Rays beat Jays 6-2, back in playoffs for 1st time since 2013
TORONTO (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2013, clinching an AL wild card berth with a 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night behind Tommy Pham’s two-run homer and 4 1/3 hitless innings from Tyler Glasnow.
Tampa Bay will play Oakland in the wild-card game on Wednesday night. The Rays will start Charlie Morton.
At 96-64, the low-budget Rays have their most wins since 2010 and can tie the team record of 97 set in 2008, when they won their only AL pennant and lost to Philadelphia in the World Series.
Tampa Bay began the night with a magic number of two to clinch, and Cleveland lost 8-2 at Washington while the Rays were in the eighth inning.
Jubilant players poured out of Tampa Bay’s dugout for a celebration around the mound after right-hander Emilio Pagan retired Reese McGuire to end it.
Austin Meadows also homered for the Rays, hitting his 33rd this season off Ryan Dull in the ninth.
T.J. Zeuch (1-2) allowed three runs and four hits in five innings.
WASHINGTON (AP) —Cleveland will miss out on the postseason for the first time since 2015, eliminated from the AL wild-card race in a loss to the playoff-bound Washington.
Gerardo Parra had four RBIs to lead the Nationals to their sixth straight win. The Indians have lost three straight, totaling just two runs and seven hits in the last two, and their loss clinched a wild-card berth for Oakland.
Parra broke a 2-all tie for Washington with a sacrifice fly in the sixth off Nick Goody (3-2), and Asdrúbal Cabrera followed with a double that added two more runs.
Parra also hit two-run double off Zach Plesac in the second, and a solo homer off Dan Otero in the eighth.
The Indians’ runs came on an RBI double by Ryan Flaherty and a sacrifice fly by Francisco Lindor against Austin Voth (2-1), who went six innings.
NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso hit his 52nd homer to match Aaron Judge’s rookie record, and New York beat Atlanta.
Alonso connected in the first inning against Dallas Keuchel, narrowly clearing the wall in left field for a solo shot that tied Judge’s mark from his breakout season with the New York Yankees in 2017.
Braves star Freddie Freeman returned to the lineup and went 0 for 5 after taking four days off to rest his sore right elbow.
Keuchel (8-8) allowed four runs over five innings in his final postseason tuneup. The left-hander was pulled after 98 pitches.
Mets starter Marcus Stroman (10-13) pitched two-run ball over six innings in his season finale, and J.D. Davis hit his 21st homer. Seth Lugo earned his sixth save.
BOSTON (AP) — Renato Núñez hit a three-run homer, Asher Wojciechowski pitched six shutout innings and Baltimore beat Boston.
Wojciechowski (4-8) struck out six as the Orioles took the opener of the season-ending, three-game series for both clubs.
Baltimore also guaranteed that the Red Sox will finish with a losing record at Fenway Park. The Red Sox fell to 37-40 at Fenway, where they last finished with a losing record in 2014 — when they were also coming off a World Series championship.
Núñez’s three-run shot to left in the third off of Nathan Eovaldi (2-1) was just about all the scoring the Orioles needed. It was the 30th homer of the season for Núñez, who added an RBI single in the ninth and drove in all four of Baltimore’s runs.
Xander Bogaerts broke up the shutout with a single up the middle, scoring Rafael Devers, who led off the ninth with a double off Richard Bleier.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kevin Newman hit a two-run homer with two out in the ninth inning to give Pittsburgh a win over Cincinnati.
Jake Elmore set up Newman’s game-ending swing with a leadoff single against Raisel Iglesias (3-12). Newman, who also hit a three-run homer in the fifth, hit a drive into the bleachers in left for his 12th homer.
It was Iglesias’ sixth blown save opportunity. Yacksel Rios (1-0) worked a scoreless inning for his fifth career victory.
