Cubs Clinch Against Pirates, Brewers Against Cardinals

CHICAGO -- Ian Happ walked to lead off the 10th inning against Pittsburgh Wednesday. Happ was lifted for Terrance Gore who took second on a sacrifice bunt. He then came home with the winning run on a single by Albert Almora Jr. and the Cubs won 7-6 to clinch a postseason berth.

The Pirates came into the ninth behind 6-4 but rallied, tying the game when Starling Marte hit a two-run double.

It was the Cubs 47th come-from-behind win this season. Manager Joe Maddon has now led the team to postseason play four years in a row.

Jason Heyward had a two-run shot in the first that got the Cubs out to a 2-1 lead. They tacked on two more in the third and fourth innings. Anthony Rizzo, Happ and Daniel Murphy contributed two singles each. Rizzo added an RBI.

Brewers 2, Cardinals 1

ST. LOUIS -- Milwaukee clinched against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday with a 2-1 victory. The loss by the Cardinals also allowed the Brewers a three-game sweep.

The Cardinals held a 1 1/2 game lead in the Wild Card race coming into the series against the Brewers. But the sweep and the Colorado Rockies winning three in a row spelled doom for the Cardinals.

The Dodgers, who now trail the Rockies in the NL West, hold a one-game advantage over the Cardinals, who could be eliminated by Saturday. The Cardinals head to Wrigley Field against the Cubs and must pick up several wins to extend their season.

The Cardinals could muster only two hits in the game, a double by Paul DeJong and a single by Carlos Martinez.

Rockies Marquez Ties MLB Record

Colorado Rockies pitcher German Marquez tied a modern-day major league record last night by recording eight straight strikeouts to begin a game. Marquez tied the mark set by Houston’s Jim Deshaies in 1986 and equaled by the Mets’ Jacob deGrom in 2014.

Blue Jays Fire Manager

As expected, the Toronto Blue Jays fired manager John Gibbons yesterday. It’s also reported that the Baltimore Orioles plan to fire manager Buck Showalter at the end of the season if he doesn’t resign.

Orioles Rack Up 112th  Loss

The Baltimore Orioles racked up a franchise-record 112th loss of the season when they dropped the opening game of Wednesday’s doubleheader with the Red Sox 19-3. The previous record for the Orioles was 111 losses in 1939 when they were still the St. Louis Browns.

Wednesday, September 29 Scoreboard

Milwaukee 2, St. Louis 1

Chicago Cubs 7, Pittsburgh 6 (F/10)

Cleveland 10, Chicago White Sox 2

Bosdton 19, Baltaimore 3

Washington 9, Miami 3 (F/8)

Toronto 3, Houston 1

New York Mets 3, Atlanta 0

Kansas City 6, Cincinnati 1

Tampa Bay 8, New York Yankees 7

Baltimore 10, Boston 3

Minnesota 11, Detroit 4

Arizona 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 2

Colorado 14, Philadelphia 0

Los Angeles Angels 3, Texas 2

Oakland 9, Seattle 3

San Diego 3, San Francisco 2

Thursday, September 27 Schedule (All Times Central)

New York Yankees at Tampa Bay, 12:10 p.m.

Philadelphia at Colorado, 2:10 p.m.

Houston at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

Atlanta at New York Mets, 6;10 p.m.

Cleveland at Kansas City, 7 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs, 7:05 p.m.

Detroit at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.

Friday, September 28 Schedule (All Times Central)

Chicago White Sox at Minnesota, 1:10 p.m.

St. Louis at Chicago Cubs, 1:20 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 5:40 p.m.

New York Yankees at Boston, 6 p.m.

Atlanta at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Houston at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

Toronto at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m.

Miami at New York Mets, 6:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Kansas City, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Milwaukee, 7:10 p.m.

Washington at Colorado, 7:10 p.m.

Oakland at Los Angeles Angels, 9:07 p.m.

Arizona at San Diego, 9:10 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco, 9:15 p.m.

Saturday, September 29 Schedule (All Times Central)

St. Louis at Chicago Cubs, 12:05 p.m.

New York Yankees at Boston, 12:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 3 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco, 3:05 p.m.

Toronto at Tampa Bay, 5:10 p.m.

Atlanta at Philadelphia, 6:05 p.m.

Houston at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Minnesota, 6:10 p.m.

Detroit at Milwaukee, 6:10 p.m.

Miami at New York Mets, 6:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Kansas City, 6:15 p.m.

Washington at Colorado, 7:10 p.m.

Arizona at San Diego, 7:40 p.m.

Oakland at Los Angeles Angels, 8:07 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 8:10 p.m.

Sunday, September 30 Schedule (All Times Central)

Atlanta at Philadelphia, 2:05 p.m.

New York Yankees at Boston, 2:05 p.m.

Houston at Baltimore, 2:05 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco, 2:05 p.m.

Oakland at Los Angeles Angels, 2:07 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Minnesota, 2:10 p.m.

Detroit at Milwaukee, 2:10 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 2:10 p.m.

Miami at New York Mets, 2:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 2:10 p.m.

Arizona at San Diego, 2:10 p.m.

Washington at San Diego, 2:10 p.m.

Toronto at Tampa Bay, 2:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Kansas City, 2:15 p.m.

St. Louis at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 p.m.