NATIONAL LEAGUE
DIAMONDBACKS 5, CARDINALS 2
PHOENIX -- Adam Wainwright walked out of the icy silence in St. Louis' clubhouse and turned his head just before he reached the door.
"Get some sleep boys," he said. "Biggest game of the year tomorrow."
The Cardinals will send their 20-game winner to the mound today looking to clinch the NL Central title on the last day of the regular season. They had a chance to wrap it up Saturday night, but Mark Trumbo homered twice to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-2 victory.
St. Louis secured at least a tie for the division crown when Pittsburgh lost to Cincinnati earlier Saturday, but they need to win or have the Pirates lose today to finish alone in first place.
If the Cardinals and Pirates tie, they would meet in a one-game playoff in St. Louis.
"We've got Game 162," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "I think that's how the schedule makers draw it up. It's supposed to mean something and it does for us."
Despite Saturday night's disappointment, the Cardinals like their chances with Wainwright.
"We're up one with one to go with our ace on the mound," starter Lance Lynn said, "so we're in a good spot."
Trumbo's three-run shot off Seth Maness (6-4) broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning. He also had a solo drive in the first in his second multihomer game in six days.
David Peralta also had a solo home run in the first for Arizona.
Maness said Trumbo simply hit a good pitch. "It's part of the game," Maness said. "He beat my best pitch. A sinker in and he got it. He did a good job."
Randal Delgado (4-4) pitched three scoreless innings of relief to get the win. Addison Reed worked a perfect ninth for his 32nd save in 38 tries.
The Cardinals, losers of four of six, scored on a sacrifice fly and wild pitch.
A.J. Pollock reached on an infield hit and Peralta singled for his third hit of the game ahead of Trumbo's sixth home run in 11 games. Trumbo missed 11 weeks of the season because of a stress fracture in his left foot.
"I think history shows that I can be a tad streaky," he said. "Sometimes the good times are pretty good and vice versa. Recently it has been going OK."
NATIONALS 5, MARLINS 1 Stephen Strasburg took over the league lead in strikeouts and gave up only two hits through six scoreless innings in his final tuneup start ahead of his first postseason, helping NL East champion Washington beat visiting Miami. Strasburg (14-11) spotted his fastball at 97 mph and mixed in breaking balls that confounded a Marlins lineup missing the injured Giancarlo Stanton. Strasburg finished with seven strikeouts -- giving him 242, three more than Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers -- and one walk. It continued a vibrant finish to the regular season: In his last six starts, Strasburg went 4-1 with a 1.13 ERA, 40 strikeouts and three walks.
GIANTS 3, PADRES 1 Brandon Crawford hit a two-run single with two outs in the eighth inning, leading host San Francisco over San Diego. San Francisco (87-74) already has clinched a playoff berth and will play at Pittsburgh or St. Louis in the one-game, wild-card playoff on Wednesday. The winner advances to face Washington in a best-of-five division series. Crawford, one of just two Giants regulars in the starting lineup, was hitless in three at-bats until his broken-bat single to left off Dale Thayer (4-5) broke a 1-all tie, driving in Matt Duffy and Brandon Belt.
BRAVES 4, PHILLIES 2 Brothers B.J. and Justin Upton each homered and visiting Atlanta held on for a victory over Philadelphia. Justin Upton also doubled for the Braves, who won for just the third time in 15 games and are 6-18 in a forgettable September.
METS 2, ASTROS 1 Lucas Duda hit a two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, rallying host New York over Houston. Held to two hits by four Houston pitchers through eight innings, the Mets came back against Tony Sipp (4-3).
BREWERS 2, CUBS 1 Jonathan Lucroy set a major-league record for doubles in a season by a catcher, and Francisco Rodriguez moved into 10th place on baseball's career saves list in Milwaukee's victory over visiting Chicago. Wily Peralta (17-11) struck out a career-high 13 in seven innings, allowing five hits and one walk in 109 pitches.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
WHITE SOX 5, ROYALS 4 Jose Abreu hit a two-run home run, and host Chicago kept Kansas City out of first place in the AL Central with a victory over the Royals. The Detroit Tigers, who lost 12-3 at Minnesota on Saturday, stayed one game ahead of the Royals entering the final day of the regular season. Kansas City clinched at least a wild card spot on Friday.
RED SOX 10, YANKEES 4 Boston chased Masahiro Tanaka during an eight-run second inning that backed Joe Kelly, and host Boston beat New York. Derek Jeter went 1 for 2 with an infield single. With the loss, the Yankees (83-78) ensured they will have declining victory totals in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 1986-90.
BLUE JAYS 4, ORIOLES 2 Jose Reyes had two hits and two RBI, J.A. Happ won consecutive starts for the first time since late May and host Toronto beat AL East champion Baltimore. Happ (11-11) allowed two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings for his first winning streak since posting three consecutive victories from May 15 to May 25.
TWINS 12, TIGERS 3 Eduardo Escobar had a home run, four hits and a career-high six RBI, and visiting Minnesota ensured that the AL Central race will come down to the very end with a rout of Detroit. The Tigers have secured a postseason spot, but the division will still be in doubt when they send David Price to the mound today against Minnesota in Game 162.
RANGERS 5, ATHLETICS 4 Oakland stalled in its bid to clinch an AL wild-card spot, losing to last-place host Texas on home runs by rookie Jake Smolinski and Robinson Chirinos. The A's needed to win or have Seattle lose in order to clinch a playoff slot for the third consecutive year. The Mariners played late into extra innings Saturday night at home against the Los Angeles Angels. The Rangers used eight pitchers to beat the A's for the fifth time in six games since last week. Spencer Patton (1-0), the fourth reliever, got his first major league victory and Neftali Feliz earned his 13th save.
Sports on 09/28/2014