Sep 25, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (34) congratulates winning pitcher Joe Kelly (56) on a win against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Photo Credit: Jeff Griffith-USA TODAY Sports
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Veteran designated hitter David Ortiz went 3-for-5 with a double in his final game at Tropicana Field on Sunday, lifting the Boston Red Sox to their 11th straight win with a 3-2 victory in 10 innings over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Boston (92-64) completed the three-game sweep of the Rays to inch closer to an AL East title. The Red Sox are 5 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Toronto Blue Jays.
Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez had 13 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings in a no decision. The Rays struck out 11 consecutive times against Rodriguez and reliever Heath Hembree to set a major league record. The Rays struck out 23 times to set a franchise record.
Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly pitched the final 2 2/3 innings to earn the win.
Blue Jays 4, Yankees 3
TORONTO — Edwin Encarnacion hit an infield single to second base to score the winning run as Toronto came back with two runs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat New York.
Jose Bautista homered for the Blue Jays. Didi Gregorius homered for the Yankees.
Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda did not factor in the decision after allowing three hits, three walks and one run in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out seven. Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada also did not figure in the decision after allowing one run, four hits and two walks while striking out seven over seven innings.
White Sox 3, Indians 0
CLEVELAND — Carlos Rodon pitched eight innings, allowed two hits, striking out 11, as Chicago beat Cleveland at Progressive Field.
Rodon walked three and threw 108 pitches as the White Sox ruined Cleveland’s chance to clinch the Central Division title at home. The Indians’ magic number for clinching the division is at one.
David Robertson pitched the ninth to earn his 36th save. Rodon and Robertson struck out eight of the last nine Indians hitters to end the game.
Royals 12, Tigers 9
DETROIT — Salvador Perez, Cheslor Cuthbert, Raul Mondesi and Alex Gordon each hit a home run and Kansas City pounded out 19 hits in a victory over Detroit.
Kansas City hit for the cycle four batters into the game and when Paulo Orlando singled, it drove starter Matt Boyd from the game without retiring a batter.
The Tigers made it interesting as the game wound down, rallying for two runs off Kevin Herrera in the eighth inning.
Victor Martinez hit a grand slam in the third inning.
Mets 17, Phillies 0
NEW YORK — Rookie Robert Gsellman threw a career-high seven scoreless innings to lead New York to a rout of Philadelphia at Citi Field.
The National League wild-card leading Mets capped their final homestand of the regular season with the most lopsided shutout win in the franchise’s 55-season history. The previous biggest shutout was a 14-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on April 19, 1998.
New York took three of four from the Phillies, who jumped out to a 10-0 lead Saturday before being outscored 25-0 the remainder of the series.
Nationals 10, Pirates 7
PITTSBURGH — Jayson Werth smacked a pinch-hit, two-run homer to highlight a five-run eighth inning as Washington pulled out a win over Pittsburgh at PNC Park.
The four-hour game featured a combined 21 hits, four ties, 45 players used (tied the National League record), 17 pitchers (one shy of the major league record), a benches-clearing incident, two ejections and an injury to a star player.
Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper started and left in the third inning with an apparent left thumb injury. There was no immediate word on the exact nature of the injury or a prognosis.
Reds 4, Brewers 2
MILWAUKEE — Brandon Finnegan threw five shutout innings and Scott Schebler had two hits with a pair of RBIs as Cincinnati beat Milwaukee at Miller Park.
Finnegan closed the book on his first full big league season on a high note. He struck out four batters and scattered three hits without walking a batter, picking up his tenth victory of the season.
Astros 4, Angels 1
HOUSTON — Joe Musgrove worked seven strong innings and Houston belted three solo home runs to offer support in a win over Los Angeles at Minute Maid Park.
Musgrove allowed one run on seven hits while recording four strikeouts. He did not walk a batter for the first time in six starts and capped a strong stretch of home appearances with a 1.75 ERA over six games (five starts) at Minute Maid Park.
Evan Gattis and Tony Kemp launched leadoff home runs in the second and fifth innings. Tyler White added his eighth home run with one out in the seventh inning.
Mariners 4, Twins 3
MINNEAPOLIS — Nelson Cruz hit two solo home runs and Jesus Sucre continued his hot hitting since his recall from Triple-A with a two-run homer as Seattle held on for a win over Minnesota, which lost its 100th game and will finish with the league’s worst record and the top pick in next year’s draft.
Cruz had four homers in the series, including one in each game for the Marlins, who kept pace in the American League wild-card race. The Mariners remained 2 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the second wild card.
Taijuan Walker pitched 5 1/3 innings for the Mariners, allowing three runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out seven. Edwin Diaz finished with his 17th save in 19 chances.
Athletics 7, Rangers 1
OAKLAND, Calif. — Rookie right-hander Jharel Cotton gave Athletics fans a reason to believe in a brighter future in the home finale, limiting Texas to one run in seven innings in a victory over the American League West champions.
Ryon Healy smacked a two-run home run among three hits, and Stephen Vogt ignited a seven-run second inning with a three-run double, helping the A’s finish with a win at home after they’d begun the six-game homestand with five consecutive losses.
Meanwhile, the Rangers fell into a tie with the Boston Red Sox for the best record in the AL heading into the final week of the regular season. The Cleveland Indians are also still in the chase for the home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs.
Orioles 2, Diamondbacks 1
Hyun Soo Kim hit an early two-run homer and Baltimore finished a three-game sweep of Arizona.
The victory let the Orioles hold on to the second wild-card spot. Baltimore came into this game with a half-game lead over Detroit for that No. 2 wild card.
Baltimore starter Dylan Bundy gave up one run in five innings. Bundy allowed that only run in the fourth inning before the Orioles went to the bullpen in the sixth.
Braves-Marlins (cancelled)
Miami ace Jose Fernandez, an All-Star starting pitcher who escaped Cuba to become one of the best young arms in baseball, was killed in a boating accident early Sunday morning at the age of 24.
The Marlins canceled their scheduled game against Atlanta as a result.
Fernandez was one of three people killed in the boat crash near Miami Beach. The Coast Guard discovered an overturned boat around 3:30 a.m. Fernandez was on a 32-foot vessel that had a “severe impact” with a jetty, according to authorities. Fernandez was killed as a result of the impact of the crash and did not drown.
