Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – New York’s Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Ryan McMahon all homered as the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 on Saturday to remain locked in a race with Toronto for baseball’s American League East title on the penultimate day of the regular season. Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected for arguing called strikes against Judge in the fifth inning, after which the New York captain belted a two-run single to help seal the victory.
Judge had staked the Yankees to a 1-0 lead with his 53rd home run of the season in the first inning. Stanton and McMahon added solo homers off Baltimore pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano in the second, while rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler tossed seven shut-out innings. The only concern for the Yankees was the early exit of Jazz Chisholm after he was hit on the left arm by a 97 mph pitch. Initial X-rays were negative, the Yankees said, with Boone stating that the “early signs are good” that the injury is not too serious.
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The Yankees, already assured of at least a wild card berth, won their seventh straight game to stay level with the Blue Jays atop the division. Toronto beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 and holds the tiebreaker over the Yankees if they remain tied after the final games of the regular season on Sunday. “That’s the beauty of our sport,” Boone said of the division crown coming down to the final day of a campaign in which each team plays 162 games.
The race for the final National League wild card spot will also come down to Sunday after the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 5-0. The Mets, boasting a $340 million payroll and a roster stuffed with All-Star talent, had the best record in baseball through June 12, but their late-season struggles have them battling with the Cincinnati Reds for the last National League berth. The Mets inched a half a game ahead of the Reds, who played the Brewers later Saturday. If the teams finish tied on Sunday, the Reds will advance by virtue of their head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Detroit Tigers, whose September swoon saw them plummet out of the American League Central division lead, secured a post-season berth with a 2-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox. The Chicago Cubs, already in the playoffs for the first time since 2020, secured home field advantage in their wild card series against San Diego with a 7-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field. First baseman Michael Busch hit two home runs, the third multi-homer game of his career. Busch bashed a leadoff shot off Cardinals pitcher Michael McGreevy in the first inning and added a two-run homer off McGreevy in the fifth. He also added a double in the third inning and drove in a run with a triple in the seventh. However, he was denied a final chance to complete the cycle when he was intentionally walked in the eighth inning.
© 2024 AFP
