westhawaiitoday
Rookie Lucas Spence delivered a two-run triple as part of a four-run third inning, propelling the Houston Astros to a 9-0 shutout of the Athletics on Sunday in West Sacramento, California, and clinching the American League West division title.
Christian Walker launched a leadoff homer in the sixth inning and was among four Astros—along with Yainer Diaz, Cam Smith, and Jeremy Pena—to record two hits and one RBI. Houston finished the regular season with an 81-81 record and captured the division for the eighth time in the past ten seasons.
As the third seed, the Astros will welcome the Chicago White Sox to Minute Maid Park on Tuesday for Game 1 of the best-of-three wild-card series. Houston went 5-2 against Chicago during the regular season.
Houston actually secured the AL West crown before its own game ended, as the Texas Rangers fell 6-4 to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.
Yordan Alvarez went 1-for-4 with an RBI single, raising his batting average to .316 and earning his first career batting title.
Lawrence Butler accounted for two of the Athletics' five hits. Oakland (64-98) dropped its ninth game in its last 12 contests.
Phillies 7, Rays 3
Zack Wheeler tossed six strong innings and Kyle Schwarber drove in two runs as the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their fifth consecutive postseason berth with a win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Bryce Harper and Edmundo Sosa also homered for Philadelphia, which had lost its previous four games by a combined score of 23-3. The Phillies will now head to Atlanta to face the Braves in the National League wild-card round starting Tuesday. Johnny DeLuca homered twice for Tampa Bay, which earned a bye into the American League Division Series and will face the winner of the wild-card series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
Cubs 6, Red Sox 2
Alex Bregman went 4-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs against his former team, helping the Chicago Cubs close out the regular season with a win over Boston in St. Petersburg, Florida. The game was originally scheduled for Boston but was moved to Tropicana Field due to a nor'easter that impacted much of New England over the weekend. Both of Bregman's homers came off Red Sox starter Tanner Houck, who was making his first appearance since May 2025. Houck (0-1), who underwent Tommy John surgery last year, allowed three runs on four hits over three innings. Boston managed just five hits and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Twins 6, Rangers 4
Josh Bell hit a two-run home run and drove in three runs to lead host Minnesota to a season-ending victory over Texas. The loss eliminated the Rangers from both the American League West race and playoff contention. Rangers starter Mackenzie Gore allowed one hit and one run in 2 1/3 innings. Twins starter Dean Kremer (5-5) surrendered three hits and one run over seven innings, yielding a home run to Danny Jansen but no other Texas runner past first base.
Dodgers 5, Giants 1 (10 innings)
Andy Pages capped a four-run 10th inning with a three-run home run as visiting Los Angeles defeated San Francisco to notch its 100th win of the season. The Dodgers took the lead in the 10th when Alex Call's two-out double off the left-field fence drove in automatic runner Miguel Rojas. The Giants then intentionally walked Max Muncy, but Pages foiled that strategy by driving a pitch from Duncan Davitt (0-1) into the left-field bleachers for his 23rd homer of the year. Alex Vesia (3-1) earned the win with a perfect ninth inning. The Dodgers carry a three-game winning streak into their National League Division Series opener next Saturday against the winner of the wild-card series between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.
Marlins 5, Braves 3
Heriberto Hernandez and Griffin Conine each hit solo home runs to give host Miami a win over Atlanta in its season finale. Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara tossed a scoreless ninth for his third career save, a fitting end to a year in which he threw both the first and last pitch for Miami. Starter Janson Junk left with a no-decision after allowing three hits and one run in 4 2/3 innings. Michael Petersen (4-4) earned the win with 1 1/3 hitless innings of relief. Braves starter JR Ritchie (1-5) took the loss, allowing seven hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings. Mauricio Dubon hit his 12th homer to open the scoring and added an RBI single for Atlanta, which begins its home wild-card series against Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Nationals 6, Mets 4
Andres Chaparro had three hits, including two solo home runs, and host Washington defeated New York to end its season with a series win. Will Dion (3-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory and Erik Tolman worked the ninth for his fifth save. The Nationals improved by 11 wins over 2025. Francisco Lindor hit his 300th career homer and Ronny Mauricio smacked his third home run in two games for the Mets, who finished last in the National League East. Carson Benge ended his rookie season with three hits and an RBI.
Blue Jays 5, Reds 1
In potentially his final career start, Max Scherzer struck out seven over seven-plus innings as host Toronto topped Cincinnati. The 42-year-old Scherzer (4-9) allowed one run and six hits to earn his 225th career win and boost his strikeout total to 3,557. Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer, 37, who might have also played his last game, received a standing ovation when he was replaced. Brandon Valenzuela hit a two-run home run and Charles McAdoo added a solo shot for Toronto in the rubber match of the three-game series. Brandon Williamson (5-5) allowed four runs and four hits in three innings for the Reds.
White Sox 4, Rockies 2
Randal Grichuk and Brenton Doyle smacked two-run home runs and Anthony Kay pitched five strong innings to boost host Chicago past Colorado. The White Sox will visit the American League West champion Houston Astros on Tuesday in the opener of an AL wild-card series. Chicago clinched its first playoff berth since 2021 on Thursday but was eliminated from AL Central title contention with Saturday's loss to Colorado and a Cleveland victory at Kansas City. Cole Carrigg homered for Colorado, which finished with more than 100 losses for the fourth consecutive season.
Royals 3, Guardians 2
Vinnie Pasquantino's second solo homer of the day broke an eighth-inning tie and sent host Kansas City to a win over Cleveland. Jac Caglianone and Kyle Isbel each had two hits for the Royals, who ended a disappointing 2026 campaign by avoiding a sweep and winning for just the seventh time in their final 25 games. Daniel Schneemann and Jo Adell each homered and had two hits apiece for the Guardians, who rested key regulars Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, and Brayan Rocchio one day after securing their third straight American League Central title. Cleveland will play either the Chicago White Sox or Houston Astros in the AL Division Series.
Pirates 4, Tigers 2
Jared Jones pitched four innings of one-hit ball and Konnor Griffin led off the game with a solo home run and drove in two runs to lead Pittsburgh past host Detroit. Griffin's homer was the sixth of his rookie season and helped the Pirates secure their first winning record since 2018 and only their second since last making the postseason in 2015. Jones was not eligible for the win after exiting before the fifth. He finished 5-6 with a 3.72 ERA in 21 starts after returning from elbow surgery in late May. Rookie River Ryan (0-1) made his second start for the Tigers and sixth of his career, allowing two runs on three hits over 1 1/3 innings. Detroit finished with a losing record after advancing to the AL Division Series each of the past two seasons.
Padres 9, Diamondbacks 4
Gavin Sheets homered and Freddy Fermin knocked in three runs as host San Diego tuned up for its National League wild-card series by defeating visiting Arizona. The Padres, who open their best-of-three series Tuesday night against the visiting Chicago Cubs, snapped a 4-4 tie with three runs in the bottom of the seventh, capped by Fermin's two-run single. Michael Soroka pitched 4 2/3 innings for Arizona, which was eliminated from postseason contention when Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay around the same time San Diego's Jake Cronenworth drew a bases-loaded walk to push home the go-ahead run in the seventh.
Brewers 6, Cardinals 4
Jacob Misiorowski strengthened his case for the National League Cy Young Award, allowing just two hits over five-plus scoreless innings as host Milwaukee beat St. Louis to close with five consecutive wins and set a franchise record for victories in a season (103). Misiorowski (16-5) allowed two singles in 5 1/3 innings and lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.80. The right-hander struck out five, giving him 252 strikeouts for the year. Cardinals starter Andre Pallante (12-9) allowed six runs on 10 hits in five innings, including six singles in the first inning that led to a 3-0 Brewers lead, as well as Gary Sanchez's home run in the third.
Mariners 7, Angels 4
Logan Gilbert pitched four-plus hitless innings and struck out eight as host Seattle handed Los Angeles its 100th loss of the season. It was also the last game for Dan Wilson as Mariners manager; the team announced after the game that Wilson will not return in that role in 2027 after a disappointing season and third-place finish in the AL West. Jose Siri homered for the Angels, who lost 100 games for the first time in franchise history and had been the lone active MLB team never to suffer that many defeats. Gilbert didn't allow a baserunner until walking Moises Ballesteros leading off the fifth. He struck out the side in the first inning to reach 200 strikeouts for the season, becoming the fourth pitcher in franchise history to do so in multiple seasons.
Originally reported by westhawaiitoday.