MILWAUKEE -- Waiting for Travis Shaw at the plate after his game-winning, two-run home run were giddy teammates holding orange Gatorade buckets.
Finally, the Milwaukee Brewers had something to celebrate in extra innings against the Chicago Cubs.
Shaw homered with one out in the 10th inning off All-Star closer Wade Davis, and the playoff-hopeful Brewers stunned their National League Central rivals with a 4-3 victory on Saturday. The Brewers had lost the first two games of the pivotal series in 10 innings.
"It just feels good to come out on the right side of things after a couple of tough days," Shaw said.
Milwaukee moved back to within 4 1/2 games of NL Central-leading Chicago and 1 1/2 games of Colorado for a wild-card spot.
"I mean, this is as must-win as you get," Shaw said.
With eight days left in the regular season, the Cubs still seem to be in good shape to win a second consecutive division title.
They suddenly look vulnerable in the late innings after Davis blew his first save opportunity of the year after 32 successful chances.
Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia homered off Davis (4-2) to lead off the ninth to tie the game at 2-2.
"There's nothing to lament right there," Cubs Manager Joe Maddon said. "Another intensely good baseball game and they got us at the end. But there's no way shape or form to point a finger at Wade."
Both sides have played good defense and pitched well. Boisterous Cubs fans showed up again in droves.
They were drowned out by the end of the afternoon by Brewers fans anxious to see their team make its first postseason appearance since 2011.
"I haven't been able to come up with the words for this series," Milwaukee Manager Craig Counsell said. "This is about as exciting as it gets."
BRAVES 4, PHILLIES 2 Pinch-hitter Johan Camargo doubled in two runs in the three-run eighth inning, Rio Ruiz homered and host Atlanta beat Philadelphia.
NATIONALS 4, METS 3 (10) Daniel Murphy homered in the 10th inning and the Nationals bullpen followed Stephen Strasburg with five scoreless innings, lifting visiting Washington over New York.
PIRATES 11, CARDINALS 6 Lance Lynn allowed eight runs in the first inning and visiting St. Louis slipped up against Pittsburgh. The loss ended the Cardinals’ four-game winning streak.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ASTROS 6, ANGELS 2 Evan Gattis hit a three-run home run to back a solid start by Charlie Morton (13-7) and host Houston further dampened the AL wild-card hopes of Los Angeles. Justin Upton hit two home runs for the Angels, who matched a season worst with their sixth consecutive loss. Carlos Correa had three hits and three RBI a day after his 23rd birthday as the AL West champion Astros won for the seventh time in eight games. Morton yielded four hits and one run in seven innings for his second consecutive victory. Bud Norris (2-6) allowed 3 hits and 1 run in 3 1/3 innings.
INDIANS 11, MARINERS 4 Francisco Lindor led off the game with his 33rd home run, the most by a Cleveland middle infielder, and the Indians routed host Seattle for their 28th victory in 30 games. Carlos Carrasco (17-6) matched teammate Cory Kluber and Boston's Chris Sale for the most victories in the AL, allowing 1 run and 6 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Yan Gomes hit 2 home runs and had 4 RBI, and Jose Ramirez homered and drove in 4 runs. Cleveland, which set the AL record with a 22-game winning streak this month, matched the 1884 Providence Grays for the best major league record over a 30-game span at 28-2. The Indians (97-58) lead Houston (95-59) for AL home-field advantage in the playoffs. Seattle lost for the seventh time in eight games.
YANKEES 5, BLUE JAYS 1 New York is returning to the playoffs after a one-year absence after clinching no worse the a wild card with a victory over host Toronto behind Greg Bird's three-run home run. Sonny Gray (10-11) allowed 1 run and 4 hits in 6 innings as the Yankees won for the 11th time in 14 games and matched their season high of 18 games over .500. New York celebrated its 53rd postseason berth in a low-key manner on the field, then sprayed bubbly in the visitors clubhouse.
TWINS 10, TIGERS 3 Zack Granite hit his first major league home run, a three-run drive that capped an eight-run eighth inning for visiting Minnesota in a victory over Detroit.
ROYALS 8, WHITE SOX 2 Alex Gordon homered, Whit Merrifield drove in three runs and Danny Duffy pitched into the seventh inning to lead visiting Kansas City to a victory over Chicago.
RAYS 9, ORIOLES 6 Lucas Duda hit a goahead, three-run home run to back Jake Odorizzi, and visiting Tampa Bay beat Baltimore to eliminate the Orioles from postseason contention.
INTERLEAGUE
RED SOX 5, REDS 0 Mitch Moreland ended his long slump with a three-run home run, Eduardo Rodriguez pitched three-hit ball into the eighth inning, and visiting Boston took another step toward a second consecutive AL East title, beating Cincinnati. Boston has won 13 of 16 as it tries to hold off the Yankees and attempts to win back-to-back East titles for the first time since divisional realignment in 1969. The Red Sox have their best record of the season at 90-64, reaching 90 victories for the second year in a row. They remain four games in front of the Yankees. Moreland was in an 0-for-19 slump when he connected off Robert Stephenson (5-6) in the sixth inning, his 20th home run of the season but only his second in September. The Red Sox are last in the AL with 160 home runs.
Sports on 09/24/2017