BOSTON -- The hard chopper bounced off first baseman Mitch Moreland's glove and high into the air. Second baseman Brock Holt jumped to glove the ball and flipped it to first, where David Price was covering.
When the Boston Red Sox needed him, Price was there.
The one-time ace came out of the bullpen in relief of Drew Pomeranz and squelched a dangerous seventh-inning rally on Saturday, helping the Red Sox clinch the first back-to-back American League East titles in franchise history and avoid a possible tiebreaker against the rival New York Yankees.
"That was important: Just get it done today," outfielder Hanley Ramirez said afterward in the Red Sox clubhouse, where music blared, the lockers were covered in plastic and players wore goggles to protect their eyes from the spray of beer and sparkling wine.
With the Boston victory, the Yankees were left with a wild-card spot and a one-game matchup against the Minnesota Twins for the right to play Cleveland in the best-of-five AL Division Series. The Astros loss meant the Indians, with the tiebreaker over Houston and 101 victories entering Saturday, clinched the best record in the AL.
Boston's victory set up an immediate rematch with the AL West champion Astros in the ALDS, starting Thursday in Houston.
"This is a good team across the way. We're a good team. We're both division champions," Astros Manager A.J. Hinch said. "We'll obviously see a lot of each other over the next 10 days."
Boston leads New York by two games with one to play, the remnants of what had been a five-game lead when the Red Sox returned to Fenway Park for a season-ending homestand. A loss Saturday -- coupled with the Yankees' 2-1 victory over Toronto -- would have forced Boston to use Chris Sale on the final day of the season to avoid a tiebreaker Monday.
The AL East had not needed a one-game playoff since Bucky Dent's home run cleared the Green Monster to help the Yankees eliminate Boston in 1978.
"We get a chance to get a couple of days rest," said Manager John Farrell, who scratched Sale from today's start and said Hector Velazquez will pitch instead. "Chris is deserving of a couple of extra days to just get some rest."
Mookie Betts homered and scored three times, and Pomeranz (17-6) had a two-hit shutout through six innings. With a heavy rain beginning to fall in the top of the seventh, the Astros rallied against Carson Smith and made it 5-2 before Price came in.
YANKEES 2, BLUE JAYS 1 The New York Yankees wound up with an AL wild-card spot, beating visiting Toronto on Aaron Judge's 52nd home run shortly before Boston clinched the AL East crown. The Yankees will host Minnesota in the wild-card game Tuesday. The wild-card winner will face Cleveland in the best-of-five AL Division Series. Replacement starter CC Sabathia (14-5) won his fifth consecutive decision. With the Yankees still in contention for the division title to begin the day, Manager Joe Girardi opted for Sabathia to pitch on his regular four days' rest in place of the originally scheduled Jaime Garcia.
RAYS 4, ORIOLES 3 Chris Archer won for the first time since July 24 and Brad Miller hit a three-run home run to lead host Tampa Bay over Baltimore. Archer (10-12) pitched five shutout innings before two Rays relievers helped stretch Baltimore’s scoreless streak to 23 innings. Pedro Alvarez halted the drought with a two-run single off Tommy Hunter in the eighth.
RANGERS 8, ATHLETICS 4 Joey Gallo hit his 40th and 41st home runs, Andrew Cashner pitched six solid innings and host Texas beat Oakland. Gallo had a two-run home run in the second inning and another shot in the third, becoming the sixth Ranger to hit 40 home runs in a season and the first since Josh Hamilton had 43 in 2010. Cashner (11-11) limited Oakland to 5 hits and 2 runs in 6 innings. He finished his season with a 3.40 ERA, good for ninth in the AL.
TIGERS 3, TWINS 2 Andrew Romine became the fifth player in baseball history to play all nine positions in one game, helping visiting Detroit beat Minnesota. Romine, a 31-year-old utilityman, played catcher for the first time in his career and got one out on the mound. He was the first player to accomplish the feat since Shane Halter for Detroit against Minnesota on Oct. 1, 2000. Buck Farmer (5-5) pitched five strong innings for the victory and Shane Greene recorded his ninth save.
WHITE SOX 2, INDIANS 1 Carson Fulmer pitched five strong innings in a matchup against Corey Kluber, Kevan Smith drove in two runs and visiting Chicago beat Cleveland. Michael Brantley had a pinch-hit single in the fifth for Cleveland, marking his first game action since spraining his right ankle on Aug. 8. The two-time All-Star worked Fulmer (3-1) for a 10-pitch at-bat before sharply singling to right.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CARDINALS 7, BREWERS 6 Milwaukee was eliminated from playoff contention when the Brewers squandered a six-run lead in a loss to St. Louis, handing baseball's final postseason spot to the Colorado Rockies. Brewers reliever Anthony Swarzak gave up a two-run single to Stephen Piscotty that tied it in the eighth inning and a go-ahead single to Harrison Bader. Milwaukee tried to rally and save its season in the ninth, but Brett Phillips struck out with a runner on second to end it. Milwaukee's loss clinched the second NL wild card for Colorado, which will play at NL West rival Arizona in the wild-card game Wednesday. The Brewers began the day needing to win their last two regular-season games in St. Louis while the Rockies dropped their final two at home to the Los Angeles Dodgers to force a tiebreaker Monday.
CUBS 9, REDS 0 Jon Lester struck out seven over five innings, Kyle Schwarber hit his 30th home run and host Chicago pounded Cincinnati for its 15th victory in 18 games. Lester (13-8) allowed four hits and walked none in a possible tuneup for Game 1 of the NL Division Series against Washington. The veteran left-hander has allowed one run in 11 innings over his past two outings after posting an 8.22 ERA in his previous five starts. Lester's second consecutive victory was a welcome development for the Cubs with Jake Arrieta coming back from a strained right hamstring. Kyle Hendricks also could start the playoff opener against the Nationals on Friday. Schwarber finished with four RBI. He hit a two-run drive in the second and a two-run single in the third against rookie Jackson Stephens.
PADRES 3, GIANTS 2 Matt Cain pitched five shutout innings, then raised his arms and waved his cap, fighting off tears amid a standing ovation as he walked off the mound for the final time Saturday in the San Francisco Giants' 3-2 loss to San Diego. Cain's decorated 13-year career came to an end and the home crowd at AT&T Park saluted the right-hander, a cornerstone of the team's championship era who pitched the only perfect game in franchise history. Cain took a curtain call and exited with a 1-0 lead. He gave up 2 hits, struck out 4 and walked 1. He made his last start a day ahead of his 33rd birthday and at the close of a $127.5 million, six-year contract. Beset by injuries in recent years, Cain has said he couldn't imagine pitching for another team. The three-time All-Star finished 3-11 with a 5.43 ERA this year.
DODGERS 5, ROCKIES 3 Los Angeles secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs Saturday by beating host Colorado on a night when the Rockies clinched their first postseason appearance since 2009. It was also the Dodgers’ 103rd victory of the season, the most since the team moved to Los Angeles.
PIRATES 4, NATIONALS 1 Nationals ace Max Scherzer was pulled from his start while tuning up for the playoffs after an apparent injury to his right leg, and NL East champion Washington lost to visiting Pittsburgh. The Nationals didn’t immediately provide an update on Scherzer. Scherzer, who leads the NL in strikeouts and is 16-6 with a 2.51 ERA, was preparing for the Nationals’ matchup against the Chicago Cubs MARLINS 10, BRAVES 2 Giancarlo Stanton remained at 59 home runs after failing to hit one in host Miami’s victory over Atlanta. Stanton had 1 hit in 5 at-bats and 1 RBI.
INTERLEAGUE
ROYALS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3 Jorge Bonifacio hit a three-run home run with two outs in the sixth inning to help host Kansas City to a victory over Arizona. Bonifacio’s home run, his 17th, came off Archie Bradley (3-3) with Paulo Orlando and Ramon Torres aboard.
Sports on 10/01/2017