games ahead of the New York Yankees in the race for the AL East title. The Yankees kept up the chase on Sunday with a 7-1 victory at Baltimore.
In Kansas City, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Andres Gimenez drove in two runs each for the Blue Jays, who are back in the post-season for the first time since 2023. “This is an unbelievable group, the definition of selfless,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “We put so much into this. It’s just the first step and I’m just thrilled for the players.” Looking back to last year, a tough year, we used it as an opportunity to adjust some things and change some things a little bit earlier than you usually do. “So it’s awesome — from top to bottom everyone has kind of bought in and everyone is just doing their part.”
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The Milwaukee Brewers, who were already the first team to secure a playoff berth, clinched the National League Central division title for the third straight season on Sunday. Despite a 5-1 loss to the Cardinals, the Brewers secured the title when the Chicago Cubs were beaten 1-0 by the Cincinnati Reds. Gavin Lux drove in the only run for the Reds with a double in the bottom of the third inning. The Reds completed a four-game sweep of the Cubs and are in position to claim an NL wild card spot — getting a boost when the New York Mets fell to the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Sunday.
With one week remaining in the regular season, the Reds and Mets are tied for the final wild card berth, but with Cincinnati holding the tiebreaker. It has been a long fall for the Mets, who had the best record in baseball through June 12. Sunday’s defeat was their 11th in 15 games. “It comes down to winning,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “We’ve put ourselves in this position, so we’ve got to find a way to get out of it … We’ve got to win ballgames.”
In Houston, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh hit his MLB-leading 58th home run in the second inning of the Mariners’ 7-3 victory over the Astros. The Mariners completed a sweep of the three-game series in Houston, which gave them a three-game lead over the Astros atop the American League West with six games remaining. The sweep also means the Mariners hold the tiebreaker in the race for the division crown. “Honestly, you couldn’t ask for a better three-game set,” Raleigh said. “Obviously, there’s a lot on the line, and I give credit to the guys here in this clubhouse. They never flinched.”
J.P. Crawford’s grand slam in the second had put the Mariners up 5-0 when Raleigh belted a pitch from Astros pitcher Jason Alexander to right field for a two-run homer. The shot came one night after Raleigh passed Ken Griffey Jr. for the Mariners’ single-season home run record.
© 2024 AFP
