Cubs Avoid Sweep, Cardinals Lose in 15, ML Roundup

Cubs Power Past Brewers To Avoid Sweep

(Milwaukee, WI) -- Luis Valbuena, Nate Schierholtz and Brian Bogusevic all homered to power the Cubs to a 5-1 win over the Brewers at Miller Park. Jake Arrieta allowed just three hits and one run over seven innings for his third win. Anthony Rizzo and Logan Watkins each had three hits as Chicago avoided a four-game sweep. Kyle Lohse fell to 10-10 with the loss. Carlos Gomez homered in the seventh inning for Milwaukee's lone run.

Rockies Outlast Cardinals In 15

(Denver, CO) -- Corey Dickerson's second triple of the game drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 15th inning as the Colorado Rockies dealt the St. Louis Cardinals a 7-6 loss at Coors Field.  Dickerson also had a run-scoring triple in the eighth inning and finished 3-for-7, while Charlie Blackmon collected four hits to help the Rockies earn a split of the four-game series. With the loss the Cardinals' lead atop the NL Central is down to one game over Pittsburgh. Todd Helton hit a game-tying solo homer off Cards closer Edward Mujica in the bottom of the ninth. Troy Tulowitzki added a two-run shot. Rob Scahill earned his first major league victory after working out of a jam in the top of the 15th. Matt Holliday went 3-for-4  with two RBI for St. Louis. Jon Jay had two hits and scored twice in the loss. Fernando Salas took the loss after giving up a run on two hits in 1 2/3 innings and fell to 0-3.

Red Sox Clinch Playoff Berth

(Boston, MA) -- The Red Sox are heading back to the playoffs. Thursday's 3-1 win over the Orioles gave Boston its first postseason berth since 2009. The Sox went 69-93 last season under manager Bobby Valentine, but have turned it around under new skipper John Farrell. The Red Sox lead the AL East with a 93-and-61 record and are on the verge of clinching their first division title since 2007, which is also when they last won the World Series.

Cole K's 12 As Pirates Pound Padres

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- Garrit Cole struck out 12 over six innings of one-run ball as the Pirates pounded the Padres 10-1 at PNC Park.  Pedro Alvarez hit his 34th home run of the season for Pittsburgh and Neil Walker went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI  The Bucs avoided a four-game sweep with the win. Ian Kennedy was tagged for eight hits and six runs in less than four innings to fall to 6-10. Tommy Medica singled in San Diego's lone run in the first.

Bumgarner Deals Giants Past Mets

(Flushing, NY) -- Madison Bumgarner struck out 10 over seven innings of four-hit ball as the Giants clipped the Mets 2-1 at Citi Field. Bumgarner picked up his 13th win and Javier Lopez picked up his first save of the season. Juan Perez had three hits and a drove in a run as San Francisco won for the fifth time in six games. Jon Niese pitched seven innings of two-run ball to take the tough-luck loss.  Daniel Murphy singled in New York's lone run in the fourth.

Dodgers Rally Past Diamondbacks To Clinch NL West

(Phoenix, AZ) -- The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season with a 7-6 win over the Diamondbacks in Arizona. A.J. Ellis hit a solo homer in the top of the eighth inning as LA overcame a 6-3 deficit to secure the NL West title. Hanley Ramirez went 4-for-5 with a three-run homer and a solo shot. J.P. Howell got the win, while Josh Collmenter took the loss.  Wade Miley's two-run double capped a six-run third for the Snakes.

Harper's Homer Leads Nationals Over Marlins

(Washington, DC) -- Bryce Harper's three-run home run in the first inning was enough to lead the Nationals to a 3-2 win over the Marlins at Nationals Park. The Nationals also got a strong pitching performance from starter Gio Gonzalez, who allowed two runs on seven hits in six innings. Rafael Soriano earned his 42nd save. The Nationals have won 11 of their last 13 games but still trail Cincinnati by five games in the NL Wild Card race. Denard Span's 29-game hitting streak came to an end as he finished 0-for-4. Ed Lucas had three hits and an RBI for the Marlins.  Henderson Alvarez took the loss and fell to 4-5.

Tigers Rally To Beat Mariners

(Detroit, MI) -- Victor Martinez doubled in the go-ahead run in a two-run seventh inning and the Tigers held on from there for a 5-4 win over the Mariners at Comerica Park. Prince Fielder's RBI single tied the game at four for Detroit, which took three of four in the series. Doug Fister fanned 10 over seven and two thirds innings of four-run ball for his 13th win. Charlie Furbush took the loss. Dustin Ackley hit a three-run homer in the fifth to give Seattle a 4-3 lead.

Indians Top Astros In 11

(Cleveland, OH) -- Matt Carson singled in the winning run during the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Indians a 2-1 walk-off win over the Astros at Progressive Field. Jason Kipnis singled in a run in the first inning for Cleveland, which has alternated wins and losses the last five games. The Indians are half a game back of the Tampa Bay Rays for the second AL Wild Card spot. Bryan Shaw picked up the win in relief. Marc Krauss was 3-for-4 with a run scored for Houston. Rhiner Cruz suffered the loss.

Blue Jays Blow Out Yanks

(Toronto, Ontario) -- Adam Lind hit a three-run home run and Anthony Gose hit a solo shot as the Blue Jays upended the Yankees 6-2 at Rogers Centre. Jose Reyes added two hits and an RBI to help starting pitcher Todd Redmond improve to 4-2. Redmond allowed a run on four hits in seven innings. Casey Janssen earned his 32nd save. Hiroki Kuroda took the loss for New York and is 11-12. Curtis Granderson hit his seventh home run of the season.  The Yankees have lost five of their last six games and sit three-and-a-half games out of the AL Wild Card race.

A's Get Past Twins

(Oakland, CA) -- Coco Crisp smacked a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to power the Athletics to an 8-6 win over the Twins in Oakland. Jed Lowrie hit a three-run shot and Alberto Callaspo nailed a solo homer for Oakland, which has won seven out of nine. Sean Doolittle picked up the win in relief for the A's, who now have a magic number of four to clinch the AL West. Shairon Martis took the loss in relief for Minnesota. Chris Parmelee went 3-for-3 while Oswaldo Arcia hit a solo jack as the Twins lost their third in four games.

Tigers Rally To Beat Mariners

(Detroit, MI) -- Victor Martinez doubled in the go-ahead run in a two-run seventh inning and the Tigers held on from there for a 5-4 win over the Mariners at Comerica Park. Prince Fielder's RBI single tied the game at four for Detroit, which took three of four in the series. Doug Fister fanned 10 over seven and two thirds innings of four-run ball for his 13th win. Charlie Furbush took the loss. Dustin Ackley hit a three-run homer in the fifth to give Seattle a 4-3 lead.

Mariners Owner Yamauchi Dies

Seattle Mariners owner Hiroshi Yamauchi passed away at the age of 85 Thursday. Yamauchi purchased the team in 1992 to help keep the team in Seattle and not move to Florida. The Nintendo executive transfered his 55-percent majority shares to the video game's American corporation in 2004, but decisions were still run past Yamauchi. Despite owning the team, Yamauchi never saw his team play in person.

Thursday, September 19 Scoreboard

MLB NL

Pittsburgh Pirates 10, San Diego Padres 1

San Francisco Giants 2, New York Mets 1

Chicago Cubs 5, Milwaukee Brewers 1

Colorado Rockies 7, St. Louis Cardinals 6 (15 inn)

Los Angeles Dodgers 7, Arizona Diamondbacks 6

Washington Nationals 3, Miami Marlins 2

MLB AL

Detroit Tigers 5, Seattle Mariners 4

Cleveland Indians 2, Houston Astros 1 (11 inn)

Toronto Blue Jays 6, New York Yankees 2

Boston Red Sox 3, Baltimore Orioles 1

Texas Rangers 8, Tampa Bay Rays 2

Oakland Athletics 8, Minnesota Twins 6

MLB Interleague

No Games Scheduled

Friday, September 20 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB NL

1:20 p.m. - Atlanta Braves at Chicago Cubs

6:05 p.m. - Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates

6:05 p.m. - New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies

6:05 p.m. - Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals

7:10 p.m. - St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers

7:10 p.m. - Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies

9:10 p.m. - Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres

MLB AL

6:05 p.m. - Houston Astros at Cleveland Indians

6:08 p.m. - Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers

6:10 p.m. - Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays

6:10 p.m. - Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox

7:10 p.m. - Texas Rangers at Kansas City Royals

9:05 p.m. - Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics

9:05 p.m. - Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Angels

MLB Interleague

6:05 p.m. - San Francisco Giants at New York Yankees